As the August congressional recess approached, subcommittees of
the House Science Committee were active, holding oversight
hearings on a number of programs and agencies under their
jurisdiction. On July 18, the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee
investigated concerns that, in the future, NASA will not have the
S&T workforce it needs to fulfill its mission. U.S. Comptroller
General David Walker testified that NASA "is finding it
particularly difficult to hire people with engineering, science,
and information technology skills." Within five years, he
stated, about a quarter of NASA's scientists and engineers will
be eligible for retirement, while "the pipeline of people with
science and engineering skills is shrinking." NASA Administrator
Sean O'Keefe reported on "an alarming attrition pattern" among
recent employees. "Even utilizing all the tools at hand,"
his
testimony stated, "we are at a disadvantage when competing with
the private sector."
"NASA is not alone in its search for enthusiastic and qualified
employees," O'Keefe's testimony continued. "Throughout the
Federal government, as well as the private sector, the challenge
faced by a lack of scientists and engineers is real and is
growing by the day." He cited NSF statistics showing that
graduate enrollment in engineering, physical and earth sciences,
and math showed declines between 1993 and 2000, and from the mid-
1990s to 2000, engineering and physics doctorates declined by 15
and 22 percent, respectively.
O'Keefe presented to the subcommittee a proposal to give NASA
enhanced flexibility in hiring, retaining and rewarding highly
skilled employees. The provisions include scholarships to help
U.S. students pursue careers in engineering and physical,
biological or life sciences (with a year-for-year service
requirement); expansion of federal employee personnel exchanges;
establishment of similar personnel exchanges with industry;
authority to provide higher pay and larger bonuses; and
streamlined hiring processes. Mark Roth, General Counsel of the
American Federation of Government Employees, took issue with
provisions to expand personnel exchanges and to hire "without
regard to existing competitive procedures." His testimony
concludes, "No federal agency, including NASA, should have a
human resources plan that explicitly encourages constant turnover
and puts no value on continuity, dedication, or career
development for the incumbent workforce."
"One thing I want to see this committee do this year is to move
forward with some proposals that would ensure that NASA has the
people it needs," said Science Committee Chairman Sherwood
Boehlert (R-NY). However, the hearing charter notes that several
other pieces of legislation to reform federal hiring practices
and increase flexibility have been the subject of Senate hearings
this spring, but are unlikely to go any further this year.
Detailed data on physics and astronomy degree production is available
in the latest "Enrollments and Degrees Report" put out by
AIP's Statistical Research Center (July 2002; AIP Pub. #R- 151.38).
The number of physics doctorates granted in 2000 dropped four percent
from the previous year, continuing a steep decline since the early1990s
that is expected to continue for several more years. First-year physics
graduate student enrollments have shown a slight increase in the last
few years, mostly due to an increase in foreign students, who make up
51 percent of the total students currently enrolled in graduate physics
programs. The most recent workforce and degree information for the physics
community can be found at http://www.aip.org/statistics.
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