OSTP Director Lane and Rep. Ehlers Address R&D Colloquium

Earlier this month, OSTP Director and White House Science Advisor Neal Lane, and Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-MI) addressed the AAAS Colloquium on Science and Technology Policy. Their messages contained both good and bad news about science policy and budgets.

Lane told the audience that “R&D fared fairly well” in previous budget cycles, considering the spending caps. He was critical of future declining R&D projections in the congressional budget resolution, saying they were in “stark contrast to the President’s budget.”

“Let’s help people remember” the importance of science and technology, Lane said, urging the science community to communicate this message to Congress and the general public. He spoke about the difficulty of translating public confidence in science into congressional appropriations. Citing the Cold War, the space race, and seeking a cure for cancer as previous incentives for the support of R&D, and economic reasons in the present, he asked if there should be another rationale for R&D “when push comes to shove.”

The FY 2000 request for defense 6.1 and 6.2 budgets is down 4.4%. Lane spoke of the “enormous implications for universities” that these budget cuts had, especially for physical sciences and engineering, while acknowledging competing pressures in the defense budget. This problem had been, and would be, a focus of his attention in talks within the administration.

Lane assured his audience that the administration’s declining outyear projections for R&D were not a statement of policy, adding that it was the administration’s intention to deal with budgets one year at a time. Lane’s comments reflect historical trends: actual R&D budget requests are never as tight as they were originally projected to be.

In concluding his presentation, Lane said “there are some disturbing signs...some of those [research] areas have not done so well.” Among those research areas that Lane cited was physics.

Many of the comments made by Rep. Ehlers referred to his science policy study. Echoing one of Lane’s major points, Ehlers said, “we need your help,” to make Americans more aware of the importance of R&D. “The Congress is a reflection of the general public,” he added.

Ehlers also spoke of the tight budget situation for R&D, but predicted that the outcome would look better. He then turned his attention to imbalances in science funding, citing the large increase the NIH received last year. “They are making a big mistake” Ehlers said of the big increases Congress has approved in NIH’s budget. “I believe the message is starting to get through,” he said, about congressional awareness to balance science funding among all disciplines.