by Jeffrey Mervis
Has science become a one-party issue in Congress?
A coalition of university organizations with a new Web site touting the benefits to the country from the $21 billion being spent on basic research via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) hopes that the answer is no. But the absence of Republicans from the dias at today's Capitol Hill event was a reminder that not a single House of Representatives Republican voted for the Recovery Act back in February because of fears that the $787 billion stimulus package would break the bank.
The featured presenter was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D–CA), flanked by four of the House's biggest advocates for increased research spending: Representatives Bart Gordon (D–TN), Rush Holt (D–NJ), Ed Markey (D–MA), and Bill Foster (D–IL). And their message—that research is an investment in the country's long-term prosperity, health, and security—is something that normally attracts bipartisan support within Congress. But not today.
"This was an event to commemorate the passage of the Recovery Act" and a [December 2008] meeting at Princeton University that helped to bolster support among Democrats for spending a portion of the money on research, explains Barry Toiv of the Association of American Universities, a co-sponsor of the site. "So we only asked supporters of the legislation."
Thus, Gordon's exhortation that "we have to get the band back together" wasn't just a call to his wildly supportive audience to continue to make the case for the value of basic research. It was also a not-too-subtle suggestion that they need to find a way for those Republicans who traditionally support research to demonstrate their support for the cause despite a trillion-dollar budget deficit. And that will take a lot more than a rally and a Web site.
I'm Barry Toiv of the Association of American Universities, and I'm quoted in Jeff's post.
Jeff suggests, wrongly, that support for research funding has become a partisan issue. Jeff has been an astute observer of Congress and science policymaking for a long time, so I'm at a loss as to why he would so misinterpret yesterday's event. But I appreciate this opportunity to explain it.
Let me be clear. There is nothing partisan about the support in Congress for federal funding of basic scientific research at our nation's universities. Some Republicans in Congress have always been among the staunchest supporters of such funding. And it was President Bush who launched the American Competitiveness Initiative and signed into law the America COMPETES Act, which had strong bipartisan support. The research university community has worked closely with both Republican and Democratic supporters of these critical investments and will continue to do so. Indeed, there is a bipartisan House caucus that supports federal research and development initiatives. And the research university community -- along with scientific societies and a large portion of the business community -- will continue working to convince both parties of the need to continue to increase the federal investment in scientific research, even as Congress and the Administration take on budget deficits in the years ahead.
With respect to the Recovery Act, this bill included an extraordinary infusion of funds into scientific research. It's an investment that not only helps with the current recovery but more importantly helps to rebuild America's economy for the future. Indeed it's essential for building an economy that helps our nation confront the most serious challenges we face in the decades ahead, such as energy, climate, and health. Research, most of it federally funded, is how we will find more cures for disease; and research, most of it federally funded, will underpin the development of alternative forms of energy that we so desperately need; and research, most of it federally funded, will underpin the development of new technologies for communications and transporation and other fields. And all of these developments can transform our economy, much as federally funded research led to the information revolution we continue to experience today.
The university community believes it is very important to explain to the public the value of the Recovery Act investment in science, and to help inform the American people about what their tax dollars are purchasing. this is what ResearchWorksForUS (www.ResearchWorksForUS.org) is all about.
While our effort is independent, we are also working with Members of Congress who supported that legislation -- as well as the Administration. Both the President and the Speaker were determined to include these investments in the Recovery Act. Science is a fundamental part of their respective agendas. Moreover, in the House, only Democrats supported the legislation. That is why Jeff saw only Democrats at yesterday's event. The event was about legislation that only Democrats in the House supported. I can't imagine that anybody, Democrat or Republican, who voted against the legislation would have wanted to appear at an event commemorating a key element of a bill they opposed, even if this likely was not the reason they opposed it.
So, to answer Jeff's question, while support for the Recovery Act may have come from only one party, support for science is very bipartisan, and it will undoubtedly remain so.