Speaking at the California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena, California, President Bill Clinton said that a strong America requires strong investments in science and technology. In his speech, the president announced that his fiscal budget for 2001 will include a $2.8 billion increase in the "Twenty-First Century Research Fund"–investments that will support advances in biomedical research, information technology, nanotechnology, university- based research, and cleaner energy. Hailing the "critical role that science and technology have played in bringing America to this remarkable moment," Clinton emphasized how such research furthers American prosperity, improves health, and preserves the environment. He called for enhanced efforts to raise public awareness of the benefits that flow from a continuing commitment to the scientific enterprise.

The president, who was accompanied by White House Science Advisor Neal Lane, Department of Energy Secretary William Richardson, and NSF director Rita Colwell, spoke at 11 a.m. PST, on January 21, before a capacity crowd in Beckman Auditorium on the Caltech campus.