Friday, 14 Apr 95 Washington, DC
1. GIBBONS LASHES OUT AT CRITICS OF CLINTON TECHNOLOGY
PROGRAMS!
The annual AAAS Policy Colloquium is usually a pretty staid sort
of affair, and White House Science Advisor John Gibbons is not
known as a fiery orator, but Gibbons slammed the Republicans in a
keynote address on Wednesday. The $200B deficit projected in the
FY 96 Clinton budget, he said, amounts to the annual interest on
the debt "callously racked up" in the Reagan-Bush years. Citing
the recent Critical Technologies Report (WN 24 Mar 95), Gibbons
accused "extremists in Congress" of a "ruthless attack on this
nation's future" by cutting Administration technology initiatives
such as the Advanced Technology Program, Technology Reinvestment
Project and the Clean Car. He went on to declare that "this
Administration unequivocally opposes the creation of a Department
of Science." He then aimed his cannon at the Contract, describing
"dog-tired Members marching lockstep with their eyes fixed only
on the end of the 100 days." The Contract, he said, "never even
mentions the word `environment'....Congress seems bent on gutting
research on energy efficiency and sources of renewable energy."
2. WITH CONGRESS OFF ON SPRING BREAK, ROSCOE BARTLETT
RESPONDS!
A PhD scientist, the second-term Maryland Republican is on the
House Science Committee. With Committee leaders unavailable,
Bartlett, whose district is near Washington, gave the other side.
The battle lines were clearly drawn: "The major challenge facing
the 104th Congress is to...begin rejecting policies that tie us
to the outmoded status quo." What policies? "Budget realities
dictate that basic research be reemphasized. We neither have the
luxury, nor is it a wise use of resources, to continue steering
taxpayer dollars in the direction of applied research which can
and should be market-driven and conducted by the private sector."
3. THE DIRECTOR OF ENERGY RESEARCH NAMES HER TOP THREE
PRIORITIES
Speaking today at the AAAS Colloquium, Martha Krebs revealed her
top priorities for FY 96: on top was the facilities utilization
initiative (WN 10 Feb 95), followed by the "Drell bump" for High
Energy Physics (WN 28 Jan 94) and the Clean Car Initiative.
4. AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY WANTS CHANGES IN SMITHSONIAN
EXHIBIT
One year after the opening of "Science in American Life," the ACS
has officially expressed its dissatisfaction with the exhibit for
which it paid $5.3M. A letter from the Chairman of the ACS Board
of Directors to the Secretary of the Smithsonian complains of the
arrogance and high-handedness of museum personnel during four
years of preparation. The finished product, the letter says, was
strongly biased against science and damaged the reputation of the
ACS. The complaints echoed those raised by the American Physical
Society (WN 18 Nov 94), but the letter stresses that the American
Chemical Society put up the money for the exhibit, and it is the
ACS that should be consulted about any changes (24 Feb 95).
THE AMERICAN PHYSICAL SOCIETY (Note: Opinions are the author's
and are not necessarily shared by the APS, but they should be.)
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