Capitol Hill Update . . . 5/17/06, 5/18/06, 5/19/06
Latest update: 5/18/06, 11:20am - Prior to full committee markup (scheduled for later this afternoon) of S. 2802, Sen. Hutchison and Sen. Lautenberg agreed to compromise language in the bill that restores a rightful place for behavioral and social sciences within NSF's portfolio. The science community can hold calls to Senators now (see background below). See sample of May 19, 2006, media coverage at INSIDE HIGHER ED.
Behavioral and Social Science Are Under Attack in the Senate
Across the nation this week, members of the behavioral and social science community as well as scientists of other disciplines are contacting members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (see list below) to condemn a bill (S. 2802, The American Innovation and Competitiveness Act) introduced by Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) (among other co-sponsors) and to advise support of an amendment by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ). Hutchison's bill aims to have the National Science Foundation limit its funding to certain sciences only, specifically excluding behavioral and social sciences. Hutchison has publicly expressed very negative opinions of these sciences, suggesting that their source of funding belongs outside NSF's domain. A number of national advocacy science organizations are working to combat this bill.
Sen. Hutchison jump-started her assault after her May 2 inquisitional-style committee hearing, which included the NSF Director and the CEO of AAAS, among others, as witnesses. (See press coverage in the May 12 SCIENCE magazine and the May 3 INSIDE HIGHER ED.) The social science community has been working intensely to encourage social scientists to call their senators on the Commerce Committee and is engaged in attempting to educate other basic science disciplines about the danger of Hutchison's proprosal, which would effectively open the door to Congress becoming a de facto micromanager of much of the nation's basic science enterprise through control of NSF research funding priorities. There is no doubt that if her bill became law, the temptation for Congress to begin a role as "peer reviewer" the all disciplines' research portfolios within NSF would be difficult for many legislators to resist.
There are allies pitching in across disciplines at this point. Sen. Lautenberg's amendment would eliminate Sec. 307 of S. 2802 altogether. This is the section that would set research area priorities for NSF and limit them to specific sciences to the exclusion of social science.
A version of the following ASA ACTION ALERT was sent by various channels to social scientists and ASA members and leadership on May 17, urging readers to contact their respective senators on the Commerce Committee to ask them to vote no on the Hutchison bill and vote yes on the Lautenberg amendment.
Text of May 17, 2006, ASA ACTION ALERT -
Dear Concerned Sociologists,
The Hutchison bill (The American Innovation and Competitiveness Act) has taken a turn for the worse since yesterday (see May 16 message below). The two-page attachment contains changes that further exclude the behavioral and social sciences from participating in Hutchison's vision of NSF's role in national innovation and competitiveness. At this point, constituents of Senators on the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation (see http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=About.Members) should call their Senator and register their opposition to the Hutchison bill (S. 2802). You can also fax your Senator. Postal letters would not arrive at Senate offices to make any difference. (Easily find Senate contact information at www.senate.gov.) Expressing your opposition to S.2802 should be done this week, if at all possible; full Committee markup is planned for [Thursday, May 18, afternoon]. Anybody in Nevada that can get to Sen. Ensign would be enormously helpful; Virginians should definitely call Sen. George Allen. We anticipate that Hutchison, who also serves on the appropriations committee, to possibly make trouble for social and behavioral research support as Congress considers (between now and the fall) the FY2007 NSF budget .
Simple message to Senator:
Oppose the Hutchison bill (S. 2802); vote "NO" on Hutchison's bill. Support Lautenberg's amendment; vote "YES" on Lautenberg's amendment. NSF has a well-respected record of support for all the sciences and engineering, and it has a record of more than 50 years of making sound investments and should not be micromanaged.
Ted Stevens (R-AK), 202.224.3004
John McCain (R-AZ) 202.224.2235
Conrad Burns (R-MT) 202.224.2644
Trent Lott (R-MS) 202.224.6253
Olympia Snowe (R-ME): 202.224.5344
Gordon Smith (R-OR) 202.224.3753
John Ensign (R-NV) 202.224.6244
George Allen (R-VA) 202.224.4024
John Sununu (R-NH) 202.224.2841
Jim DeMint (R-SC) 202.224.6121
David Vitter (R-LA) 202.224.4623
Daniel Inouye (D-HI) 202.224.3934
John Rockefeller (D-WVA) 202.224.6472
John Kerry (D-MA) 202.224.2742
Byron Dorgan (D-ND) 202.224.2551
Barbara Boxer (D-CA) 202.224.3553
Bill Nelson (D-FL) 202.224.5274
Maria Cantwell (D-WA) 202.224.3441
Ben Nelson (D-NE) 202.224.6551
Mark Pryor (D-AR) 202.224.2353
Visit this link to access contact information on all senators: http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
