Major Science and Technology Related Issues and Opportunities for the Next Administration

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Major Science and Technology- Related Issues
and Opportunities for the Next Administration

• 33rd Annual AAAS ST Policy Forum
• Washington, DC, 9 May, 2008
• Gilbert S. Omenn
• University of Michigan

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The Economy and the Budget at the Previous
Presidential Transition in 2001

• A remarkable bipartisan success had produced a
  robust economy with a 550 billion annual
  surplus---a time for big decisions about meeting
  the needs of our nation for a generation.
• For research investments, there was bipartisan
  commitment to complete doubling of the NIH budget
  and initiate doubling of the NSF budget.

3
The New Millennium Started with the Human Genome
Sequence (Feb 2001)
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The Terrorist Attacks on 9-11Altered Everyones
Agenda

• There is huge unfinished business on a risk-based
  comprehensive homeland security program and on
  preparedness for all kinds of terrorism, as well
  as natural disasters and emerging infections.
• There is an important technology and science base
  for counter-terrorism, as outlined in 2002 by the
  Academies in Making the Nation Safer.

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Drivers of the Federal Budget 5 Years Later
(Policy Forum, 2006)

• Huge expenditures for the War on Terrorism and
  homeland security
• Deep tax cuts, with long-term pending
• Decision to go to war in Iraq---with huge budget
  consequences and oil at 72/bbl
• Huge projected commitments for an aging
  population, especially Medicare
• Same drivers nowonly more intense.

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The Next President Must Re-order the Priorities
of the Nation

• Address long-deferred needs in energy, global
  environment, the economy, the workforce,
  education, health, and infrastructure.
• Create fresh strategic plans for defense, space,
  homeland security, and intelligence.
• Repair/revive international relationships.
• Make clear the critical contributions from ST to
  our Nations future and strengthen the base for
  research and innovation and policy advice.
• .

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Our Nations Energy Future Project Independence,
December 1973

• Priorities, in order
• Create technologies for much more efficient
  combustion of fuels
• Enhance recovery from existing oil fields
• Create clean coal technologies
• Improve efficiency and safety of nuclear fission
  reactor operations and waste management
• Accelerate development of long-term
  sources--solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear fusion

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Key Energy Challenges--2009

• Engage the public and create numerous
  community-based jobs for energy efficiency and
  energy conservation
• Accelerate use of renewables
• Defer new coal-fired plants unless equipped with
  carbon capture/storage
• Influence other energy-hungry countries to take
  similar actions
• Sustain, efficiently and safely, the aging
  nuclear power reactor segment of our energy
  supply
• Make our country more secure by reversing our
  extreme dependence on foreign oil

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NAS/COSEPUP Report on Mitigating Global Climate
Change (1991)

• Decreasing use of fossil fuels will address three
  major national challenges at once
• Reducing carbon emissions to slow the increase in
  greenhouse gases
• Reducing pollutants to improve air quality
• Reducing dependence on foreign oil to improve
  national security and the economy

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Global Climate Change in 2008

• The IPCC conclusions have become definitive.
• The U.S. has squandered international leadership
  for a decade.
• All three candidates are committed to action.
• Stabilizing atmospheric CO2 at 500 ppm would be
  possible if global emissions from fossil-fuel
  combustion in 2050 could be cut in half from the
  mid-range business-as-usual estimate of 14
  billion metric tons of carbon in CO2 per year.
• The next President will have an ideal window for
  a bold call to action.

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Example of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering for
Sustainability (NAS)

• Green chemistry, replacing solvents, improving
  catalysts
• Life cycle analysis tools and models
• Toxicologic characterization of all chemical
  inputs and outputs
• Renewable chemical feedstocks from biomass
• Renewable fuel sources
• More efficient chemical processing
• Separation, sequestration, and utilization of CO2
• Science literacy at all levels

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U.N. Millennium Development Goals (2001)

• People-centered, time-bound, measurable goals for
  peace, security, development, human rights and
  fundamental freedoms (1990 to 2015)
• 1. Eradicate extreme poverty (people)
• and hunger--by 50
• Achieve universal primary education for boys and
  girls
• Promote gender equality and empower women
• Reduce child mortality rate before age 5 by 67
• Improve maternal health--reduce mortality ratio
  by 75
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other
  diseases---begin to
• reverse incidence and spread
• Ensure environmental sustainabiity--50 reduction
  in those
• without safe drinking water
• 8. Develop a global partnership for development

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A Comment on National Security and Homeland
Security

• The two White House Councils should be candidates
  for consolidation.
• The science, technology, and education base,
  including behavioral research and regional
  studies, should be re-invigorated.
• The energy, environmental, food and water,
  immigration, and North-South dimensions of
  national security deserve special emphasis.
• The consequences of big shifts of resources for
  high performance computing (DARPA) and biomedical
  research (NIH) should be assessed.

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Bring Innovation and Investment to Economic
Competitiveness

• Innovation historically has accounted for 30-50
  of economic growth and surely will be the engine
  of growth in the future, globally.
• The U.S. needs well-prepared graduates at all
  levels from all population groups to fill
  numerous jobs in a knowledge-based economy and in
  global networks of mid-sized firms (Branscomb).
• Our investment in RD for innovation and in
  education and training of the workforce should be
  boosted with funding of the America Competes Act
  passed by Congress.

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
RISING ABOVE THE GATHERING
STORM Energizing
and Employing America
for a Brighter Economic
Future
NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF
SCIENCES, NATIONAL ACADEMY OF
ENGINEERING, AND
INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE
OF THE NATIONAL
ACADEMIES
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America Competes Act

• Double the funding for physical sciences research
  at NSF, DOE/OS, and NIST over 10 years---get back
  on schedule and create E-ARPA at DOE.
• Provide major support for STEM education and
  teacher training.
• Renew and make permanent the RD tax credit for
  companies.
• Ease access for foreign students, visitors, and
  residents.

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Health and HealthCare Research

• The widely-accepted agenda of quality
  enhancement, health IT infrastructure, cost
  containment, disease prevention, and universal
  insurance needs comprehensive research.
• Basic, clinical, and population research is
  critical for generating high-quality,
  cost-effective medical and public health services
  for diagnosis, prevention, treatment,
  rehabilitation.
• 25-30 of 2 trillion/yr of health expenditures
  go for chasing symptoms of common diseases
  without touching the underlying disease process.
• After treading water for 5 years, it is time to
  increase biomedical research funding at NIH.

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Transition Team Imperatives During the General
Election Campaign (summer-fall)

• President needs an excellent team to propose and
  mobilize his call to action on critical issues.
  Take inspiration from Abshires book A Call to
  Greatness Challenging our Next President.
• An experienced, diverse group should identify and
  recommend candidates for the Presidents
  Assistant for ST position, to be selected
  announced at the same time as other Assistants to
  the President.
• Well-vetted lists of candidates for the top-20
  and top-50 ST positions should be prepared for
  nomination to the Senate at the same time as
  Cabinet and agency heads..

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2009 Must Be A Break-Out Year

• Not a time for treading water, following the
  polls, or muddling-through about the great
  challenges facing the country.
• The New President hopefully will have brought the
  American people a positive vision for our
  country, with a commitment to restoring our
  moral, intellectual, diplo-matic, and economic
  leadership in the world.

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Potential Specific Actions in January

• Get Presidential appointees confirmed early.
• Submit selected revisions to the FY09 Budget,
  --components of the America Competes Act
• --a high-visibility international project
  (ITER)
• --specific steps to reduce carbon emissions
  and
• stabilize CO2 levels
• Redirect NASA from preparation for Mars manned
  visits to stronger science and environmental
  sensing programs.
• Remove constraints on funding for human stem cell
  research and propose needed regulation.

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Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP)

• A strong OSTP is an asset to the President and
  the Administration, helping to define priorities.
• OSTP, through the National Science and Technology
  Council, should play a critical role in
  interagency coordination and cooperation.
• OSTP has been a key partner for OMB and NSC
• That role can be broadened within the EOP.

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Priorities for the New Administration

• Address long-deferred needs in energy, global
  environment, the economy, the workforce,
  education, health, and infrastructure.
• Create fresh strategic plans for defense, space,
  homeland security, and intelligence.
• Repair/revive international relationships.
• Make clear the critical contributions from ST to
  our Nations future and strengthen the base for
  research and innovation and policy advice.