69 



NIE research will be cost-effective because it would competitively award peer-re- 

 viewed extramural grants. Thus, there would be no expense of building and admin- 

 istering government laboratories. Through extramural grants, the NIE will be able 

 to tap into the scientific expertise of academia, private industry, nongovernmental 

 organizations, research institutes, and Federal laboratories. By assuming a respon- 

 sibility for interdisciplinary research and sponsoring higher education, the NIE 

 would help to educate the public and the next generation of environmental scientists 

 for the challenges ahead. 



The NIE's inclusive process would involve the nongovernmental sector in a way 

 that no program administered by the White House can. The NIE will be governed 

 by a diverse board comprised of representatives of the scientific community, univer- 

 sities, environmental organizations, private industry, State, tribal, and local govern- 

 ments, environmental justice organizations, and other citizens' groups. At the same 

 time, the NIE would work with the other Federal environmental agencies through 

 the guidance of an interagency advisory council that would prevent duplication and 

 address the information needs of existing agencies. 



"Most importantly, the NIE's independent status and the inclusion of 

 stakeholding constituencies in its governance would provide, more than any restruc- 

 turing of the existing Federal system, a greater long-term assurance of credible re- 

 search by the nation's best scientists, as well as greater insulation from the political 

 winds that constantly buffet environmental issues." (Letter to President William J. 

 Clinton from former EPA Administrators William Reilly, Russell Train, and William 

 Ruckelshaus endorsing the NIE, May 3, 1994.) 



The U.S. Conference of Mayors, the National Council of Negro Women, the Envi- 

 ronmental Defense Fund, and more than 150 universities, scientific societies, profes- 

 sional organizations, State and local governments, and environmental groups en- 

 dorse the NIE. 



The CNIE shares with this Committee, and with the Administration, the common 

 objective to achieve the high quality science this nation needs to address the critical 

 environmental challenges of the future. We look forward to working together in at- 

 taining this goal. We urge this Congress to establish a National Institute for the 

 Environment. 



