life sciences, $1.2 million for work in psychology, 

 and $325,000 in unidentified sciences.""" This 

 year's breakdown of basic research in the life 

 sciences is $3.9 million for clinical-medical 

 research, $1.9 million for other medical, $1.9 

 million for biological, and $93,000 for work in 

 other life sciences.^'i 



Current Trends 



The year 1977 has been a highly significant one 

 for VA medical research in that Andrew V. Schal- 

 ly of the VA Hospital, New Orleans, La., and 

 Rosalyn S. Yallow of the VA Hospital, Bronx, 

 N.Y., were two of the three scientists who shared 

 the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. 



Department of Labor 



The Department of Labor originated as a Bu- 

 reau of Labor in the Department of the Interior in 

 1884. It became an independent department with- 

 out cabinet rank in 1888, a bureau again in the 

 new Department of Commerce and Labor in 1903, 

 and finally the ninth executive department in 

 1913. The Grossman history of the Department 

 makes no mention of research.-"- 



Much of what is referred to as research in La- 

 bor appears to be library research, but this De- 

 partment, following the Bureau of the Census, 

 was one of the first Government agencies to un- 

 dertake significant research in the social sciences. 

 This work was done under the Bureau of Labor 

 Statistics (BLS), which currently reports no basic 

 research. ^'^ During the 1940's, before the annual 

 reports on research efforts were started, BLS 

 made important contributions to input-output 

 (I/O) analysis, a very important economic 

 research tool. 



In 1952, the first year NSF published reports on 

 basic research. Labor reported none. In 1955, 

 however. Labor reported basic research obliga- 

 tions of $720,000, which were divided among four 

 bureaus. The largest program was that of BLS 

 with $375,000; all research was intramural. ''i^ 

 Labor's basic research programs and those of 

 BLS both peaked in 1956-57, decreased sharply in 

 1958, and reached a new peak in 1971 — $2.5 mil- 

 lion for the Department, $1.4 million of that for 

 BLS. Then in 1972 the Department's total de- 

 creased again to $1.1 million, with no basic re- 



iiopedera/ Funds. Vol. XXVI. NSF 77-317. Tables C-iO and 

 C-M. 



'lilbid. Table C-40. 



^'-Grossman, J., The Depurlmenl of Labor (Praeger: New 

 York, 197.3). 



'I'Dupree, p. .3.35; Hedenil Funds. Vol. XXVI, Tabic C-.34. 



^'■* Federal Funds. Vol. V, NSF 56-19, Table 4. 



362 COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS AND HISTORICAL TRENDS 



search at all for BLS.'"'' Since then the basic re- 

 search level for the Department has declined to 

 the $785,000 total estimated for 1977. Of this 

 amount, $670,000 is for research performed at 

 universities and colleges for the Employment and 

 Training Administration and $115,000 for work 

 conducted in-house by the Labor-Management 

 Services Administration. ^'^ 



The National Science 

 Foundation 



The National Science Foundation (NSF) was 

 established in 1950 to promote the progress of 

 science through the support of basic research and 

 education in the sciences. ''17 Several previous 

 efforts to create a national department for science 

 had failed. NAS, responding to a request from the 

 Allison Commission, had recommended such a 

 department in 1884. 3i« In 1945, Vannevar Bush 

 recommended the establishment of a new agency 

 adapted to supplementing the support of basic 

 research in the colleges, universities, and re- 

 search institutes, both in medicine and the natu- 

 ral sciences, adapted to supporting research on 

 new weapons for both Services, (and) adapted 

 to administering a program of science scholar- 

 ships and fellowships. -^19 



He explicitly excluded social sciences and the 

 humanities, although he acknowledged their im- 

 portance. ^-0 Senator Warren Magnuson and Rep- 

 resentative Wilbur Mills unsuccessfully introduced 

 bills to carry out Bush's recommendations. In 

 1947, the President's Scientific Research Board 

 recommended the establishment of a National 

 Science Foundation to make grants in support of 

 basic research. ^-1 They excluded from their study 

 the social sciences and military and atomic energy 

 research programs. "*-- That same year President 

 Truman vetoed S.526, which would have created 

 the Foundation, on the grounds that it had so 

 much authority vested in a part-time board that it 

 appeared to violate the President's constitutional 

 authority. ^-^ The first Hoover Commission reiter- 



"■■Federa/ Funds series. 



'K'Feiiera/ Funds. Vol. XXVI. NSF 77-317. Table C-.30. 



^'''United Stales Government Manual /976/77. op. cit., p. 

 579. 



'i«True. op. cit., pp. 295-297; Dupree. pp. 215-217, 293, .377. 



"''Bush 1. p. 4. 



'-"Ibid., p. V (letter of transmittal to President Truman). 



'-'Steelman. op. cit.. p. 6. 



-"--Ibid., pp. viii-ix. 



'-'Schatfter. D., The National Science Foundation (Praeger: 

 New York. 1969), p. II. Hereinafter referred to as Schaffter. 



