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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. 1988. Science and Technology Advice in the White House: Recommendations for President-Elect George Bush. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12483.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. 1988. Science and Technology Advice in the White House: Recommendations for President-Elect George Bush. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12483.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. 1988. Science and Technology Advice in the White House: Recommendations for President-Elect George Bush. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12483.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. 1988. Science and Technology Advice in the White House: Recommendations for President-Elect George Bush. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12483.
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Page R4
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. 1988. Science and Technology Advice in the White House: Recommendations for President-Elect George Bush. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12483.
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Page R5
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. 1988. Science and Technology Advice in the White House: Recommendations for President-Elect George Bush. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12483.
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Page R6
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine. 1988. Science and Technology Advice in the White House: Recommendations for President-Elect George Bush. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/12483.
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Page R7

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. Recommendations for Science and INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE White House President-Elect George Bush NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING Technology Advice in the

typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be retained, About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the original NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. 2101 Constitution Avenue, Washington, D.C. 20418 The Honorable George Bush The President-Elect of the United States Old Executive Office Building Washington, D.C. 20501 Dear Mr. President-Elect: Many of the issues that will demand your personal attention in the course of your Administration combine political, economic, and scientific or technological components. Industrial competitiveness, weapons programs, federal budget priorities, AIDS, and environmental regulation are a few such issues whose technical aspects are recognized but not resolved. Other national concerns of equal or greater technical complexity will almost certainly emerge during your term of office. In all of these cases, you will profit by having a senior assistant who recognizes what areas of science and technology are involved, who knows what analysis needs to be brought to bear and where it can be obtained, and who can help identify options for you to consider. As you suggested in your speech to the Ohio Association of Broadcasters in Columbus on October 25, we believe that a science and technology adviser designated as an assistant to the President or accorded Cabinet status can best serve these functions. A science and technology adviser’s principal duty is to provide objective technical advice, on a timely basis, for you to consider along with counsel from other sources on the issues you face. In developing that advice, your science and technology adviser will selectively draw upon government expertise that is often widely dispersed across agencies, remote from the White House, and colored by bureaucratic interests. He or she will exploit the resources of the academic and industrial communities without becoming their advocate. In making a decision, you may accord other advice more weight than the views of your science and technology adviser; but you can be confident

typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be retained, About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the original The President-Elect of the United States Page Two and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. that you are aware of technical factors that could either advance or undermine your policies. In addition to helping you formulate policies on matters with scientific and technical aspects, an adviser of stature can serve you in several other capacities—helping your personnel director identify superior candidates for sub- Cabinet positions and agency directorships requiring scientific and technical competence; working with the Director of OMB to ensure that your priorities are reflected in proposed budgets for science and technology activities, now amounting to more than $60 billion; helping to coordinate multi-agency research and development in support of competitiveness, environmental protection, AIDS prevention and treatment, and other national objectives; and, occasionally, representing you in international discussions of sensitive issues of science and technology. The person that you appoint to this position should have three major attributes: • a commitment to the success of your presidency and an ability to work effectively with other senior advisers on whom you will depend; • outstanding scientific or engineering credentials that command the respect of the industrial and academic communities and parts of the bureaucracy whose help you will need; and • familiarity with influences on the federal role in science and technology and with the political environment of the Executive Branch. We believe that the position of Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, as it has functioned in recent Administrations, needs to be enhanced to attract a person of the caliber who will best serve your needs. You have a range of options with regard to the status, staffing, budget, and external advisory mechanisms of the office. Your choices should be governed by the organization and mode of operation of the White House staff as a whole. The essential element is to enable your science and technology adviser to participate in presidential policy deliberations on a par with other senior White House advisers. Whatever arrangements you make for the office, we urge you to proceed rapidly to select, a science and technology adviser as you consider other senior White House and Cabinet positions. Otherwise, you may forfeit an opportunity to obtain the best advice on key appointments to executive positions in agen-

typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be retained, About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the original The President-Elect of the United States Page Three and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. cies with science and technology responsibilities, to make adjustments to the FY 1990 budget, and to address other matters on which your early decisions will have lasting consequences for your presidency. Equally important, an early appointment will signal the importance you attach to the role of science and technology in meeting your objectives for the country. We elaborate on these points in the attached paper, “Science and Technology Advice in the White House: Recommendations for President-Elect George Bush.” Yours sincerely, Frank Press Robert M.White Samuel O.Thier President President President National Academy National Academy Institute of Medicine of Sciences of Engineering Attachment

About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the original typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be retained, and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. Washington, D.C. 1988 INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE National Academy Press NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING in the White House Science and Technology Advice

typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be retained, About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the original National Academy Press 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20418 and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a private, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and their use for the general welfare. Under the authority of its congressional charter of 1863, the Academy has a working mandate that calls upon it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. The Academy carries out this mandate primarily through the National Research Council, which it jointly administers with the National Academy of Engineering and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press is President of the NAS. The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) was established in 1964, under the charter of the NAS, as a parallel organization of distinguished engineers, autonomous in its administration and in the selection of members, sharing with the NAS its responsibilities for advising the federal government. Dr. Robert M.White is President of the NAE. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) was chartered in 1970 by the NAS to enlist distinguished members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health sciences and to the health of the public. In this, the Institute acts under both the Academy’s 1863 congressional charter responsibility to be an adviser to the federal government and its own initiative in identifying issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Samuel O. Thier is President of the IOM. Printed in the United States of America

typesetting files. Page breaks are true to the original; line lengths, word breaks, heading styles, and other typesetting-specific formatting, however, cannot be retained, About this PDF file: This new digital representation of the original work has been recomposed from XML files created from the original paper book, not from the original PREFACE In anticipation of a new Administration, the presidents of the National Academies and some typographic errors may have been accidentally inserted. Please use the print version of this publication as the authoritative version for attribution. of Sciences and Engineering and the Institute of Medicine decided early in 1988 to prepare “White Papers” on a few important national issues involving science and technology. The role of the President’s science and technology adviser was a natural topic for such a paper. The adviser’s office should be a focal point for consideration and coordination of S&T policies that require attention at the highest level of government. For example, the office is likely to have a major role in each of the issues—civilian space policy, global environmental change, and AIDS—examined in the other White Papers. Beyond the current agenda, it is uncertain what new issues with significant scientific or technical aspects will emerge to demand the President’s attention; but it is obvious that the quality and timeliness of the advice he receives will influence whether he is successful in dealing with them. In preparing this paper, the presidents of the Academies and the Institute had Philip M.Smith, Executive Officer of the National Research Council, was Associate Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) from 1976 to 1981. Stephen A.Merrill, director of government affairs of the National Research Council, contributed to congressional oversight of OSTP as a staff member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee from 1977 to 1981. The presidents met several times to review and revise their drafts of the paper, which were also circulated within the three institutions and their respective Councils for comment. This paper considers the role and qualifications of the science and technology adviser from the perspective of pressures upon and opportunities available to the Bush Administration. Like the office itself, the following analysis and recommendations serve no purpose unless they serve the interests of the President of the United States. iii

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