John Holdren, science advisor to President ObamaWIKIMEDIA, NASA/BILL INGALLSJohn Holdren, the senior science advisor to President Barack Obama, has defended basic research and strongly criticized a draft bill that would revise the criteria used by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to review grant applications, reported ScienceInsider.
Drawn up by Lamar Smith (R-TX), chair of the House of Representatives science committee, the proposed “High-Quality Research Act” would require the NSF to prioritize projects that “advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare” of the United States, that are “groundbreaking,” and that are not already supported by another federal agency. The NSF currently judges grant proposals based on their “intellectual merit” and on the “broader implications” of the research on society. In an April 30 statement, Smith said that is legislation would improve on that process “by adding a layer of accountability” to the taxpayer.
But Holdren, speaking last week (May 2) at the Science and Technology Policy Forum in Washington, D.C., argued that by requiring the NSF to predict the future impact of ...
