William Graham And John Sununu Reveal Bush's Science Priorities

Sununu There are priorities in science, and then there are priorities that are important because they impact science. And they are somewhat intermingled. First of all, the vice president recognizes that excellence in education and scientific literacy are keys to our long-range progress and economic development. They are also the keys to the quality of our continued scientific research. So his commitment to education is a high priority that impacts science. In areas more directly associated with science and technology, he’s committed to increased funding for the National Science Foundation and retooling the science and engineering labs at our colleges and universities. He has spoken out and supported major national projects like the SSC. He understands the role of tax policy in providing incentives, particularly as this relates to investment in research and development. One area that I am very pleased he agreed to support is the ‘strengthening of the role of science and engineering in national policy by reestablishing the office of the presidential science adviser and the preeminence of the science advisory committee. Graham The environment, and issues associated with that, would be another focus, including such topics as the potential for global warming, the consequences of deforestation, and biodiversity. Energy is another priority, related not only to environmental issues but also as an important force in our economy. And then there’s our space program, which provides a sense of scientific exploration and discovery, which will increasingly rely on defensive forces rather than offensive forces. Q That’s along list. Is there enough money to pay for it all? Graham I’m sure that a Bush administration would be an idea-rich environment. You’ll never have all the funds that you’d like, but I think that there will be sufficient funds to move forward strongly in each of those areas. Q What areas will require increases in their budgets? Sununu I think that the only ar- eas requiring new and additional funds are some of the increases for NSF and the retooling of our university labs. And we’re talking here about funds that are certainly within the framework of a flexible freeze in the federal budget. I’m confident that there’s more than enough money for these initiatives. Graham It will certainly require budget increases in some areas, for example, education. The vice president has already proposed that. Other areas, such as the environment and energy, already have substantial budgets—for example, the $5 billion clean coal technology program. Government and industry are also acting as partners. What’s needed there is further international cooperation, because the global environment really is an international problem. The destruction of the rain forests, for example, is all taking place in other countries. In addition, countries like the Soviet Union and China have substantial coal resources and other petroleum products, which, of course, are a major source of carbon dioxide. In other areas, the vice president has made it clear that he would deploy a strategic defense system as soon as it is feasible to do so. That would certainly be a priority in his first administration. Q How essential is a manned presence in space to a strong U.S. space program ? Sununu I think there’s value in a manned space program. You retain the country’s long-term interest by involving individuals, and I think that those who are suggesting that we can do away with the individual in space exploration are missing the psychological and political advantages associated with that. Graham The space station is very important. And that’s why George Bush supports it so strongly. Q Does the vice president feel that foreign contributions to the SSC are essential, and should they be a requirement for its construction? Graham The program was approved as a U.S. initiative, with the clear understanding that otber countries would seek the opportunity to contribute to it and contribute to its use. I think it’s inconceivable that they will not contribute, so I don’t believe that it’s an issue. Sununu I’m not sure how far you’ll get with the idea of foreign contributions. I think that the easiest thing to do is to invest in it and then, perhaps, put a users fee in place to take care of that. It may be better to be sure that we provide adequate funds for those things that we want done ourselves. Then with a users’ fee structure, foreign funds would flow into it as a normal part of its operation. QWhat about Congress’ concern about going too far with the SSC without a foreign commitment? Graham There’s always the chicken and the egg question. But it’s really a question of leadership. The U.S. should’ take the leadership on the SSC and proceed with the design and the construction, and we have every confidence that other countries will choose to participate. Q How do we attract more young people into science? Sununu The most important thing we can do is reverse, at least a little bit, our society’s Luddite tendencies. We have become, somewhat, an anti-technology society, and that attitude, more than anything may be inhibiting some young folks from going into science. There are a lot of folks who are suggesting that all the problems we have are because we have become too technical, and I can’t think of anything that’s more discourage to young people. QHow would you change those negative attitutes? Sununu I think that an aggressive effort by our political leaders to talk about the advantages and disadvantages, in a credible way, would go a long way. And that’s one of the things that George Bush does well. He’s willing to deal with these issues directly, and he has a sense of the continuing benefits of staying on the cutting edge of technology. QWould one of those cutting edges be nuclear power? Sununu That’s one of the issues. But there are other areas. It’s so hard to get a permit for a picnic ground from the local planning board that you don’t have to talk about something as complicated as nuclear power to see what happens when you deal with things in the public domain. Even if there’s almost a consensus, the 1% that feels the other way gets equal time, and so the public perceives that the decision is a marginal call. Q Does the growing number of foreign scientists and engineers in U.S. graduate schools pose a problem? Graham Virtually all the citizens in this country, including scientists, have been immigrants. But our concern is not with the first-generation immigrants, it’s with those who have been here for several generations. Goerge Bush has a strong understanding that educational performance overall, and in particular science and math, has to be strengthened. The problem is not one of diminishing our first-generation students, but of increasing the capabilities of our Amencan-born students. Q How serious is the problem of U.S. economic competitiveness? What would a Bush administration do to strengthen current efforts, specifically as it would affect scientists? Graham Americans are the best and most productive workers in the world. Given the opportunity, they can outdistance the citizens of any other country. Our high-tech industries are the wellspring of much of our economy and our national security, and they depend on having an educated citizenry to sustain them. The vice president would continue to keep our tax rate the lowest in the industrialized world, making profits available to the industry to be returned to the research and development process rather than delivering its profits to the government in the form of higher taxes. And he would work to further level the playing field between us and other countries, so that not only do they have access to our markets but we have equal access to their markets. He would search and destroy oppressive overregulation that harms our economy and industry. Q The current ratio of government spending on military versus civilian R&D is about 70 to 30. Does the vice president feel that ratio is about right, or should there be a shift bock toward the 50-50 ratio of the 1960s and 1970s? Graham Of course, the way you achieved a 50-50 split in those times, compared with today’s figures, was by having smaller expenditures for military research and development. But it’s very important to recognize that, when you talk about military research and development, you’re really talking about the development of specific military systems. The government is the only customer for these systems and, therefore, it must pay for the development as well as the acquisition of these systems. That fact strongly distorts the budget picture. We’ve increased our investment in military systems development because we had a desperate situation on our hands when this administration came into power, because there had been years of neglect that was causing us to lose our leverage from advanced technology vis vis the Soviets. The Reagan-Bush administration has rectified that situation. At the same time, the investment that has been made in basic and civilian scientific research has increased very strongly, to over $10 billion in basic research. And that would continue in a Bush administration. The important issue here is not the ratio between the two—they serve quite different purposes. R&D is not one word, and military and civilian R&D is not even one concept. They serve different purposes and they should be judged each on their own merits. Sununu I don’t think the issue is as much the percentage of the total as it is the focus of what is done with that military slice. I know of a great deal of nonmilitary benefits that were derived from funding by DARPA—for example, a great deal of nonmilitary benefits derived from DOD funding in areas such as computer technology and materials. So, to just look at a number is not the way to do it. What you need to do is to have, on a continued basis, a review of the details of funding within that 70%. I suspect the military establishment itself is sometimes too narrow in where it is focusing its money. But I also think that there are areas with applications well beyond the military in which the political clout of the military in acquiring funds may be advantageous in terms of providing support for research. QWhat role would a science adviser play in making appointments to science-related positions? Sununu Again, what it eventually becomes will depend greatly on the evolution of the relationship between the science adviser and the president. I think initially it will be a role of providing recommendations of names, and perhaps serving as a filter through which other names can be passed. Later on, as confidence develops, it may go even beyond that to the occasional transference of responsibility for decisions.

William Graham And John Sununu Reveal Bush's Science Priorities

The Scientist Staff

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