Science Committee Republicans Re-Up Research Doubling Bill

The House Science Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) recently reintroduced his Securing American Leadership in Science and Technology Act, which proposes that Congress double the budgets of certain science agencies over 10 years. Lucas states the two principal motivators for increasing spending are to help the U.S. compete with China in science and technology and to help mitigate climate change. The agencies targeted for budget increases are the Department of Energy Office of Science, National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and a research office in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The bill also includes policy updates for various programs in each agency and incorporates proposals from NIST on ways to improve the federal technology transfer system. A staff member for Lucas told reporters last week that the bill is meant as a statement of Republican priorities for negotiations with committee Democrats on upcoming legislation and noted that portions of it were incorporated in the bipartisan NSF for the Future Act.