NEWS OF THE WEEK GOVERNMENT
SCIENCE KEY TO NATIONAL SECURITY Power-packed commission urges boosts in science research, education spending
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AKING A BROADLY DEFINED
view of national security, a congressionally mandated commission has called for much higher spending on science research and education and the creation of a new security agency T h e U.S. Commission on National Security/21st Century makes a clear link between science research and education and national security It emphasizes that the U.S. in recent years "has seriously underfunded basic scientific research" and that the quality of the U.S. education system "has fallen well behind those of scores of other nations." These deficiencies, the commission notes, are occurring at a time when dramatic advances are being made in biological and materials science, information technology, and scientific instrumentation, and when U.S. citizens "have to understand and work competently with science and math on a daily basis." If the "serious crisis" in basic scientific research and education needs is not addressed quickly, the U.S.'s economic and security supremacy will be overtaken in the next 25 years by other countries now making the necessary investments, the commission believes. Led by former senators Gary Hart and Warren Rudman, the commission calls for the doubling of the federal R&D budget by 2010 and giving the President's science adviser expanded responsibility for overseeing this budget. Calling the national labs a "national R & D treasure," the commission recommends that the President propose and ConHTTP://PUBS.ACS.ORG/CEN
gress fund the reorganization of the labs. Each lab should be given a new, well-defined mission with minimal overlap, the commission says. The commission also calls for significant new investments in science and math education, including a National Security Science & Technology Education Act to boost science and math education at the K-12 level and to expand aid to higher education in science, engineering, and math. With the spread of unconventional weapons, persistence of international terrorism, and porous borders, the commission believes that a direct attack by terrorists or rogue states on U.S. citizens on U.S. soil is inevitable within the next 25 years. Because the U.S. has no coherent, integrated structure in place to respond to such an attack, the commission recommends the creation of a Cabinet-level
TESTIMONY Commission cochairmen Hart (left) and Rudman spoke at hearings on national security. National Homeland Security Agency The new agency, with the Federal Emergency Management Agency at its core, would plan, coordinate, and integrate U S . government activities involved in homeland security and would protect critical U.S. infrastructure, including information technology. T h e National Guard would be reorganized, trained, and equipped to deal with homeland security To prevent the report from being shelved and forgotten, Hart says the commission urges the President and Congress to set up a mechanism to oversee the implementation of the report's recommendations.—LOIS EMBER
G O V E R N M E N T
Science Adviser Settles In At State Department
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fter four months on the job, State Department Science & Technology Adviser Norman P. Neureiter said his office has established an effective "science policy network" at department headquarters in Washington, D.C. But more people trained in science and technology are needed at U.S. embassies overseas, he said at a Washington science policy forum last week. That help appears to be forthcoming. According to Neureiter, NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin has promised to temporarily assign some of his science and technology
staff to the State Department, and NSF has begun a training program for its scientific staff that would enable eligible employees to spend up to three months at U.S. embassies abroad. In all, Neureiter, a Ph.D. organic chemist, is optimistic that science advice will provide valuable input for a range of science and technology issues confronting the global diplomatic community. But, he cautioned, "the real issue is where [science advice] will fit into the new Administration's priorities." -WILLIAM SCHULZ
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