D? | The Scientist Magazine®

WASHINGTON—The idea of making American industry more competitive through increased support for industrial and academic research and development is becoming a rallying cry for high-powered lobbying efforts here. This winter has seen the birth of two privately funded, independent coalitions that unite members of high-tech industries, universities, trade associations and nonprofit organizations. It has also seen the formation of a 160-member Congressional Caucus on Competitiveness, and the introduction of legislation to provide money for research facilities and additional graduate fellowships. The Council on Competitiveness, whose 25 institutional members provide the organization with an annual budget of $450,000, is looking at issues ranging from trade policy to student aid to increased support for the National Science Foundation. Its chairman is John Young, president of Hewlett-Packard and the former chairman of a 1985 presidential panel on industrial competitiveness. The Council's three vice chairmen reflect its wide base of support: Paul Gray, president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Ruben Mettler, chairman of TRW, Inc.; and Howard Samuel, head of the AFL-CIO's industrial unions department. A second group, the Council on Research and Technology (CORETECH), is focusing on the nation's R&D policies. "We view ourselves as a lobbying group," explained attorney Kenneth Kay, executive director of CORETECH. "Our litmus test will be whether legislation is enacted on our recommendations." Last year Kay directed the Coalition for the Advancement of Industrial Technology, an effort led by Young to win an extension of the 25 percent tax credit for new investment by industry. The 1986 Tax Reform Act extended the credit through 1988, but reduced it to 20 percent. Meeting earlier this month for the first time, CORETECH plans to help publicize the new basic research credit for universities and push for its extension beyond 1988. Kay said the group also plans to support legislation during the two-year life of the 100th Congress to renovate and build new research facilities, modernize lab equipment, bolster the training of scientists and engineers, and foster cooperative research between academia and private industry. Its Research Policy Committee, to be headed by Robert Rosenzweig of the Association of American Universities, will develop a public policy agenda that will be discussed at regional conferences, Kay said. Kay declined to disclose the organization's annual budget. But an official from one member institution said that CORETECH has more than 80 institutional members, including 52 major research universities that contribute $1,500 each and 22 companies that contribute between $1,500 and $30,000 each. Both councils and the Congressional Caucus rely heavily on information in the 1985 report from the President's Commission on Industrial Competitiveness that Young chaired. The Reagan administration was reportedly angered by its call for a separate federal department of science and technology and its generally pessimistic view of the nation's ability to compete against other countries unless major changes were made in U.S. trade policies. The Caucus is a bipartisan effort of both chambers. Sens. Max Baucas (D-Mont.) and John Chafee (R-R.I.) chair the Senate side, and Reps. Claudine Schneider (R R.I.) and Buddy MacKay (D-Fla.) are co-chairs in the House. Talk of greater spending on nonmilitary R&D, making better use of the fruits of basic research and developing closer ties between universities and industry is becoming more common on Capitol Hill. Members of the various coalitions play down possible conflicts between advocates of applied and basic research, or between business and academia. "Fields like computer science naturally lend themselves to collaboration and joint efforts," said Richard Cyert, president of Carnegie-Mellon University, who testified recently before the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in the Senate. But he acknowledged that, for example, "it might not work as well for research in high-energy physics. Legislators appear eager to propose solutions. Last month Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) submitted a $525 million package for R&D that includes a $250 million program to upgrade laboratory facilities and 5,000 additional graduate fellowships, at $5,000 per year. Both programs would be administered by the National Science Foundation. Reagan has said he will submit his own set of proposals. Some observers have criticized the newfound interest in scientific R&D as a knee-jerk reaction to the latest political buzz word. But lobbyists hope to capitalize on the current interest in research. "It's clear that improving R&D is an essential component of any competitiveness policy," said Kay. "It's a very helpful development," he added, for every group that conducts basic research. Cowen is a freelance writer based in Washington.

D?

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of