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DISCUSSION 



Mr. FuQUA. Thank you. Do you think there should be a coordi- 

 nating agency, maybe a separate agency, or should it be in OSTP? 

 You know, that stands for Science and Technology Policy. 



Dr. Stever. I think, if we ever got a Department of Science, this 

 should be a very important part of it, and it might be done better 

 with a Department of Science. 



OSTP has its ups and downs on this capability. In fact, anecdoti- 

 cally, when I suddenly had science advising thrust on me, there 

 was an organization called FCCSET, which was the Federal Coordi- 

 nating Council for Science, Engineering, and Technology, and it had, 

 I think, 16 coordinating subcommittees. There was great pressure at 

 the time to reduce them, and so we put the pressure on everybody 

 and we asked for volunteers to go out of business. We got one 

 volunteer. 



The State Department said they would handle international co- 

 operation in science, and we all volunteered the weakest member 

 of our group, which was tunneling technology, and we ejected it 

 from the club. But it didn't go out of existence, it just stayed under 

 different auspices. I don't think State Department did a very good 

 job of handling this new responsibility. 



So OSTP, I still think of it as it has its ups and downs because of 

 changing administrations. An agency would be better. 



Mr. FuQUA. Well, it's not intended to be a line operating agency. 



Dr. Stever. Well, or an organization assigned the responsibility 

 to coordinate it, although big agencies like NASA, Department of 

 Defense, and so on, don't take coordination very kindly, as you 

 know. They take the heavy hand of Congress or the White House 

 to make them act. So I think it's an organizational problem, which 

 is difficult. 



Therefore, I would back off to try to get OSTP and NASA and 

 NSF and State Department into a stronger partnership on this. 



Mr. FuQUA. We discussed this yesterday and whether it would be 

 better to leave it somewhat like it is rather than to have an inter- 

 national cooperation czar trying to dictate and coordinate the 

 policy. And I am sure it probably wouldn't take too long before 

 that agency would get the title of "dictator." 



Dr. Stever. This is one area where we agree with the Soviets: 

 Neither of us likes czars. [Laughter.] 



Mr. FuQUA. And of course, DOE, particularly in their basic 

 energy sciences, nuclear physics programs. 



Dr. Stever. Very strong player. They have got some of the big- 

 gest and most important programs. 



Mr. FuQUA. In spending national funds on international facili- 

 ties, would that be a detriment to our national laboratories as we 

 see them today? 



Dr. Stever. Well, I think there is no question that all of the pres- 

 sures of the past have been when each field of science has tried to 

 be in first place in the world and assuring that first place by 

 having all of the things readily available at home. If we have to 

 back off of that position, you know, then there are some candi- 

 dates, and the SSC is one. 



It is going to be rough, though, if we were to yield to an interna- 

 tional organization and to an international location that laborato- 



