55 



30 / IMPROV7XG THE ALLOCAT/Oy PROCESS 



affected by cuts in DOD computer science. Important advances and efficiencies 

 enabled by increasingly powerful computation and by use of the Internet and global 

 communications supported by many agencies could also be impeded by such cuts. 



Monitoring the impact of cuts in one pan of the research and development 

 system on another pan is a function that the current budget process does not per- 

 form systematically. Cross-program impacts are accommodated to some extent in 

 the decentralized negotiations of budget line items in individual agencies, and 

 special initiatives often identif\' items in multiple agencies. Cross-agency planning is 

 not routine, however, even in the limited sense of "damage control" that is impor- 

 tant when budget cuts are contemplated, and the FS&T budget is not monitored as a 

 whole as the budget process unfolds. The committee's Recommendations 1 through 

 3 in effect give the President's Science and Technology Advisor and the Office of 

 Management and Budget a strong integrative role, with the authorit)- to effect trans- 

 fers across depanments and agencies that no cabinet official can perform. The 

 recommendations also entail monitoring the FS&T budget as a whole in Congress, 

 beyond that fraction that might be included in a Department of Science. If the 

 recommended process is used in tandem with the principle of retaining world 

 leadership embodied in Recommendation 4, the federal government will have a 

 more coherent and effective research and development system. 



Looking to the Future 



A robust national system of innovation lies at the heart of our economy', our 

 health, and our national security'. That system of innovation depends on federal 

 investments. The committee believes that its recommendations address a crucial 

 need: maintaining the strength and vigor of U.S. research and development despite 

 the prospect of declining federal discretionar)- spending over the next several \ears. 

 Seeing the science and technolog)' enterprise through the lens of a unified FS&T 

 budget can help leaders in government and the American public to gauge its fiscal 

 health. A carefully constructed comprehensive budget offers a unitary- view, not 

 anificially balkanized into agency budgets, but sensitive to the complexities and 

 relationships among government programs vital to maintaining the United States at 

 the forefront of world-class science and technology. The corollary proposals provide 

 the basis for continuing excellence — emphasizing programs and people rather than 

 institutions, subjecting all federal science and technology activities to competitive 

 merit review, linking science and engineering research to education, and maintain- 

 ing a pluralistic system of research and development tied to public missions. The 

 committee's recommendations are designed to help root out obsolete or noncom- 

 petitive activities, allowing good programs to be replaced by even better ones. 



Science and technology' have utterly transformed our world over the past 50 

 years, touching almost ever)- aspect of our daily lives — from communication to 

 transportation to health (Box 1.5). They will be at least as important over the next 

 half centur)'. Preeminence in science and technology has become a national asset, 

 at once a point of pride and an immensely practical investment. Prudent steward- 

 ship of science and technology', as much as any other area of federal policy, will 

 dictate how our children and our grandchildren live. 



