Chairman Walker on “Scientists as Advocates in the Policy Process”
Congress returns to Washington later this month to wrap-up unfinished FY 1996 appropriations legislation and start work on the FY 1997 budget (see FYI #21.) With continued emphasis on cutting federal spending, this promises to be another important year for the science community. Central to a favorable funding outcome is, many believe, the active participation of the science community in communicating with Congress.
House Science Chairman Robert Walker (R-PA) discusses below the role scientists should play in the policy process. The following are excerpts from an editorial by Congressman Robert S. Walker which appeared in its entirety in the December 1995 issue of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology newsletter. Our thanks to FASEB for permission to share this article with FYI readers.
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Ever since the dramatic growth in science funding following World War II helped make America the world’s technological leader, basic research programs have received strong bipartisan support in Congress, from development of the space program to the rapidly expanding biotechnology field.... As we head into 1996, I expect this traditional bipartisan support for research to remain solid, but in times of budget constraint, scientists can best insure that crucial projects continue to receive priority in the legislative process by actively uniting and promoting science issues with their congressional representatives and the general public. Indeed, it is crucial that scientists proceed to foster basic research issues at all levels of government and society.
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of touring some of our country’s, and the world’s, most valuable centers for engineering and high-energy physics. Along with other members of the Science Committee, I visited university and government-sponsored research labs throughout the West. During each visit, Committee members were able to examine first-hand the productive spin-offs and potential advances provided by basic researchers. What do these visits have to do with biomedical research? They are a prime example of the involvement scientists around the nation, in every discipline, need to pursue with their elected representatives now and in the future.
Now that Congress has vigorously committed itself to a balanced budget, science funding, which accounts for one-seventh of discretionary spending, is thrown into competition with a number of other important domestic programs....
Scientists can positively influence the policy process by clearly and publicly enunciating the role and potential of their research so that the lay person, who may not be intimately familiar with basic research objectives, feels comfortable in knowing that his tax money is well-spent. Public seminars, school field-trips, and op-ed pieces can create widespread enthusiasm for science programs. Furthermore, Congressional members will argue more effectively for continued research funding with their colleagues when they can persuasively defend the programs on both a budgetary and scientific basis, a task directly linked to their interactions with researchers.
How can scientists persuade reluctant representatives of the importance of basic research? One of the most effective means of accomplishing this is by inviting representatives to address a gathering of researchers, or by providing hands-on tours of research facilities. Making science real for these members is the true key to legislative success. Finally, stress the economic impact of basic science research. Universities, for example, employ a significant number of personnel who have a direct stake in continued support for basic research. Technological spin-offs from basic science are an invaluable underpinning of our growing economy. New knowledge is the core of our economic future. Scientists must work together to foster support for research in and out of their fields of specialty.
Heading into 1996, I’m looking forward to continued American dominance in basic research. Biomedical researchers, along with their counterparts in particle physics, oceanography, materials science, and a host of other traditionally disparate fields, need to pool their common resources and objectives to insure legislative support and public enthusiasm for basic science. Only by fostering unity in the legislative process will scientists and policy makers realize their goals for the 21st century advances.
