KEEP CALM. University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue wants everyone to take a breath.

The former Georgia governor on Tuesday acknowledged concerns about President Donald Trump’s budget proposal, which would slash research funding for universities.

But Perdue, a Republican, is taking solace in the system’s latest record-breaking research expenditures. He said Georgia Tech spent $1.43 billion on research last year, an all-time high. The University of Georgia spent $654 million, also a new record.

Perdue believes this spending is “growing the U.S. economy” and predicted “the trajectory of what we are seeing is going to continue.”

“We’re trying to convince the federal government right now (that) a partnership between expenditures on the federal government side and our university system of over 70 years has created amazing new results for humankind everywhere,” he said.

Congress is starting to push back some, too. The Senate Appropriations Committee, which includes Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, last month rejected Trump’s proposed cut to the National Institutes of Health — a major source of funding for research universities across the country. Instead, they voted to increase its funding.

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