NSF Congressional Update
March 19, 1997
Highlights On the Hill for This Week
National Science Board Nominees Reported Out
by Senate Labor and Human Resources Committee
- Cleared for Consideration on Floor
After being mired behind two highly controversial
labor bills, nominations to the National Science Board
reported out by the Senate Labor and Human Resources
Committee on Tuesday, March 18, 1997. This clears
the nominations for consideration on the Senate floor
which could take place this week.
Other highlights: Movement toward Budget Agreement?
Roadblocks Remain
Hopes for a budget agreement were raised as several
leading GOP members indicated a willingness to compromise
on tough budget issues like tax cuts and economic
assumptions. However, statements by House Speaker
Newt Gingrich on a possible delay of any tax cuts
until the budget is balanced brought an unusual storm
of criticism from House conservatives.
President Clinton meanwhile praised statements by
Gingrich and Majority Leader Trent Lott favoring the
tax cut delay and called for congressional leaders
to meet with him at the White House on Wednesday to
discuss the budget. While media reports indicated
that the meeting could be used to lay the ground work
for staff talks during the upcoming congressional
Easter recess, beginning March 27, GOP members voiced
pessimism over prospects for a early budget deal with
the Administration.
It's Official: Ehlers Tapped by Sensenbrenner to
Review U.S. Science Policy
In a development from last week, Science Committee
Chairman Sensenbrenner appointed Rep. Vern Ehlers
(R-MI) as Chairman of a Task Force to review and make
recommendations on U.S. National Science Policy. This
announcement comes after comments made by Ehlers at
the NSF Reauthorization hearing and a meeting of the
PCAST earlier in the month about the likelihood of
such a review. Ehlers commented at the NSF hearing
that the review was planned after discussions with
House Speaker Newt Gingrich who, Ehlers maintained,
has a great interest in the issue. Ehlers also noted
at the hearing that while the vision of Vannevar Bush
has served the nation well, it is time for a thorough
review of U.S. Science Policy. "We need to rethink
the science policy of the nation" Ehlers told
the PCAST, "we don't have a science policy; we
have a budget policy and I want to correct that."
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