The House Republicans' Contract with America has served as a political wake-up call for many geoscientists.  If the recommended budget cuts accompanying the Contract are passed, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and the Bureau of Mines would be eliminated and the Minerals Management Service would be reduced by 50%.

These are just a few of the many cuts being called for by House Budget Committee Chairman John Kasich (R-Ohio).  The National Science Foundation (NSF) would see an increase in funding but at a rate fixed below inflation, resulting in an effective decrease in constant dollars.  And while the chairman of the newly renamed House Science Committee, Bob Walker (R-Penn.), has been a vocal supporter of basic research , his committee has warned officials at NSF, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, and the Environmental Protection Agency that they should expect less money and more cuts in the coming year.

Many members of the new majority believe that scientists and their work should become more business-friendly.  Although the previous Democrat-controlled Congress pressured scientists to conduct more applied research, the new House leadership is intensifying effort to scrutinize science.

The failure of scientists to articulate their importance to society has led legislators to place research on the chopping block.  Evidently there is a need to demonstrate to Congress that scientists represent an important constituency and that supporting science is in the national interest.  USGS Director Gordon Eaton has launched a vigorous campaign to educate the new Congressional majority on survey activities and the important missions it serves.  If that effort is to carry weight, however, it must be back by a vocal geoscience constituency.

Fellowship Program Offers Chance to Demonstrate the Value of Science

For this reason, it is critically important that the lines of communication between scientists and Capitol Hill remain open.  For 20 years, the Congressional Science Fellowship program has helped to do just that, bringing scientists to Washington to serve for a year on the committee and personal staff of senators and representatives.

Congress not only controls the pursestrings of science; it also legislates on a vast array of technical issues.  The members and staff are often lawyers or business people with little science background, and they are often eager to have a staff scientists who can interpret and condense the volumes of information that flow in from lobbyists, constituent groups, executive agencies, and Congressional support agencies.  Because Fellows are paid by sponsoring societies, they are valuable commodities and can choose placements where they can make the biggest impact.  Science Fellows prepare memos, brief members, draft legislation, organize hearings, respond to constituents, write speeches, and perform many of the other tasks expected of staffers (but we don't serve coffee!).  AGU has been involved in the program since 1977 and is one of over a dozen professional societies that sponsor fellows with a broad range of expertise.  In addition to geoscientists, the 24 current science fellows include molecular biologists, physicists, chemists, psychologists, engineers, food scientists, and veterinarians.

I began my term as AGU Congressional Science Fellow in September with a month orientation and placement interviews.  I accepted a position with the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, then chaired by Senator Bennett Johnston (D-La.), and in the aftermath of November 8th decided to remain with the now-minority staff in the 104th Congress.  I chose the committee because it oversees the Departments of Interior and Energy, including the USGS and the DOE national laboratories.  As a structural geologist who has worked in the Death Valley region of California-Nevada, I also wanted to contribute to deliberations over the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, Nev., an issue on which Senator Johnston retains a leading role, having recently submitted a major new bill to overhaul the project.  Other committee priorities that affect geoscience community include redefining the mission of the DOE labs, environmental cleanup at DOE facilities, global climate change, mining law reform, and wetlands policy.

David Applegate, AGU Congressional Science Fellow, 1994-1995

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