OSA Testifies Before House Appropriations on DOD R&D

Richard Powell, Vice President of the Optical Society of America, a Member Society of the American Institute of Physics, testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense on the FY 2000 DOD budget. Subcommittee chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) told Powell he agreed with his testimony. Portions of this March 25 statement follow:

“I am here today on behalf of OSA, a scientific and professional organization of over 12,000 optical scientists and engineers. OSA’s members, who include many of the world’s most distinguished optical scientists and engineers, conduct leading-edge research in areas crucial to national security. We have noted with alarm the eroding support for the science and technology program (S&T Program) at the Department of Defense (DOD), and are concerned about the long-term implications for maintaining a technologically superior force; a technical work force essential for the military; and support for critical fields such as mathematics, engineering and computer science....”

“The S&T Program, 6.1 (Basic Research), 6.2 (Applied Research) and 6.3 (Advanced Technology Development), supports the scientific and engineering research which led to the advanced technology that has produced today’s preeminent U.S. defense forces. This decisive edge was demonstrated in Desert Storm and other recent peacekeeping missions. It is the continued investment in DOD’s S&T Program that will maintain this superior force for the 21st century.

“The funds in 6.1 support the basic research in the nation’s universities that is essential to maintaining a technologically superior U.S. defense force. Unlike the support for university research from the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy and NASA -- DOD support focuses on engineering sciences that are the bridge between fundamental science discoveries and future military applications.

“DOD support was critical for the research conducted by Dr. Charles Townes at Columbia University that led to the development of the laser. Laser technology has enabled such military applications as precision laser-guided targeting - seen during Desert Storm -- and has produced both the fiber-optics revolution and the rise of the telecommunications industry....”

“DOD support of university research also plays a critical role in sustaining those disciplines where it is a major source of federal funding. These disciplines (below) make essential contributions to the national defense and civilian economy by fueling innovation and providing highly skilled, technical workers.”

[At this point, Powell testified that 12% of university physics research is supported by DOD.]

“The support of university research advances the body of scientific and engineering knowledge that is critical to DOD’s technological superiority and produces the future scientists and engineers that DOD and industry will need to compete in the 21st century.

“For these reasons, the continued decline in the S&T Program is of concern to OSA. The President’s FY 2000 request for the Department of Defense continues the precipitous slide that began in the late 1980’s. This is particularly apparent in the 6.2 and 6.3 accounts that would decrease by over 6% in FY2000.

“The long-term decline in the 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 programs produced enough concern for the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology, to request the Defense Science Board (DSB) to establish a Task Force in the spring of 1997, to recommend a strategy to assure an appropriate science and technology base. In the letter charging the DSB with the task, the Under Secretary states,

‘U.S. military strategy calls for the use of superior technology as one critical enabling component of military strategy. You are requested to establish a Defense Science Board (DSB) Task Force to address the issues involved in assuring that the U.S. has adequate technology base from which to develop sustained military superiority for the 21st century...’

“A year and a half later the Report of the Defense Science Board Task Force on Defense Science and Technology Base for the 21st Century was delivered to the Under Secretary [see FYI #44]. One of the report’s major recommendations stated, ‘That the Deputy Secretary of Defense insure the future superiority of U.S. military forces by increasing the funding for the Department’s Science and Technology Program to $8 billion per year’....”

“OSA agrees with the recommendation in the DSB Task Force report and urges the Subcommittee to increase the S&T Program funding (6.1, 6.2 and 6.3) from the requested FY 2000 level of $7.4 billion, to at least $8 billion - a 2.6% increase over the current FY 1999 funding level....”

[At this point, Powell discusses a 1998 National Research Council report, “‘Harnessing Light: Optical Science and Engineering for the 21st Century.]

“All of the above recommendations depend on stable, long-term support for the 6.1, 6.2, and 6.3 programs. The research supported by these programs is threatened by wide fluctuations in funding and the consequent inability to plan multiyear research projects; and, by dramatic decreases in already appropriated funds to pay for unanticipated foreign peacekeeping missions such as Bosnia. Stable funding is also difficult to maintain when DOD’s research accounts are viewed as a ‘bank’ where funds can be withdrawn for use in other activities, but not reinvested. This happens both through redirection of funds to non-research projects and through redefining projects as research which actually involve little or no research.

“OSA recognizes the many important priorities that must be considered in formulating defense policy and the consequent budget priorities. We are especially mindful of current Congressional concerns about defense personnel -- their recruitment, training, and retention. Indeed, this has become a crisis situation in the hiring and retention of the skilled, technical workforce needed to operate the DOD laboratories. For instance, current civil-service hiring rules have made it almost impossible for the labs to hire the best-qualified candidates for open positions, or promote those who most deserve it. This has had a devastating effect on the labs, as has the relatively low salaries that can be offered for technical personnel (compared with the private sector).

“In the face of these daunting problems, however, we ask the Subcommittee to keep in mind the ultimate goal of the DOD’s S&T program - the development of a technically superior force that acts as a deterrent and mitigates losses on the battlefield.”