Barack Obama, April 13, 2011, Georgetown University

The US government plays a critical role--protecting our citizens and property, overseeing our parks and a multitude of public services, providing medical care and education to millions of Americans--all of which need to be paid for every year in the federal budget. Those functions were in jeopardy on a weekly and at times daily basis as Congress and the Administration haggle over serious policy and funding issues in an effort to pass the fiscal 2011 budget.

The impact of these negotiations will last far longer than one year; what is funded and what is gutted may very well determine the course our nation takes for the next decade or more. When education financing options get cut, we reduce the ability of young people from all walks of life to access the university system and become our next innovators. When science and research programs are cut, universities and labs have to look elsewhere for funding sources and will certainly cut back on positions. When we slash applied science and deployment programs for renewable energy and energy efficiency, we leave technology in the labs to languish in the Valley of Death and never make it to market.

We need to trim our budget but we need, as the President says, to do so without sacrificing what America does best--innovate.