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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FOR THE RECORD 

 Mr. Charles Horner 



Should there be a single U.S. government agency to provide oversight, man- 

 agement, and funding for U.S. participation In International science acti- 

 vities? Is a new agency required, or could 0S7P, or State, or NSF serve 

 this role? 



The government offices which coordinate U.S. participation in international 

 science are OSTP, State and NSF. Funding is provided through Congressional 

 appropriations and is monitored by 0^B. The roles of each of these agen- 

 cies In the management of international cooperation were included in Deputy 

 Assistant Secretary Charles Horner's testimony of June 20, 1985. One has 

 only to look at the large number of successful agreements In which we now 

 participate to be convinced that the cooperations are well managed by inte- 

 grated efforts in the Federal Government. In our view, the creation of yet 

 another agency to handle international science would at best create more 

 bureaucratic entanglements and at worse unnecessarily complicate U.S. par- 

 ticipation in international science. 



What are the relative advantages and disadvantages of bilateral and multi- 

 lateral cooperative arrangements? 



U.S. International scientific cooperation is conducted in both bilateral 

 and multilateral programs. Each has clear advantages and disadvantages. 

 The U.S. uses both to maintain its position of scientific leadership in the 

 world. Bilateral agreements have the advantage of simplicity. Multilateral 

 programs, on the other hand, have the advantage of pooling the resources of 

 several countries. Ideally, multilateral programs provide the quickest 

 route to share new data among countries, prevent unnecessary duplication, 

 and allow for shared costs. The disadvantage of multilateral cooperation 

 Is, of course, the complexity of any undertaking; the greater the number of 

 participants the more cumbersome the arrangements. 



How does the State Department take Into account technology transfer con- 

 siderations In Its selection, definition and Implementation of Joint pro- 

 jects so that we do not Jeopardize either our national security Interests 

 or the competitive position of U.S. Industry? 



The Issue of technology transfer is one which must be addressed in interna- 

 tional scientific cooperation. Detailed written explanations of all fed- 

 erally sponsored activities are required prior to the start of any coopera- 

 tion. Concerned offices in the Department or agency are then consulted for 

 clearance of the proposed activity. Thus, new projects are given consid- 

 eration prior to being presented to a foreign government. Further, daily 

 activities in the implementation of bilateral agreements are closely 

 tracked in the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scien- 

 tific Affairs, for continued coordination of science policy with foreign 

 policy and national security interests, as well as for monitoring of tech- 

 nology transfer Issues. 



