127 



made salient the issue of military sponsorship of foreign area re- 

 search, and indeed the entire issue of the use of applied social science 

 by the Federal Government. The purpose of this case study is to ex- 

 amine the role of the Congress in resolving this issue, with particular 

 emphasis on the information used by the Congress, and the mecha- 

 nisms employed to resolve the issue. 



Although many Members of Congress had reservations about mili- 

 tary research in social science questions abroad, and about the absence 

 of coordination of such research by the Department of State, they dis- 

 covered that the military initiative in this field was a natural con- 

 sequence of the ability, no less than the need, of the Department of 

 Defense to conduct such research, coupled with the lesser resources and 

 distaste for such research on the part of the Department of State. 

 Congressional intervention took the form of committee recommenda- 

 tions and appropriation cuts. 



As the examination of the problem proceeded in congressional com- 

 mittees, it became evident that these two issues were part of a broader 

 problem : the need to develop a coherent policy for Federal funding 

 and utilization of social science research, and to relate it to the forma- 

 tion of a national science policy. This concern, demonstrated through 

 indirect pressure and recommendations by Congress, mobilized the 

 Department of Defense and other agencies, as well as the social science 

 community, to assess this relationship. Thus, without attempting to 

 prescribe a final solution, the Congress exerted its influence and con- 

 sidered legislation aimed at solving the sponsorship problem and for- 

 mulating an administrative mechanism to deal with the broader issue. 

 The legislative proposals took two forais: (1) to recognize the im- 

 portance of Government support for basic social science research in 

 the National Science Foundation; (2) to create a parallel National 

 Foundation for the Social Sciences. Eventually the former expedient 

 prevailed. 



Wliile the Congress accumulated voluminous evidence on these mat- 

 ters, the answers required administrative determination. The primary 

 result of congressional investigations was that of education — the rais- 

 ing of many questions requiring answers ; the stimulation of the execu- 

 tive branch to answer the questions ; the motivation of social scientists 

 to relate their researches more instrumentally to the real world; the 

 provision of a national forum for debate on the uses of social science 

 for public puiiDOses; and the assurance of congressional receptivity 

 for further contributions of these developing academic fields. 



In sum, while many of the problems that arose could be solved only 

 by the executive branch, and by the social scientists, the Congress was 

 able to motivate these groups in a constructive way toward the solving 

 of their mutual problems. 



No. NR 170-369, March 5, 1963. (Washington. Smithsonian Institution, 1963). 261 pages; 

 William W. Ellis, Study Director. The Federal Government in Behavioral Science. The 

 American Behavioral Scientist (vol. VII, No. 9, May 1964) ; Dr. George A. Miller. An 

 Overview of the Behavioral Sciences. A Position for the National Institutes of Health 

 Conference Report. (Washington, NIH, 1966), 76 pages ; and other references in : U.S. Con- 

 gress. House. Committee on Government Operations. The Use of Social Research in Federal 

 Domestic Programs. A Staff Study for the Research and Technical Programs Sub- 

 committee of the ♦ * * 90th Congress, 1st sess. (Washington, U.S. Government Printing 

 Office, 1967) (committee print), four parts: I. Federally Financed Soclrl Research — ■ 

 Expenditures, Status, and Objectives : II. The Adequacy and Usefulness of Federally 

 Financed Research on Major National S5ocial Problems : III. The Relation of Private 

 Social Scientists to Federal Programs on National Social Problems ; and IV. Current 

 Issues on the Administration of Federal Social Research. 



