ALLEN V. ASTIN 



Some are involved in providing the technical bases for regula- 

 tory activities of the government, such as the Food and Drug 

 Administration, and the Public Health Service. Some are in- 

 volved in providing technical assistance, advice, and informa- 

 tion as a service to science and the general welfare, such as the 

 laboratories of the Department of Agriculture, the National 

 Bureau of Standards, and the National Institutes of Health. By 

 far the largest number are serving the needs of the Department 

 of Defense, such as the Naval Research Laboratory, the Fort 

 Monmouth Signal Laboratories, and the Wright-Patterson Air 

 Development Center. 



Federal Expenditures 



in Government Laboratories 



During the years since World War II, the investment in 

 such laboratory activities has increased. Without dwelling too 

 much on expenditure statistics, I would like to make a few 

 general observations. The federal government provides about 

 half the funds for the support of research and development in 

 this country. Within government laboratories, less than 20 per 

 cent of the research and development activities are conducted. 

 The federal government provides more than one-third of the 

 funds for the support of basic research in this country. Within 

 government laboratories, a little over 10 per cent of the basic 

 research activities are conducted. I think that it is significant to 

 note that the government performs in its own laboratories 

 almost a third of the total basic research for which it pays. I 

 have no quarrel with this. It seems to me that government 

 laboratories get a fair share, percentage-wise, of the federal 

 monies made available for fundamental studies. If I have a 

 quarrel it is with the total percentage of research and develop- 

 ment funds available for basic research. Less than 10 per cent 

 of the total research and development effort goes to basic 



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