White House Releases R&D Priorities for Its Next Budget Request

["Dave Farber" <farber () gmail com>]

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> From: FYI <fyi () aip-info org>
> Date: August 18, 2017 at 4:06:44 PM EDT
> To: farber () central cis upenn edu
> Subject: White House Releases R&D Priorities for Its Next Budget Request
> Reply-To: FYI <re-1ZJN-546LY-E29DH7-C0BZL () aip-info org>
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> Number 114: August 18, 2017
> White House Releases R&D Priorities for Its Next Budget Request
> Following precedent, the White House has released its memo to federal agencies signaling its R&D priorities for the 
> president’s fiscal year 2019 budget request. Among its directions, the memo calls for fiscal restraint and reinforces 
> the administration’s commitment to rolling back support for later-stage R&D and technology commercialization.
>
> (Image credit – The White House)
>                            
> Yesterday, the White House released its memorandum to the heads of federal agencies describing the Trump 
> administration’s priorities for R&D, providing guidance as agencies prepare their submissions for the president’s 
> next budget request. The document was jointly produced by the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of 
> Science and Technology Policy, and it follows the precedent of previous administrations, which annually released 
> their own such memos at about this time of year.
>                      
> Collecting and elaborating on policy positions already staked out, the memo is also the administration’s first full 
> synopsis of its science policy. The differences between the memo and previous ones offers a window into how the 
> administration is tailoring its policies on R&D to suit its larger agenda for the nation.
> R&D priorities defined around ‘American’ interests
>
> In identifying priority areas for investment, the memo outlines five themes reflecting President Trump’s emphasis on 
> protecting U.S. national interests. These are: American military superiority, American security, American prosperity, 
> American energy dominance, and American health.
>                     
> To support the “military of the future,” the memo recommends investment in “technologies related to the development 
> of missile defense capabilities, a modern strategic deterrent, hypersonic weapons and defenses, autonomous and 
> space-based systems, trusted microelectronics, and future computing capabilities.” It also encourages programs with 
> “dual-use potential,” in recognition that military R&D has often resulted in “tremendously useful civil applications.”
>
> Consistent with Trump’s focus on border security, the memo prioritizes investment in “technologies that can support 
> border surveillance and law enforcement capabilities that can detect and interdict illegal activity including the 
> smuggling of contraband and radioactive material.” It also supports “R&D to increase the security and resilience of 
> the Nation's critical infrastructure from both physical threats and cyber-attacks.”
>
> As areas important to economic prosperity, the memo identifies “emerging technologies such as autonomous systems, 
> biometrics, energy storage, gene editing, machine learning, and quantum computing.” For energy, it stresses that 
> “domestic energy sources should be the basis for a clean energy portfolio composed of fossil, nuclear, and renewable 
> energy sources.”
>
> The memo says that medical R&D should be “focused on solutions for an aging population, as well as on combating drug 
> addiction and other public health crises.” It also says that in addition to “foundational biological research, 
> agencies should support investments that develop tools and technologies with the potential to open new areas of 
> discovery.”
>
> Breaking with both the George W. Bush and Obama administrations, the new memo makes no mention of climate change or 
> the environment. More surprisingly, it also makes no mention of space-based science, despite the attention Trump has 
> given to space exploration.
> Memo emphasizes budget constraints, early-stage investment
>
> The opening section of the memo indicates that agencies should balance existing and new R&D programs in ways that are 
> “budget neutral.” Later, in a section in bold typeface, it elaborates:
>               
> “When considering new research programs, agencies should ensure that the proposed programs are based on sound 
> science, do not duplicate existing R&D efforts, and have the potential to contribute to the public good. Agencies 
> should also identify existing R&D programs that could progress more efficiently through private sector R&D, and 
> consider their modification or elimination where Federal involvement is no longer needed or appropriate.”
>
> Elsewhere, consistent with the administration’s fiscal year 2018 budget request, the memo repeatedly emphasizes the 
> importance of focusing on basic science and rolling back later-stage R&D and commercialization efforts.
>              
> The memo does not mention any of the focused interagency R&D initiatives established by previous administrations. 
> Neither, though, did the Obama administration’s first memo, although special initiatives and aspirational “grand 
> challenges” ultimately became a hallmark of its R&D policy. The new memo does note, “Where appropriate, agencies 
> should maximize the coordination, promotion, and planning of their R&D programs through the National Science and 
> Technology Council.”
>
> The “sound science” terminology is common in discussions of evidence-based policymaking. However, it has also become 
> controversial as some congressional Republicans have used it to question the credibility of predictive climate 
> science and the social sciences and to propose new evidentiary standards for justifying regulations that critics 
> consider unduly restrictive.
> White House priorities inform directions on facilities, workforce
>
> The memo follows previous years’ versions in dedicating sections to R&D infrastructure and the scientific and 
> technical workforce, but it has introduced some new points of emphasis.
>
> While the memo expresses its support for “maintaining and modernizing research infrastructure,” it also stresses that 
> agencies must economize, saying,
>            
> “Innovative partnership models involving other agencies, state and local governments, the private sector, academia, 
> and international partners can help maximize utilization of underused facilities and lead to sharing the costs of new 
> R&D facilities. … Where feasible, agencies must take steps to reduce waste by disposing of facilities that are no 
> longer needed.”
>
> The workforce section reflects the growing interest in cultivating a broader spectrum of the nation’s skilled 
> technical workforce. It explains,
>          
> “In order to maintain American competitiveness and help ensure that the domestic workforce is available and qualified 
> for the jobs of the future, agencies should incorporate STEM education, including computer science education, and 
> workforce training opportunities into their programs. Agencies should give priority to policies and actions that 
> place an emphasis on expanding the STEM workforce to include all Americans, both urban and rural, and including women 
> and other underrepresented groups in STEM fields.”
>
> The memo does not mention advanced manufacturing programs, which the Obama administration promoted as a means of job 
> creation. The Trump administration’s budget request targeted those programs for cuts.
> Trump-appointed OSTP official a co-author
>
> In the past, the OSTP director has taken a leading role in preparing the annual R&D priorities memo and signed it 
> alongside the White House budget director. However, Trump has not yet appointed anyone to the position. Instead, the 
> memo was signed by Michael Kratsios, the administration’s deputy chief technology officer. Formerly chief of staff at 
> Silicon Valley entrepreneur Peter Thiel’s investment firm, Kratsios joined OSTP earlier this year. Identified on the 
> memo as “deputy assistant to the president,” his signature affirms reports that he is currently the administration’s 
> point person on science and technology policy.
>
> Contact the Author
>
> William Thomas
> American Institute of Physics
> wthomas () aip org
> (301) 209-3097
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