It is time for vision again

I can still remember my first meeting in the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.  At the time, I was new to the endeavor (as a freshman member that fact was unavoidable), and I was trying to feel my way through the particularities of the committee. There I was – a long-time teacher and school principal, entering a chamber where over the next two years I would be responsible for contributing to discussions forming our nation’s science and space policy during uncertain economic times.

I felt I had a grasp of the difficulties that lay ahead of not only me, but for the committee as a whole, entering the new fiscal realities of a recession. I feared for the funding of the scientific field – particularly at the government level. It was already apparent prior to my arrival that the United States’ engagement in space was about to shift dramatically, and I could only hope that my experiences exciting schoolchildren about the wonders of science and the discoveries great explorers were enough to prepare me for the challenges in store.

And then, I saw it. Upon entering the committee room and descending down the dais, I had taken my seat.  I proceeded to scan the room acknowledging my new colleagues, and there, above the chairman’s head, was an inscription, gilded in gold, that stood out to me like a beacon in the night. It read:

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.

-Proverbs 29:18.”

If you have never been to 2318 Rayburn, you should take a visit. You should wander in, sit down and reflect. To me, this verse from Proverbs summed up everything I hoped to fight for during my tenure on the committee. I resolved to be a voice of reason and an advocate for science. I resolved that I would defend science research budgets, and that I would express my view that educating the next generation of students in STEM fields was the key to America’s future success. I believe that a country’s vision is displayed in the research endeavors and exploratory missions it undertakes, and I knew then that I would support America’s scientists to the fullest.

I say all of this, of course, to relay my hope that my colleagues on the committee will join me in my efforts. That they will listen to the call of reason and science, and fight for the full funding of endeavors and research that will keep America at the forefront of the world’s emerging economies.  I am aware of the difficult times we are in, but we must continue to fight, to press on.  We should conduct ourselves in the spirit of John F. Kennedy when he said: “We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade...not because [it is] easy but because [it is] hard.” 

Yes, times are hard. But we must press on – particularly in those areas under the jurisdiction of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee.  I’m not sure how often senior members get the opportunity to turn their heads to the back of the room and look up at that verse from Proverbs anymore, but they should. I do all the time. I can’t help but think it is time we had vision again in this great nation. It is time we looked again to the skies and dreamt.  Now is not the time for small dreams, but for large ones. Now is the time to fully support President Obama’s budget request and to continue on our journey to greatness.

Rep. Wilson (D-Fla.) is a member of the House Science, Space, and Technology and Foreign Affairs Committees.

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