Friday, 23 December 1988
1.
SETTING PRIORITIES IN FEDERAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY FUNDING
is discussed in a report released on Tuesday by the National
Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering and the
Institute of Medicine. The report responds to a request from
Congress for advice on how it should go about establishing
science and technology priorities in a period of fiscal restraint
(WN 15 Apr 88). The
academies did not take their task lightly,
and the high-level committee that produced the report included
the three academy presidents. The committee concluded that the
present budget process, which focuses on S&T support for the
missions of the individual agencies, does not work well for the
increasing number of programs that cross agency lines. Rejecting
the notion of a "science czar," their solution is to recommend
additional steps in a budget process that already has more steps
than the Washington monument. They propose that the President's
budget request for S&T activities include a statement of his
priorities with regard to: 1) the missions of the individual
agencies; 2) the S&T base, including the training of scientists;
3) national objectives such as industrial competitiveness; and 4)
major initiatives such as the SSC, the human genome project, or
the space station. Congress would then conduct its own review of
those S&T activities that cut across agency boundaries and revise
priorities within the same four categories. The entire process
assumes a greatly strengthened White House S&T Advisor's Office.
2
. JOHN DEUTCH IS EXPECTED TO BE NAMED SECRETARY OF ENERGY.
A Professor of Chemistry and Provost of MIT, Deutch served in the
Carter Administration as Director of Energy Research and then as
an Undersecretary of Energy. Among his other qualifications, he
has never practiced dentistry. There is still no hint of who will
be offered the White House Science Advisor's job, but the Bush
staff always refer to it as "the Science and Technology Advisor."
3. PRESSURE FOR NSF TO MOVE TO THE SUBURBS
will increase when
Senator Mikulski (D-MD) ascends to Chair of the HUD-Independent
Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. In an interview with a
local newspaper, Mikulski said that every federal agency would
prefer to stay downtown near the White House, but she wants NSF
money to go into science and science education rather than high
Washington rents. NSF currently pays $7.5M a year for rent,
which is only about 0.4% of its budget. The NSF acknowledges it
needs additional space and its present offices are a bit shabby,
but it is doubtful that a move to the suburbs will save much
money. The suburbs Mikulski has in mind are in Maryland.
4. THE PENTAGON HAS RESOLVED TO REVIVE THE U.S. TV INDUSTRY,
by encouraging commercial development of high-density television
(HDTV). This "new thinking" comes as cold-war concerns diminish
and trade deficits grow. The Defense Science Board is concerned
with the health of the defense industrial and technology base.
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