January 2009 Archives

President Obama wasted no time in making good on campaign pledges, reversing or accelerating energy and climate-change policies made by his predecessor. On Monday, Obama ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its rejection last December of California's 7-year-old petition to allow the state to regulate tailpipe emissions of carbon dioxide. More than a dozen other states have indicated that they will adopt California's CO₂ standard. Obama ordered the EPA to publish a rule by the end of March.

Obama also directed Ray LaHood, the newly confirmed secretary of transportation, to draw up tougher mileage requirements for cars and light trucks, which would begin in 2011 and mandate a corporate average fuel economy of at least 35 miles per gallon by 2020. The current CAFÉ is set at 27.5 mpg, and the Bush administration did not finalize a new standard before Bush left office.

Not all of the week's action on climate change took place at the White House. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton named Washington lawyer Todd Stern as chief negotiator on climate change, a post that was held during the Bush administration by Harlan Watson. Stern will lead the US negotiating team on a United Nations treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol when it expires in 2013.

Former vice president Al Gore kept the heat on lawmakers, urging his former Senate colleagues to not allow the economic crisis to stall action on climate change. He called for Congress to act this year to institute a cap-and-trade system to curb emissions of carbon dioxide.

Meanwhile last week, a gargantuan spending and tax relief package aimed at propping up the nation's economy continued moving through Congress with breathtaking speed. The full House approved an $819 billion stimulus bill that would heap more than $40 billion onto the $25 billion Department of Energy, including $2 billion--an increase of more than more than 50%--for DOE's Office of Science, which is the biggest federal sponsor of basic research in the physical sciences. The House bill, which did not receive a single Republican vote, also would swell the NSF budget by 50%, or $3 billion, with $2 billion of that devoted to fundamental research and engineering. The bulk of the new DOE money would be for R&D and loan guarantees aimed at accelerating the adoption of renewable and other non-carbon-emitting energy technologies, for capturing and sequestering carbon from coal-generation, and for accelerating cleanup of the former nuclear weapons production complex. Billions more are included for other science agencies, including $3.5 billion for the National Institutes of Health.

Appropriators in the Senate approved their stimulus spending measure, with considerably smaller numbers for basic science. DOE's basic science program would get only $430 million, with all but $100 million specified for infrastructure and construction at the national laboratories. NSF would receive $1.4 billion in stimulus funds. But the Senate measure would provide more for NASA and NOAA--$1.5 billion and $1.2 billion, respectively--than the House bill.

Upon Senate passage, the final numbers will be hashed out by a House-Senate conference committee, with the compromise measure put to a vote in both chambers. Democratic leaders have pledged to send a bill for the president's signature by mid-February.

David Kramer

President Obama's incoming secretary of energy, physicist Steven Chu, faced lots of questions on nuclear power and coal at his Senate confirmation hearing on 13 January. Chu, a leading advocate of renewable energy, told members of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources that he supports expansion of the US nuclear power industry and believes that a solution to the nuclear waste storage standoff can be found. The US should consider eventually lifting the ban on the reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel that was instituted during the Carter administration. "We're in a different place and time from then," said Chu, former director of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). But given that nuclear fuel is expected to be plentiful for at least the next 10 years, he added there is no urgency to reprocess, and more research should be devoted to developing a reprocessing technology that is more resistant to proliferation than the technologies in commercial use abroad. He pledged to find a solution to the nuclear waste issue, possibly in collaboration with other nations. Obama has promised to terminate the effort to locate a repository for nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, Nevada, where at least $9.5 billion has been spent just to determine the site's suitability.

Chu acknowledged that coal will continue to be a vital part of the US energy mix, but only with the addition of carbon capture and storage. Obama favors a cap-and-trade system to control carbon dioxide, Chu said, adding that he personally "philosophically" favors the simplest possible cap-and-trade regime. As for the national labs, he said, "I have challenged some of the best scientists at the Berkeley lab to turn their attention to the energy and climate-change problem and to bridge the gap between the mission- oriented science that [DOE's] Office of Science does so well and the applied research that leads to energy innovation. I have also worked to partner with academia and industry. I know that these efforts are working, and I want to extend this approach to an even greater extent throughout the department's network of national laboratories where 30 000 scientists and engineers are at work performing cutting-edge research."

David Kramer

This story will appear in the February 2009 issue of PHYSICS TODAY.

Probably nowhere else but in Washington could the outlook for science and technology spending actually brighten as the economy tanks. But with President Barack Obama and Congress under pressure to inject $825 billion into the economy, and do so as quickly as possible, additional federal R&D funding--for energy research in particular--looks to be in the mix.

In his inaugural address, Obama alluded to the key role he wants science and energy to play in the unprecedented federal bid to shore up the economy. "We will restore science to its rightful place," he declared. "We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories."

As PHYSICS TODAY went to press, House appropriators were marking up a $550 billion spending bill that proposes to heap a total of $43.9 billion in new one-time spending upon the Department of Energy, an agency whose budget was less than $24 billion in fiscal year 2008. (DOE, like most federal agencies, continues to operate at FY 2008 levels, awaiting completion of the FY 2009 appropriations bills.) Much of that new spending, though, would go for loan guarantees and grants to state and local government energy programs. Government-wide, the bill proposes $10 billion in additional spending for research, equipment, and scientific facilities, plus a whopping $32 billion to modernize the nation's electric grid and expand the production of renewable energy.

Within DOE, the Office of Science, which doles out 40% of federal funding for basic physical science research, would see its budget jump from just over $4 billion to $5.9 billion. DOE's fossil energy program would get $2.4 billion for carbon capture and storage R&D. Renewable energy and energy-efficiency technologies would see a $2 billion increase, with $1 billion more for grants to support advanced battery development for vehicles.

Moreover, the House bill would provide DOE with $16.4 billion worth of additional loan guarantees to help the private sector finance renewable energy, energy efficiency, and grid modernization projects.

The House measure also calls for a 50% increase at NSF, from its current $6 billion to $9 billion. Most of the new money--$2.5 billion--is proposed for NSF's competitively awarded grants to academic researchers. The new spending will fund 3000 more "highly rated" grants that will create jobs for 12 750 scientists and graduate students, according to the report that accompanies the bill. But $300 million is reserved for competitively awarded grants to help universities acquire major research instrumentation, and $200 million is set aside to pay for a fraction of the estimated $2.6 billion backlog of needed repairs and renovations at university research facilities. An additional $400 million is proposed for NSF's major research equipment and facilities to accelerate construction of large projects such as telescopes.

Considerably smaller yet significant increases are in store for NASA, including $400 million for its basic science programs and a $150 million add-on to the aeronautics research program. NIST would see its budget rise from $600 million to $1.1 billion, including $300 million for a grant program initiated last year for the construction of university research facilities.

House speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has promised to have a bill approved by the full House by mid-February. The Senate is expected to consider similar legislation, though no counterpart to the massive House bill had appeared by press time.

Energy back in style

"From an energy policy perspective, this is about as exciting as the 1970s," said a staffer at the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, referring to the spike in federal funding for alternative energy research in response to that decade's two oil shocks. Spending fell back sharply as soon as oil prices sank, and energy R&D, in inflation-adjusted terms, hasn't neared those levels since. Now, as the 111th Congress gets under way, lawmakers have cleared their calendars to take part in the effort to rescue the US economy.

The chairmen of the House and Senate committees that oversee energy research have said they will push for the creation of a new office at DOE that they believe will accelerate the commercialization of innovative energy technologies. Modeled after the successful Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, ARPA-E would fund high-risk technologies that could help the US to reduce its dependence on oil imports while lowering greenhouse gas emissions. In the House, Representative Bart Gordon (D-TN), returning for a second term as chairman of the Committee on Science and Technology, told reporters that ARPA-E would invest in energy technologies the private sector can't afford to touch. Though it was authorized by a law signed by George W. Bush in 2007, the former president ignored the ARPA-E provision. A House-passed appropriations bill for FY 2009 includes $15 million for the new office, but the Senate counterpart has none.

The new entity was one of the recommendations of the influential National Research Council report Rising Above the Gathering Storm, issued in 2005. That report suggested a budget of $300 million for ARPA-E's first year and a ramping up to $1 billion within a few years.

David Kramer 

This story will appear in the February 2009 issue of PHYSICS TODAY.

President Barack Obama chose a physicist who has specialized in science policy to become his science adviser and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). John Holdren, who has run the science, technology, and public policy program at Harvard University's Belfer Center since 1996, also worked as a theoretical plasma physicist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

Announcing Holdren's nomination on 20 December during his weekly radio address, Obama fulfilled a campaign pledge to have his science adviser selected by inauguration. Although the science adviser position does not officially require Senate confirmation, the OSTP appointment does, and past nominees have held off science advising until after confirmation to avoid potential objections from senators. Pending his confirmation, Holdren declined through a spokesperson to be interviewed.

Holdren is no stranger to advising the White House. He was a member of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology from 1994 through 2001 and chaired two PCAST subcommittees that addressed energy research. A 1995 PCAST subcommittee review identified fusion energy as an attractive clean energy option and potentially cheaper than photovoltaics. 

A 1997 report from PCAST called for additional federal R&D funding for a panoply of energy sources, including fission, fusion, and fossil and renewable fuels, and advocated increased spending devoted to reducing the amount of energy used in buildings, in transportation, and in industry. Holdren has also been active in the arms control and nuclear nonproliferation policy arenas. He led a PCAST study that addressed US-Russian cooperation to protect nuclear materials from theft. For 10 years he headed up the National Academy of Sciences' Committee on International Security and Arms Control. During that time CISAC produced reports that addressed the disposition of surplus plutonium, future US nuclear weapons policy, and the means for verifying reductions in the world's nuclear weapons arsenals. 

Passionate on climate 

Holdren would have been considered a leading candidate for the science adviser post had Vice President Al Gore prevailed in the 2000 election. Like Gore, Holdren is, in Obama's words, "one of the most passionate and consistent voices of our time about the growing threat of climate change." He has particular expertise in fusion energy and its environmental impacts, issues he researched while at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

"John Holdren is eminently qualified" for the post, said John Marburger, President Bush's science adviser and OSTP director for nearly eight years. "His background as a physicist is typical of former science advisers, and his long history of scholarship in energy and environmental policy fits well with President-elect Obama's priorities." Marburger said he has deduced from Holdren's speeches and writings that "he will fit well in the forthcoming administration." 

"John Holdren is a terrific pick," said Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chairman of the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Many provisions of the 2005 and 2007 energy acts originated in the Holdren-led PCAST studies, Bingaman noted in a statement. Reaction from academics, with whom Holdren has spent most of his career, was also adulatory. "He has the experience, skills, and broad knowledge of science and technology to help fulfill the president-elect's commitment to science, research, and innovation," said Robert Berdahl, president of the Association of American Universities. Berdahl further praised Obama's decision to restore to the science adviser post the "assistant to the president" title and cabinet-level status. 

Holdren's selection brings to three the number of top appointees who will help Obama formulate and implement policies to address the interrelated issues of energy and climate change. The president has appointed Carol Browner, former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, to the newly created position of assistant to the president for energy and climate change, and Steven Chu, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory chief, to head the Department of Energy (see PHYSICS TODAY, January 2009, page 22). Just how Holdren will interact with Browner and Chu remains to be seen. But Neal Lane, who worked with Holdren when Lane was science adviser to President Clinton, says that each will bring different and complementary expertise to the table: Chu's Nobel Prize-winning science and an understanding of the national labs, Browner's legal and regulatory experience, and Holdren's policy expertise. 

David Kramer 

This story will appear in the February 2009 issue of PHYSICS TODAY.

In President Obama's cabinet, a number of high-level positions related to the science community were approved this week. Steven Chu was confirmed as Secretary of Energy on Tuesday, hours after the new president was sworn in. Lisa Jackson, former head of New Jersey's environmental agency, was confirmed late Thursday as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency after Wyoming Republican John Barrasso lifted his objection in the Senate. Barrasso was objecting to the fact that Carol Browner, the head of the new White House energy and climate change office, does not need confirmation by the Senate, and he wanted to know whether Browner would be accountable to Congress. In her confirmation hearing, Jackson promised to move quickly toward setting a national standard for greenhouse gas emissions, something the previous administration had refused to do.

On Friday, Michael Griffin thanked the NASA staff for their work; he was not asked by the Obama administration to stay on in a temporary capacity. Deputy Administrator Shana Dale also resigned, leaving Associate Administrator Chris Scolese to run the agency until a successor is picked.

Dave Noble, who worked in Obama's presidential campaign to get out the vote, will serve as the White House liaison to NASA.

The House Committee on Science and Technology confirmed on Wednesday that Representative Pete Olson (R-TX) will be the ranking Republican on the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee. House Democrats of the Committee on Science and Technology have met and chose subcommittee chairs and select subcommittee assignments. Olson will be joined by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ), who will be the newly appointed chair of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee.

Rep. Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), who was elected chair of the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education, aimed to push for additional science funding. "As a former political science professor, mechanical engineer, and recipient of NSF funding when I was a graduate student," he said, "I understand the critical importance of providing support for research."

The selections will be officially approved 28 January.

Funding bill

Meanwhile the $850 billion stimulus package that contains a number of funding proposals for science and renewable energy turned into a partisan battle on Thursday as House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee tried and failed (17-34) to include more funding for nuclear energy, clean coal technology, and more market-oriented approaches , says CNET news editor Stephanie Condon. The bill will allocate $25 billion to renewable energy and biofuel products.

Paul Guinnessy

As the last few days of his administration ticked away, President Bush watched as his successor and the new Congress tried to work out the details and size of an economic recovery plan. Ironically, science would benefit enormously from the $825 billion stimulus package that was cobbled together by House Democrats and announced on 15 January.

Included in the bill introduced by Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey of Wisconsin--with the blessing of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi-- is $10 billion for science facilities, research, and instrumentation, and a whopping $32 billion to modernize the nation's electricity grid and expand the production of renewable energy. The biggest share of the science largess will go to the Department of Energy, where $2 billion is proposed for the basic science programs of the Office of Science, and another $2 billion for research, development, demonstration, and deployment of renewable energy and energy-efficiency technologies. DOE would also get $1 billion to spend on grants to pay for development of advanced batteries for vehicles. DOE would be provided loan guarantees totaling $16.4 billion for renewable energy, energy efficiency, and grid modernization projects.

Another $2.5 billion of the money for science would go to NSF, mostly to pay for 3,000 "highly rated" research awards that would employ 12 750 scientists and graduate students. Some $300 million of the NSF monies would be devoted to new research instrumentation at universities. An additional $400 million is provided to NSF's major research equipment and facilities to accelerate construction of large projects such as telescopes.

On Friday, in a speech he delivered at a fastener company near Cleveland, President-elect Obama warned that without government action, half of the wind-energy projects that are planned for this year could be abandoned for lack of financing. "We're committing to double the production of renewable energy in the next three years, and to modernize more than 75% of federal buildings and improve the energy efficiency of two million American homes," he said.

Meanwhile, Obama's nominee for secretary of energy, Steven Chu, got a warm welcome at his Senate confirmation hearing, urgently telling members that US carbon emissions must be brought under control. Chu said he favors increased use of nuclear power, even as the search for a solution to the nuclear waste problem continues. Coal will continue to dominate US power generation, he acknowledged, but added that it must be accompanied by carbon capture and storage.

In a video released Thursday, Chu spoke of the imperative to limit Earth's average temperature to no more than 2 °C, warning that bigger increases raise the likelihood of a "tipping point" occurring, such as the sudden release of methane and CO₂ that would occur if the Arctic tundra were to thaw.

Lisa Jackson, Obama's nominee for administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, promised senators at her confirmation hearing that she would follow the science in making regulatory decisions. But Jackson declined to say whether she would allow California to institute vehicle tailpipe standards that are more stringent than the rest of the nation. Nor would she reveal whether the new administration would use its authority under the Clean Air Act to introduce controls on CO₂ emissions. While the Supreme Court ruled that EPA does have that authority, the Bush administration punted on the issue.

There were reports that Obama was close to selecting Air Force Maj. Gen. Jonathan Scott Gration, a decorated fighter pilot, to be administrator of NASA. The news appeared to end whatever hopes that Michael Griffin had to survive the transition to a new administration, as one of his predecessors, Daniel Golden, managed to do twice. Gration is reported to be unknown to the space community.

In other personnel news, Clinton administration veteran Susan Tierney looked set to become the number two official at the Department of Energy. Tierney had been assistant secretary for policy and international affairs in the Clinton years, and since then has been a consultant on energy and economic matters.

Outgoing presidential science adviser John Marburger once again denied that Bush had ignored or suppressed science throughout the last eight years. In an interview in Seed magazine conducted just after the election, but published only last Tuesday, Marburger said the notion that Bush was anti-science is "an urban legend." He noted that Bush was the first president to permit federal funding to be used for research involving human embryonic stem cells, albeit with restrictions on the cell lines that could be used. And he pointed to Bush's American Competitiveness Initiative, which proposed doubling the basic research budgets of DOE, NSF, and NIST over 10 years, as an example of the outgoing president's support for science.

David Kramer

FYI: The AIP Bulletin of Science Policy News: This morning the House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Rep. Dave Obey (D-WI) released a 13-page summary of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009. The legislation would provide billions of dollars in new science, technology, energy and education funding this year. In doing so, it reflects the views of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and the Democratic leadership on the role of science, technology, and innovation. As detailed in FYI #3, Speaker Pelosi stated, "We all know that in business or in science or in education, capital attracts talent. You have to have the labs. And talent attracts capital. And so we want to make very wise investments in this recovery package so it is about innovation." This $825 billion proposed bill demonstrates the leadership's commitment to their approach.

The following are excepts from the House Appropriations Committee's summary:

"The economy is in a crisis not seen since the Great Depression.

"Credit is frozen, consumer purchasing power is in decline, in the last four months the country has lost 2 million jobs and we are expected to lose another 3 to 5 million in the next year.

"Conservative economist Mark Zandi was blunt: 'the economy is shutting down.'

"In the next two weeks, the Congress will be considering the American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009. This package is the first crucial step in a concerted effort to create and save 3 to 4 million jobs, jumpstart our economy, and begin the process of transforming it for the 21st century with $275 billion in economic recovery tax cuts and $550 billion in thoughtful and carefully targeted priority investments with unprecedented accountability measures built in.

"The package contains targeted efforts in:

Clean, Efficient, American Energy

Transforming our Economy with Science and Technology

Modernizing Roads, Bridges, Transit and Waterways

Education for the 21st Century

Tax Cuts to Make Work Pay and Create Jobs

Lowering Healthcare Costs

Helping Workers Hurt by the Economy

Saving Public Sector Jobs and Protect Vital Services"

"Our short term task is to try to prevent the loss of millions of jobs and get our economy moving. The long term task is to make the needed investments that restore the ability of average middle income families to increase their income and build a decent future for their children."

The committee's summary states the following under "Executive Summary":

"This plan targets investments to key areas that will create and preserve good jobs at the same time as it is strengthening the ability of this economy to become more efficient and produce more opportunities for employment." Nine major components are listed, among which are:

"Transform our Economy with Science and Technology: We need to put scientists to work looking for the next great discovery, creating jobs in cutting-edge-technologies, and making smart investments that will help businesses in every community succeed in a global economy. For every dollar invested in broadband the economy sees a ten-fold return on that investment.

"$10 billion for science facilities, research, and instrumentation.

"$6 billion to expand broadband internet access so businesses in rural and other underserved areas can link up to the global economy."

"Clean, Efficient, American Energy: To put people back to work today and reduce our dependence on foreign oil tomorrow, we will strengthen efforts directed at doubling renewable energy production and renovate public buildings to make them more energy efficient.

"$32 billion to transform the nation's energy transmission, distribution, and production systems by allowing for a smarter and better grid and focusing investment in renewable technology.

"$6 billion to repair public housing and make key energy efficiency retrofits.

"$6 billion to weatherize modest-income homes."

"Education for the 21st Century: To enable more children to learn in 21st century classrooms, labs, and libraries to help our kids compete with any worker in the world, this package provides:

"$41 billion to local school districts through Title I ($13 billion), IDEA ($13 billion), a new School Modernization and Repair Program ($14 billion), and the Education Technology program ($1 billion).

"$79 billion in state fiscal relief to prevent cutbacks to key services, including $39 billion to local school districts and public colleges and universities distributed through existing state and federal formulas, $15 billion to states as bonus grants as a reward for meeting key performance measures, and $25 billion to states for other high priority needs such as public safety and other critical services, which may include education.

"$15.6 billion to increase the Pell grant by $500.

"$6 billion for higher education modernization."

The committee summary then provides details on the bill's components, three of which are excerpted below:

"TRANSFORMING OUR ECONOMY WITH SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
"We need to put scientists to work looking for the next great discovery, creating jobs in cutting-edge technologies and making smart investments that will help businesses in every community succeed in a global economy.

"Broadband to Give Every Community Access to the Global Economy

"Wireless and Broadband Grants: $6 billion for broadband and wireless services in underserved areas to strengthen the economy and provide business and job opportunities in every section of America with benefits to e-commerce, education, and healthcare. For every dollar invested in broadband the economy sees a ten-fold return on that investment.

"Scientific Research

"National Science Foundation: $3 billion, including $2 billion for expanding employment opportunities in fundamental science and engineering to meet environmental challenges and to improve global economic competitiveness, $400 million to build major research facilities that perform cutting edge science, $300 million for major research equipment shared by institutions of higher education and other scientists, $200 million to repair and modernize science and engineering research facilities at the nation's institutions of higher education and other science labs, and $100 million is also included to improve instruction in science, math and engineering.

"National Institutes of Health Biomedical Research: $2 billion, including $1.5 billion for expanding good jobs in biomedical research to study diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, cancer, and heart disease - NIH is currently able to fund less than 20% of approved applications - and $500 million to implement the repair and improvement strategic plan developed by the NIH for its campuses.

"University Research Facilities: $1.5 billion for NIH to renovate university research facilities and help them compete for biomedical research grants. The National Science Foundation estimates a maintenance backlog of $3.9 billion in biological science research space. Funds are awarded competitively.

"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: $462 million to enable CDC to complete its Buildings and Facilities Master Plan, as well as renovations and construction needs of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

"Department of Energy: $1.9 billion for basic research into the physical sciences including high-energy physics, nuclear physics, and fusion energy sciences and improvements to DOE laboratories and scientific facilities. $400 million is for the Advanced Research Project Agency - Energy to support high-risk, high-payoff research into energy sources and energy efficiency.

"NASA: $600 million, including $400 million to put more scientists to work doing climate change research, including Earth science research recommended by the National Academies, satellite sensors that measure solar radiation critical to understanding climate change, and a thermal infrared sensor to the Landsat Continuing Mapper necessary for water management, particularly in the western states; $150 million for research, development, and demonstration to improve aviation safety and Next Generation air traffic control (NextGen); and $50 million to repair NASA centers damaged by hurricanes and floods last year.

"Biomedical Advanced Research and Development, Pandemic Flu, and Cyber Security: $900 million to prepare for a pandemic influenza, support advanced development of medical countermeasures for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats, and for cyber security protections at HHS.

"National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Satellites and Sensors: $600 million for satellite development and acquisitions, including climate sensors and climate modeling.

"National Institute of Standards and Technology: $300 million for competitive construction grants for research science buildings at colleges, universities, and other research organizations and $100 million to coordinate research efforts of laboratories and national research facilities by setting interoperability standards for manufacturing.

"Agricultural Research Service: $209 million for agricultural research facilities across the country. ARS has a list of deferred maintenance work at facilities of roughly $315 million.

"U.S. Geological Survey: $200 million to repair and modernize U.S.G.S. science facilities and equipment, including improvements to laboratories, earthquake monitoring systems, and computing capacity."

"Creating Small Business Opportunity

"Small Business Credit: $430 million for new direct lending and loan guarantee authorities to make loans more attractive to lenders and free up capital. The number of loans guaranteed under the SBA's 7(a) business loan program was down 57% in the first quarter of this year compared to last.

"Rural Business-Cooperative Service: $100 million for rural business grants and loans to guarantee $2 billion in loans for rural businesses at a time of unprecedented demand due to the credit crunch. Private sector lenders are increasingly turning to this program to help businesses get access to capital.

"[NIST] Industrial Technology Services: $100 million, including $70 million for the Technology Innovation Program to accelerate research in potentially revolutionary technologies with high job growth potential, and $30 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnerships to help small and mid-size manufacturers compete globally by providing them with access to technology.

"Economic Development Assistance: $250 million to address long-term economic distress in urban industrial cores and rural areas distributed based on need and ability to create jobs and attract private investment. EDA leverages $10 in private investments for $1 in federal funds."

FYI: The AIP Bulletin of Science Policy News: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) made clear her views on the importance of science, technology, and innovation to the nation's economic well-being at a forum of the House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee last week. Said Pelosi: "We all know that in business or in science or in education, capital attracts talent. You have to have the labs. And talent attracts capital. And so we want to make very wise investments in this recovery package so it is about innovation."

The forum, as described by its co-chair, Rep. George Miller (D-CA), was directed by Speaker Pelosi to receive testimony about the state of the economy and "the need for [a] comprehensive economic recovery package, in order to create jobs and help rebuild our economy." "It is vital that in the first days of this Congress, Members be briefed on the latest developments in our economy and the components that may be included in an economic recovery package or need to be included in an economic recovery package," said Miller. There was considerable interest in the forum, as evidenced by the more than 100 Democratic representatives who were in the audience.

The participants invited to sit on both sides of the forum's witness table are indicative of the key role that science, technology and innovation play in the approach of the Democratic leadership. Joining Speaker Pelosi, Miller, and the forum's other co-chair Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) were the chairs of the Appropriations, Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, Budget, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Science and Technology committees. Explained Miller: "the speaker has asked that the . . . chairs of the committees that are most heavily impacted by the consideration of the economic recovery act be here today."

Two of the five witnesses were from the science and technology community: Norman Augustine, chair of the National Academies' committee that wrote "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" and Professor Maria Zuber, Head of the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT. Said Zuber, "The fact that scientists, engineers and educators are sitting side by side with economists to chart the country's path forward highlights the recognition by the Congress that innovation rooted in scientific and technological advances represents the key to sustained, long-term economic growth."

The Democratic leadership is taking a two-pronged approach in the economic stimulus bill. As described by Miller, "First, it must be able to create jobs and get millions of Americans back to work quickly. But it also must provide for the long-term recovery of the American economy in a modern, globalized world. Second, it must spur long-term economic development, strengthening our competitiveness by investing in science, education, health care, energy, job training and additional aid for college-bound students."

Both Augustine and Zuber reflected this approach in their testimony. Augustine described problems in STEM education, research funding, and the S&T workforce, and concluded that the legislation must "help the economy in the short-term, which we certainly must do, but we also must companion that with some actions to fix these underlying problems in our economy. Otherwise, the jobs that we create will be lost to foreign competition in the longer term." Zuber testified that "there are significant structural problems in the economy right now. They're not likely to be cyclical, and jobs that are lost now may not be coming back. We need to grow our way out of this problem. What we need to do is put in elements that stimulate real, sustained growth in the economy, and we'll do this by the creation of new knowledge. We need to bolster existing high-growth innovation areas, and we need to create new areas." Zuber suggested that new energy technology was one of those areas, and said "ARPA-E[nergy] would be a very, very compelling and attractive mechanism . . . for taking the most promising of these [technologies] and bringing them quickly to market." She also advocated greater spending on innovation infrastructure, such as research instrumentation at universities, and science and technology fellowships. Another of the forum's witnesses, Robert Reich, who is a former Secretary of Labor and now a professor at the University of California at Berkeley, spoke highly of supporting educational infrastructure, calling its payoff "extraordinarily high."

House Science and Technology Committee Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN), echoing a theme he stressed at a Capitol briefing in December spoke of using stimulus funding for "moving the economy forward now and also laying the foundation for the 21st century." As an example, he cited the funding of ARPA-E, a position supported by Augustine and Zuber. Gordon also spoke of the importance of funding the America COMPETES Act, citing a letter signed by 250 people in the business, academia, and research communities that stated "It's an urgent and necessary step that will enhance our country's economic strength and competitiveness."

Of note were Miller's concluding remarks. He spoke of the stimulus bill dealing with "the immediate and the urgent," but also of providing "the foundation for long-term support of discovery and innovation and a new generation of jobs." Miller discussed "investment in the labs and the scientific infrastructure in this country from which a huge amount of economic growth came since the 1960s." He elaborated on his thinking by described himself as "heartbroken" when he learned a number of years ago that experiments at the physics lab at the University of California at Berkeley were canceled "because the rain was coming through the roof."

President-Elect Obama views investment in science, technology and innovation as important components of the nation's economy. In a speech given at George Mason University last week, he offered the following comments:

"It's not just another public works program. It's a plan that recognizes both the paradox and promise of this moment: the fact that there are millions of Americans trying to find work, even as all around the country there's so much work to be done.

"And that's why we'll invest in priorities like energy and education, health care and a new infrastructure that are necessary to keep us strong and competitive in the 21st century. . . . "

"To finally spark the creation of a clean energy economy, we will double the production of alternative energy in the next three years. We will modernize more than 75 percent of federal buildings and improve the energy efficiency of two million American homes, saving consumers and taxpayers billions on our energy bills.

"In the process, we will put Americans to work in new jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced, jobs building solar panels and wind turbines, constructing fuel-efficient cars and buildings, and developing the new energy technologies that will lead to even more jobs, more savings, and a cleaner, safer planet in the bargain.

" To give our children the chance to live out their dreams in a world that's never been more competitive, we will equip tens of thousands of schools, community colleges, and public universities with 21st-century classrooms, labs, and libraries. We'll provide new computers, new technology, and new training for teachers so that students in Chicago and Boston can compete with children in Beijing for the high-tech, high-wage jobs of the future.

"To build an economy that can lead this future, we will begin to rebuild America. Yes, we'll put people to work repairing crumbling roads, bridges and schools, by eliminating the backlog of well- planned, worthy, and needed infrastructure projects, but we'll also do more to retrofit America for a global economy.

"That means updating the way we get our electricity, by starting to build a new smart grid that will save us money, protect our power sources from blackout or attack, and deliver clean, alternative forms of energy to every corner of our nation.

"It means expanding broadband lines across America so that a small business in a rural town can connect and compete with their counterparts anywhere in the world.

"It means investing in the science, research, and technology that will lead to new medical breakthroughs, new discoveries, and entire new industries."

The approach taken by President-Elect Obama and the Democratic congressional leadership is supported by their actions. The House Appropriations Committee, chaired by Rep. David Obey (D-WI), just released a summary of the $825 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Bill of 2009. "The package contains targeted efforts in . . . Transforming our Economy with Science and Technology" the summary explained. FYI #4 will contain excerpts from the committee's 13-page summary of this legislation.

Richard M. Jones

Two candidates for the Obama cabinet, Steven Chu for the Department of Energy, and Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) at State, will receive their Senate confirmation hearings later today. Chu is likely to receive advice and questions from the Senate over the direction of the Energy department, including questions over the consolidation of the nuclear weapons complex onto one site, while Clinton is expected to receive questioning over the direction Obama will take in international arms control in light of a decade in which India, Pakistan and North Korea have tested nuclear weapons, and the upcoming review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferaiton Treaty (NPT) next year.

The risks associated with the spread of nuclear weapons is highlighted in the New York Times with a piece by David Sanger on how secure Pakistan's nuclear weapons complex is from islamic extremists.

As nuclear weapons designer Stephen Younger, who runs the Nevada Test site, warns in the Wall Street Journal, the mainstay of protection against limiting nuclear proliferation, the NPT, is in danger of unravelling. The bargain that the nuclear-weapon-states struck in the signing of the NPT, that they would eventually disarm, is not being met says Younger, and non-nuclear weapon states are losing their patience. "Without a convincing demonstration that the weapon states are serious about disarmament, Iran and other countries could withdraw, just as North Korea did in 2003," he adds.

Younger was involved with writing the 2001 Nuclear Posture Review which stated "in an age of smart bombs and cyber warfare, nuclear weapons are no longer the only way or even the best way to achieve critical military objectives. Mobile missiles, most command bunkers and other vital military assets can be destroyed without crossing the nuclear threshold." The NPR called for significant reductions in the US nuclear arsenal and greater use of advanced conventional weapons to achieve what had been nuclear missions.

The recommendation was not implemented says Younger, due to policy conservatives and the department of defense, and ineritia at DoE. Younger adds that the incoming adminstration should look seriously at the risks associated with a nuclear-weapon-free-world, and consider implementing rigorous verification technologies that would provide assurance against cheaters. Says Younger, "A failure of the international regime to halt and reverse the spread of nuclear weapons is too horrible to contemplate-all the more reason to take whatever actions we can to assure the success of next year's [NPT] review conference."

Stephen I. Schwartz at the Monterey Institute of International Studiesand Deepti Choubey at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace ask similar questions from a budget perspective in the Los Angeles Times. "the U.S. spent at least $52.4 billion on nuclear weapons and programs in fiscal 2008" they say, and "the government spends relatively little money locking down or eliminating nuclear threats at their source, before they can reach U.S. shores ($5.2 billion), or preparing for the consequences of a nuclear or radiological attack on U.S. soil ($700 million)....How, one might ask Chu, can a Department of Energy that devotes 67% of its budget to nuclear weapons-related programs meet Obama's plan to develop new and cleaner forms of energy?"

Noted NASA climatologist James Hansen has made public a letter to President-elect Obama, copied to Chu, which criticizes plans to implement a "cap and trade" scheme to limit CO2 emissions. "There is a profound disconnect between actions that policy circles are considering and what the science demands for preservation of the planet," says Hansen.

Instead Hansen recommends a three phase approach that would close down coal-fired power stations that do not capture their CO₂, secondly a carbon 'tax' at source, so that high carbon emitters such as aluminum smelters would pay more, and low carbon users would get rewarded with financial credits; and finally he suggests investing more heavily in fourth-genration nuclear power plants that would burn highly radioactive nuclear waste.

John Holdern, who has been nominated as Obama's science adviser promised to deliver the letter to Obama.