Do U.S. Researchers Need to Coordinate With the International Science and Technology Community? (H.R. 1156)

What is H.R. 1156?

(Updated November 16, 2017)

This bill would establish a body within the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) to identify and coordinate international science and technology cooperation. Bill sponsors hope that international cooperation will strengthen domestic science and technology sectors, improve economic and national security, and support U.S. foreign policy goals.

The NSTC body would be co-chaired by senior level officials from the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Department of State. Its responsibilities would include:

• Planning and coordinating international research and training activities with other NSTC committees.

• Establishing Federal priorities and policies for aligning international science and technology cooperative research, activities, and partnerships with U.S. foreign policy goals.

• Identify opportunities for cooperative research and training partnerships that advance both the science and technology and foreign policy objectives of the U.S.

• Soliciting input from non-Federal stakeholders like universities, scientific and professional societies, private industry, and relevant organizations and institutions.Identify broad issues that influence the ability of U.S. scientists and engineers to collaborate with their foreign counterparts - including barriers to collaboration and access to scientific information.

Argument in favor

Scientific collaboration benefits all parties involved, and having U.S. researchers work with international partners could accelerate the pace of scientific and technological development.

Argument opposed

This could potentially put U.S. researchers in the unsavory position of having to collaborate with repressive regimes — there need to be guidelines outlining who American researchers should collaborate with.

Impact

Stakeholders that have an interest in international science and research cooperation (like universities, professional societies, businesses, etc.), the newly established body under the NSTC, the NSTC, officials from the OSTP and the State Department, the Director of OSTP.

Cost of H.R. 1156

The CBO estimates that implementing this legislation would cost about $3 million annually.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) pointed out that although the intention of this bill isn’t to have U.S. scientists cooperate with countries governed by dictatorships:

“We have certain degrees of cooperation already, scientifically - with China, which is the world’s worst human rights abuser… I would think it’s very nice to think that we should cooperate with everybody scientifically, but I don’t believe that is rational.”

A previous version of this bill introduced in July 2014 passed in the House of Representatives by a vote of 346-41, but failed to receive a vote in the Senate.

The Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) would be directed to provide relevant congressional committees with a report on the status of the program every two years. This report would be made publicly available, and would describe:

• Priorities and policies the NSTC body established.

• Ongoing and new partnerships established since the previous report update.

• The means by which stakeholder input was received as well as summary views of stakeholder input.

• Issues influencing cooperation between U.S. scientists and engineers and their international counterparts.

Media:

• House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Press Release
  
• CBO Cost Estimate
  
• Nextgov
  
• FCW: The Business of Federal Technology
  

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Flickr user x-ray_delta_one)