73 



budget, most of it administered by DOE's Office of Energy Re- 

 search. 6 



Science Policy Under President Reagan 



Like the Carter Aministration before it, the Reagan Administra- 

 tion believed strongly in the contributions offered to society by ad- 

 vances in science and technology, especially with regard to econom- 

 ic growth and national security. As a result, the Federal funding of 

 research and development escaped the large budget decreases suf- 

 fered by many domestic programs during the Reagan Administra- 

 tion. 7 This strong commitment to research was accompanied, how- 

 ever, by a significant shift in the Nation's science policy. Under 

 President Reagan, the following priorities were stressed: (1) Feder- 

 ally funded R&D should help strengthen national defense; (2) Fed- 

 erally funded R&D should contribute to economic growth; (3) Fed- 

 eral support of science should concentrate on basic research; and 

 (4) Federal support of applied research should be supplanted by 

 funding from the private sector. 8 



These changes in policy were reflected in the research and devel- 

 opment budgets for the years 1981-1985. When measured in con- 

 stant dollars, Federal support for military R&D increased 65% be- 

 tween FY 1981 and FY 1985, while Federal funding of civilian R&D 

 decreased 14%. Basic civilian research received a 27% increase in 

 Federal funding during this period, while the Federal support of ci- 

 vilian applied R&D declined 36 %. 9 Many members of the research 

 community criticized this approach, arguing that the Federal sup- 

 port of R&D should be guided by the actual needs of science, not by 

 potential economic or defense-related payoffs. Decreases in the sup- 

 port of civilian R&D, it was charged, was eroding the overall state 

 of U.S. science and technology, most notably in its neglect of the 

 research infrastructure. Cutbacks in Federal funding for the social 

 and behavorial sciences and science education also drew the ire of 

 some members of the research community, as did the Administra- 

 tion's emphasis on the physical sciences over the life sciences. 10 



6 See Press, "Science and Technology in the White House, 1977 to 1980. Part II," pp. 254-255; 

 and Barfleld, Science Policy from Ford to Reagan, pp. 19-25. 



7 For a good overview of science policy during the Reagan Administration, see Genevieve J. 

 Knezo, "Science Policy and Funding in the Reagan Administration," Issue Brief No. IB82108 

 (Washington: Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 1984). Also useful is George 

 A. Keyworth II, "Four Years of Reagan Science Policy: Notable Shifts in Priorities," Science, 224 

 (April 6, 1984), 9-13. 



8 See Knezo, "Science Policy and Funding in the Reagan Administration," p. 1; Christopher 

 Joyce, "Science under Reagan: The First Four Years," New Scientist, No. 1440 (January 24, 

 1985), 24-25; and Dickson, The New Politics of Science, passim. For examples of issues facing 

 science policymakers in the 1980s, see U.S. Congress, House Committee on Science and Technol- 

 ogy, National Science and Technology Policy Issues, 1979, (96th Congress, 1st session. Washing- 

 ton: GPO, 1979); General Accounting Office, Major Science and Technology Issues (Washington: 

 GPO, 1981); Emerging Issues in Science and Technology, 1981: A Compendium of Working Papers 

 for the National Science Foundation (Washington: National Science Foundation, 1981); Organiza- 

 tion for Economic Co-operation and Development, Science and Technology Policy for the 1980s 

 (Paris: OECD, 1981); and Donald S. Fredrickson, "Biomedical Research in the 1980s," New Eng- 

 land Journal of Medicine, 304 (February 26, 1981), 509-517. 



9 See Knezo, "Science Policy and Funding in the Reagan Administration," pp. 1-2; William C. 

 Boesman, "U.S. Civilian and Defense Research and Development Funding: Some Trends and 

 Comparisons with Selected Industrialized Nations," Report No. 83-183 SPR (Washington: Con- 

 gressional Research Service, Library of Congress, 1983); and "Basic Research in the U.S.," Chris- 

 tian Science Monitor, 4 parts, 22-25 January 1985. See also, George A. Keyworth II, "Science 

 and Technology Policy: The Next Four Years," Technology Review, 88 (February-March, 1985), 

 45-46, 48, 50-53. 



10 See Knezo, "Science Policy and Funding in the Reagan Administration," pp. 8-11. 



