WHAT'S NEW, Friday, 17 February 1989 Washington, DC
1.
THE NSF'S "ACADEMIC RESEARCH FACILITIES MODERNIZATION PROGRAM"
will be discussed in a series of regional forums. Input from
these public meetings will guide the NSF in the development of a
plan for apportioning the $80M authorized by Congress. The plan
must be submitted to Congress by 15 June 89. The first of the
six meetings will be held on 23 Feb 89 at the University of
Illinois-Chicago. Cassidy and Associates, the Washington public
relations firm which first discovered that the academic pork
barrel is lined with gold, is said to be urging its university
clients to attend. The perception that political connections are
more important than merit in securing Federal research facilities
funding has attracted many second-rate research institutions to
Cassidy. Among the executives recently hired by C&A to handle all
the new business is Shiela Tate, who was Nancy Reagan's press
secretary. To complicate matters, Congress laid down a number of
guidelines and restrictions in the legislation. These include a
10% set-aside for minority institutions and a requirement to
"assist those academic institutions that historically have
received relatively little Federal research and development
funds." Congress authorized $80M for the program last June, but
no money has been appropriated for that purpose, raising the
specter that the funds might have to be taken out of research.
2
. HOW WILL SDI FARE IN THE BUSH BUDGET?
In his message to
Congress, Bush did not name a specific figure--but then, he
wasn't specific about much of anything. The written supplement,
"Building a Better America," contains a single reference to SDI:
"Technical leadership must be maintained by supporting research
necessary to the development of future systems. This includes
the active pursuit of the Strategic Defense Initiative."
3. THE X-RAY LASER CASE AT LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY
refuses to go away. The House Energy and Commerce Committee has
begun an investigation into possible harrassment of Roy Woodruff,
the whistleblower who objected to misrepresentation of the x-ray
laser by Edward Teller. At the time Teller made his claims,
Woodruff was in charge of the x-ray laser program. According to
one Hill source, Energy Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-MI),
who has been leading a separate probe into scientific fraud and
misconduct at NIH, "smells blood on this one." The Oversight and
Investigations Subcommittee is said to feel that the GAO bungled
its investigation of the matter last summer
(WN 22 Jul 88).
4. THE REVOLVING DOOR: RICHARD PERLE,
who Carl Sagan called "the
Prince of Darkness," left the Pentagon two years ago, ostensibly
to write a novel. He has now branched out, forming a company to
lobby for increased military aid to Turkey. During his Pentagon
years, Perle urged increased military assistance to Turkey, which
is currently third behind Israel and Egypt in such aid. No word
on his novel, but it seems unlikely that it will blaspheme Islam.
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