ACS COMMENT
Science At A Crossroads your local section or to join the ACS Fed|echnology—the engine of ecoeral Funding Networks, contact the socinomic growth—creates jobs, ety's Department of Government Relabuilds new industries, and imtions & Science Policy at (202) 872-4386. proves our standard of living. Science If you can't wait and want to make a fuels technology's engine."—President difference today, ACS is sponsoring an Bill Clinton and Vice President Al open letter for its members to demonGore, "Science in the National Interest," strate to the president and the congres1994. sional leadership that science and techScience is at a crossroads. Both the nology are critical to our nation's future. Republican Congress and the Clinton While at the New Orleans national meetAdministration have put forth budget ing, I urge you to sign this letter (see beplans for the next seven years that prelow) and to make a personal commitment dict significant decreases in federal supto support research and education in the port for science—perhaps as much as a sciences. You can sign the petition at the 30% decrease. Where is the scientific Paul S. Anderson Member Resources booth at the Convencommunity while this is taking place? ACS president-elect tion Center and at various other sites While the repercussions of the governand chairman, ment shutdown were painfully evident Committee on Chemistry around the meeting. If you do not plan to attend the New Orleans meeting, your at research agencies such as the Nation& Public Affairs name can be added via e-mail at al Institutes of Health and the National
[email protected] or in a fax-back form Science Foundation, there was little evidence of support for science and technology in this that will be included in the next issue of the publicayear's State of the Union Address by the president. tion ACSess. As Antoine Saint Exupery said: "As for the NSF Director Neal Lane bluntly observed in January future, your task is not to foresee, but to enable it." that, although there has been a strong outcry over the Make the future happen. shutdown in general, the silence of the scientific community has been disturbing. I think we can all agree that one way or another— through better undergraduate education, advances in An open letter to the president and the congresnew and innovative fields, or even the Internet—we sional leadership: each have benefited from federal support for science We, the undersigned concerned citizens and and technology. However, too few of us have taken members of the Amencan Chemical Society, are the time to share our strong beliefs about the value of deeply disturbed by the decreasing level of fedthat support for research and education. Congress has eral support for science and technology, espenoticed our abdication of responsibility. As a result, cially as it relates to the chemical sciences. Inscience and technology programs will feel the effects vestment in science and technology generates of our neglect when the next cycle of budgets and apsignificant returns for our country. Under curpropriations comes due. rent projections for a seven-year balanced budThe American Chemical Society's plan to ensure get, funding for federally supported science and that science and technology remain a priority is simtechnology will decrease by approximately oneple: We need every member to contact his or her repthird. Such a large decrease in support threatens resentative in Congress and proclaim support for refuture discovenes that can help protect our citsearch and education in the sciences and engineering. izens from disease and pollution, provide for a To spread the word, members of the ACS Committee robust national economy, and improve the on Chemistry & Public Affairs (CCPA) are giving quality of our lives. talks at local sections around the country on the need For the sake of the future of our nation, we to get involved in the legislative process and what urge you to strengthen federal support for scisteps to take to make that involvement effective. ence and technology as part of balancing the These efforts will complement the letters, faxes, and federal budget. e-mail messages of the 1,000-plus members of the ACS Federal Funding Networks who actively support NSF and NIH funding. To arrange for a CCPA talk at
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