PART I. ACTIVITY TO DATE INITIAL HEARINGS Soon after the formation of the subcommittee, letters were sent to the members of the full committee's Panel on Science and Technology which is composed of a number of distinguished scientists drawn from universities, nonprofit research institutes, and private organizations. Their views were solicited concerning the most important problem areas in modern research, as well as methods of investigating them. The replies received were both thoughtful and stimulating. At the same time, the subcommittee inaugurated the first of a series of hearings dealing with Government and science and the relationship between the two. Hearings were held between October 15 and November 20, 1963. Witnesses included many of the Nation's leading scientists and administrators, representing the views of government, industry, universities, research institutes, and nonprofit associations. The hearings concluded with a special 2-day seminar which brought many of these leaders together for an informal exchange of views. The major purpose of the hearings and the seminar was an attempt to identify the major trouble spots in the Government-science relationship, and to assign some priority to their order of solution. These hearings have been printed and distributed,' and together with the comments of the members of the Panel on Science and Technology which are shown as an appendix to the hearings, form a solid foundation for much of the work later undertaken by the subcommittee. POSTHEARING ACTIVITIES Following the hearings as the issues before the subcommittee began to crystallize, the subcommittee issued its first report entitled "Government and Science A Statement of Purpose." In the report, the subcommittee described a number of the major technological-social issues facing the Federal Government, and in particular the Congress, and outlined in some detail the task ahead. The Government-science hearing also revealed that Congress must have more accurate information if it is to oversee intelligently the Federal research and development effort, and that although some of this information could be obtained by in-house studies, considerable help and advice could be provided by outside study by experts in the field. Consequently, the subcommittee solicited aid through three distinct and separate channels as outlined below: First, under an agreement concluded December 18, 1963, between the chairman of the full committee and the President of the National "Government and Science," hearings before the Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Development of the Committee on Science and Astronautics, 88th Cong., first sess. (1963). 2" Government and Science-No. 1," report of the Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Development of the Committee on Science and Astronautics, 88th Cong., first sess. (committee print, 1963). Academy of Sciences, the Academy undertook a special study on behalf of the committee to determine the level of Federal support of basic scientific research necessary to maintain the Nation in a posture of leadership in the area of technological accomplishment, economic development, and national security. The study, which is being augmented by follow-on studies, also endeavored to identify the important phases of scientific research which are not being adequately pursued, and determine whether there is an imbalance of money and manpower in those areas. The report was completed and submitted to the committee on March 19, 1965. It is discussed later in this report on page 9. Second, the subcommittee entered into an arrangement with the National Science Foundation whereby the Foundation agreed to conduct a number of studies on science education in the United States and report its findings to the committee. It was hoped that this study would be broad and conclusive enough to show (a) what has happened to American science education during this century; (b) where the country stands in regard to this crucial phase of our technological revolution; (c) what serious problems the future is likely to impose on science education; and (d) what must be done now and what should be done in the future to overcome the discernible difficulties. Three studies have been completed and are discussed later in this report. Third, a preliminary inquiry by the subcommittee disclosed that a great deal needed to be done on the part of both the Government and the scientific community to improve the management and policy control of large and costly applied research and development programs. It also was apparent that these managerial problems are of such size and scope as to necessitate their scrutiny by a highly talented and experienced group. The subcommittee therefore spent considerable effort in bringing together and creating a Research Management Advisory Panel which acts as a special task group for the committee in pointing the way to improved research management. The Panel is composed of― James B. Fisk, president, Bell Telephone Laboratories, Inc. Samuel H. Lenher, vice president for research, E. I. du Pont de Wilfred J. McNeil, president, Grace Line, Inc. Don Price, dean, Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. C. Guy Suits, vice president and director of research, General Jerome B. Wiesner, provost, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The Panel has met with the committee often and has provided valuable consultation on such questions as when to inaugurate large applied research and development projects, whether to continue them, when to stop them, and why--as well as to help provide useful insight into good research management in general. The Panel also has been instrumental in laying much of the groundwork and providing much of the background material for the subcommittee's investigations into the fields of aeronautics research, the redeployment of Federal laboratories and pollution abatement as discussed on pages 8, 12, and 21, respectively, of the report, They were consulted on the concept of technology assessment as reported on page 29. As specially invited guests' to the joint House-Senate colloquium to discuss a national policy for the environment held on July 17, 1968, they were able to subsequently furnish comments on its procedure and content. EARLY COMMITTEE STUDIES Following the subcommittee's preliminary hearings and in preparation for more extensive activities during the second session of the 88th Congress, the staff of the subcommittee was directed to make two studies to determine (1) the trend in Federal R. & D. spending, and (2) what type of information Congress needs in making decisions concerning scientific and technical matters, and what sources are available to provide this information. Each of these studies was completed and is discussed below. Fiscal Trends in Federal Research and Development 3 This report presents a consolidated picture of Federal research and development expenditures from fiscal year 1940 to fiscal year 1965. The report examines the distribution of funds by type of endeavor and by field of science, and traces the spending of the major research and development agencies; notably, the Department of Defense, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the Atomic Energy Commission, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and the National Science Foundation. The statistical data shows that Federal R. & D. programs through fiscal year 1965 were using an ever increasing percentage of the total Federal budget, and that if the expenditures continued to grow at the rate of 19.8 percent annually all Federal spending would be devoted to research and development by about the year 1980. The report went on to stress that a congressional review of many research and development activities of the Government would be required to insure that a suitable balance of effort is maintained and that funds be provided to serve the country to the best advantage. Scientific-Technical Advice for Congress-Needs and Sources 5 The report represents a survey of the important issue of adequate congressional information and advice relative to scientific and technological matters. The report explores first the type of information Congress has sought in the past and reaches the tentative conclusion that Congress does not normally seek scientific and technical information in the pure sense, but rather scientific and technical management information relating to such matters as funding, schedules, manpower, objectives, and duplication of effort. The report discusses the sources of scientific and technical information-committee "Government and Science-No. 2, Fiscal Trends in Federal Research and Development" report of the Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Development of the Committee on Science and Astronautics, 88th Cong., second sess. (committee print, 1964). The estimated Federal R. & D. expenditure for fiscal year 1966 increased to $16.8 billion, but in fiscal year 1967 the estimated expenditure decreased to the level of $16.3 billion for the first time in almost 20 years Similarly, the proportion of the R. & D. budget to the total Federal budget during the same period decreased from 15 percent in fiscal year 1965 to an estimated 13.2 percent for fiscal year 1967. "Government and Science-No. 3, Scientific-Technical Advice for Congress; Needs and Sources" report of the Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Development of the Committee on Science and Astronautics, 88th Cong., second sess. (committee print, 1964). 20-856-68-2 staffs, executive agencies, professional societies, industry, the Library of Congress, and individuals—and analyzes the various proposals pending before Congress to strengthen this capability. The report draws a number of conclusions and recommendations of ways in which Congress can better deal with scientific and technical matters. It was evident that Congress primarily requires sources of information that are familiar with the problems of science and government and those which remain continually abreast of the Government's programs. To this end, the subcommittee recommended-among other things-the necessity of increasing the professional personnel in the Legislative Reference Service of the Library of Congress, and this recommendation was, in fact, implemented by the formation of the Science Policy Research Division within the Legislative Reference Service in September 1964. Geographical Distribution of Federal Research and Development Funds The apparent imbalance in the geographical distribution of Federal research and development funds was singled out as one of the major items of discussion during the subcommittee's preliminary hearings on Government and science held in late 1963. The issue is not a new one. nor is it one given to simple solutions. Understandably, the geographical distribution of the Federal research dollar has a pronounced impact upon the economy of certain parts of the Nation, upon the utilization of trained scientific and technical manpower, upon the education of young Americans, upon the quality of our colleges and universities, and upon the nature and direction of the Nation's overall scientific and technological effort. Unfortunately, little effort had been made to gather sufficient data on the geographical distribution of Federal research funds to permit a realistic appraisal of the nature or extent of the problem, or to determine what corrective steps, if any, appeared necessary. For these reasons, the subcommittee scheduled hearings in an effort to draw a reasonably accurate picture of where the Federal research dollar goes and why. An effort also was made to determine, to some extent, how private organizations, both profit and nonprofit, distribute their research funds. At the same time, the subcommittee requested the National Science Foundation to conduct a statistical survey of the geographical distribution of those Federal agencies responsible for the major portion of the Federal R. & D. budget for the last 4 years in which data was available. This study was conducted in April-June 1964, and was submitted to the subcommittee in September 1964. The report contains over 600 pages of statistical material, and represents the first study of its kind undertaken by the Foundation." Indirect Costs in Federal Research Grants For economy of time and operations and because of the importance of the subject matter, the subcommittee decided to consolidate its investigation of allowable indirect costs in Federal research grants with the geographical distribution question. Morever, both of these problems earlier had been singled out for discussion and treatment in "Obligations for Research and Development, and R. & D. Plant, by Geographic Divisions and States by Selected Federal Agencies, Fiscal Years 1961-64", report of the National Science Foundation to the Subcommittee on Science, Research, and Development of the Committee on Science and Astronautics, 88th Cong., second sess. (committee print, 1964). |