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Republican Proposal Puts 'National Interest' Requirement On US Science Agency

Posted by Soulskill on from the otherwise-the-terrorist-win dept.

ananyo writes "Key members of the U.S. House of Representatives are seeking to require the National Science Foundation (NSF) to justify every grant it awards as being in the 'national interest.' The proposal, included in a draft bill from the Republican-led House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology and obtained by Nature, would force the NSF to document how its basic science grants benefit the country. The requirement is similar to one in a discussion draft circulated in April by committee chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas). At the time, scientists raised concerns that 'national interest' was defined far too narrowly. The current draft bill provides a more expansive definition that includes six goals: economic competitiveness, health and welfare, scientific literacy, partnerships between academia and industry, promotion of scientific progress, and national defense. But many believe that predicting the broader impacts of basic research is tantamount to gazing into a crystal ball. 'All scientists know it's nonsense,' says John Bruer, president of James S. McDonnell Foundation and former co-chair of an NSF task force that examined requiring scientists to state the 'broader impacts' of their work in grant applications."

3 of 382 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Knowledge is Power by CanHasDIY · · Score: -1, Troll

    Unless you are a supporter of that party that believes that ignorance and truthiness is power, of course.

    Repubmocrats?

    Or are we still pretending that the One Party is actually two?

    --
    An enigma, wrapped in a riddle, shrouded in bacon and cheese
  2. Another Republican Attack on Science by kawabago · · Score: -1, Troll

    Republicans hate science because knowledge is power and they want to keep people as powerless as possible.

  3. Dear Republican congressmen: by goodmanj · · Score: -1, Troll

    Crawl back into your caves, you fucking troglodyte shitholes. How the fuck do you think fire was invented? How about the fucking stone knife? Some dude pounded on some rocks to see what would happen. I'm sure he should have been gathering berries for his tribe instead, but no, he decided to fuck around with rocks. And what happened? Civilization happened, you barbarian asswipes.