I’d like to applaud House Speaker John Richardson and Rep. Christopher Rector for their comments in Tuesday’s paper (“Some legislators say bond package too small,” BDN, July 19). When it comes to the proposed bond package, $22.8 million is too small an investment in economic development.

As Gov. John Baldacci noted when introducing the bond package this winter, investing in Maine’s nonprofit life sciences research institutions, including The Jackson Laboratory, is one of the few “sure things” that bring economic returns to our state. The $42 million that Maine has invested (in allocations and bonding) in biomedical research since 2000 has leveraged more than $275 million in federal and private grants.

This is a return of $6 for every $1 invested by taxpayers and bond buyers. Moreover, once a laboratory is set up, and the scientists and staff are hired, it is in a position to get grants on an ongoing basis. That is why biomedical research is the investment for Maine taxpayers that keeps on giving.

Jackson has launched a major research expansion that will add a net 10 research groups; counting support staff, that represents more than 125 new jobs. These well-paying, stable jobs with benefits offer Maine’s young people opportunities they can come home to after completing their education. Maine’s other nonprofit biomedical research institutions – Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Maine Medical Center Research Institute, Foundation for Blood Research and University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine – are likewise adding quality jobs to Maine’s economy, in a period of private-sector cutbacks and mergers.

The potential value of life sciences research has not escaped the notice of other states, and they’re making major investments. Texas just allocated $50 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund to Lexicon Genetics and Texas A&M University to establish and house a comprehensive knockout mouse embryonic stem cell library. Wisconsin has proposed a new $750 million research funding program leveraging public and private funds. California’s making headlines with its $3 billion investment in innovative biomedical research.

Other, smaller states like Rhode Island are also expanding their commitment to life science-based economic development. Maine needs to keep investing in order to compete successfully for those federal and private research dollars.

In Jackson’s case, the bond will also be an investment in the future of our state’s information technology infrastructure. We propose to spend our portion of the bond funding on building the infrastructure necessary for our current IT needs, an effort that will provide significant benefit in Maine beyond our own facility. Who knows how many businesses or independent contractors decided against moving to Maine because our bandwidth is a fraction of that available in Massachusetts?

Our governor’s vision for our state’s economic development is right on the money, and not surprisingly has earned bipartisan support. It will create the kind of economic activity that will position the state of Maine to be more competitive in the new global economy. Increasing the bond package by $20 million, and placing the additional funding in R&D jobs, is thus the fiscally responsible way to go, especially in light of the state’s low level of bonded indebtedness. I urge the legislature to join together on this most important issue.

Rick Woychik, Ph.D., is director of

The Jackson Laboratory in Bar Harbor.