roundtable: FW: NSF and OTA Fund

roundtable: FW: NSF and OTA Fund

FW: NSF and OTA Fund

Wood, Fred (fwood@itc.ota.gov)
Sun, 04 Jun 95 15:00:00 PDT 

From: "Wood, Fred" <fwood@itc.ota.gov>
To: Telecom Policy Roundtable <roundtable@cni.org>
Subject: FW: NSF and OTA Fund
Date: Sun, 04 Jun 95 15:00:00 PDT
Message-Id: <2FD22E15@mailserver.ota.gov>


 ----------
From: tcfgie-request
To: tcfgie
Subject: FW: NSF and OTA Fund
Date: Thursday, June 01, 1995 4:27PM


To:    tcfgie@weber.ucsd.edu


Folks,

        OTA is in trouble with the budget hackers in Congress.  Here 
is a status report.

                Joel


 --- Forwarded Mail Message ---

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Subject: NSF and OTA Funding Update
Date: Wednesday, May 31, 1995 3:08PM

>From: gary.chapman@mail.utexas.edu (Gary Chapman)

            PLEASE REDISTRIBUTE WHERE USEFUL AND APPROPRIATE

An update on the funding picture of NSF and OTA funding:

Markup of the budget in the authorization committee for NSF,
which will be one important step in determining whether social
science funding will survive in NSF's budget, is scheduled for
NEXT WEEK, THURSDAY, JUNE 8TH. Please consider writing, calling,
or faxing members of the Subcommittee on Basic Research of the
House Science Committee, telling them of your support for
continued social science research funding in the NSF budget. The
members are:

Steven Schiff (NM) - Chair. Republicans: Boehlert (NY), Barton
(TX), Baker (CA), Ehlers (MI), Gutknecht (MN), Morella (MD),
Weldon (PA), Bartlett (MD), Wamp (TN), Weldon (FL), Graham (SC),
Hilleary (TN), and Myrick (NC). Democrats: Geren (TX), Hastings
(FL), Rivers (MI), Doggett (TX), Luther (MN), Olver (MA), Lofgren
(CA), Doyle (PA), and Jackson-Lee (TX).

I have more detailed information for those who need it. E-mail
me, Gary Chapman, at gary.chapman@mail.utexas.edu.

The following is a review of OTA status by Frank Fisher of the
LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas:

OTA AT RISK

On Friday, May 26, the Senate Budget Committee Subcommittee on
the Legislative Branch approved budget limits for
legislative-related expenditures. Although it does not govern
exact appropriations, the Committee expressed in language that
the ELIMINATION OF OTA would be one place to accomplish the
necessary reductions.

It is important that the Republican leadership quickly learn of
the public support for OTA. Thousands of us have worked with OTA
and know its excellent record of first class nonpartisan analysis
of critical public issues involving science and technology.

Its independence and expertise can not be replaced by the
executive branch agencies alone, nor by regular committee staff
nor by the experts who work for private interests. What the
Senate budget committee is proposing is to save $21 million by
eliminating the staff that helps Congress set its
technologically-related goals in programs that cost tens if not
hundreds of billions of dollars.

Even other science-related cuts in expenditures tend to be
project-related, rather than designed to help Congress know what
policies it should best pursue.

The full Senate budget committee, the House budget committees and
the House and Senate Appropriations committees charged with
oversight of legislative expenditures have yet to act, but a
change in the direction of developments will have to be realized.

The Speaker of the House, fortunately, understands the importance
of technology. He and the other Republican leaders involved
should be alerted to the risk inherent in eliminating the heart
of Congress' technical expertise. Flying blind avoids the cost of
navigational aids, but it is sure to result in crashed planes.

Any member of Congress, of course, who respects your views could
be contacted and your support of OTA made clear. Particularly
important are the following Republicans in leadership positions
who might understand that the greater the pressure for economy
the greater the need for the sort of analysis that OTA provides.

     The Honorable Newt Gingrich
     Speaker of the House
     U.S. House of Representatives
     H-232 Capitol Bldg.
     Washington, DC 20515
     ph: 202-225-0600
     e-mail: georgia6@hr.house.gov

     The Honorable Tom DeLay
     Majority Whip
     U.S. House of Representatives
     H-107 Capitol Bldg.
     Washington, DC 20515
     ph: 202-225-0197
     fax: 202-225-5118

     The Honorable Robert S. Walker
     Chairman
     Committee on Science
     U.S. House of Representatives
     2320 Rayburn House Office Bldg.
     Washington, DC 20515
     ph: 202-225-6371
     fax: 202-225-0891
     e-mail: pa16@hr.house.gov

     The Honorable Ron Packard
     Chairman
     Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch
     Committee on Appropriations
     H-147 Capitol Bldg.
     U.S. House of Representatives
     Washington, DC 20515
     ph: 202-225-5338
     e-mail rpackard@hr.house.gov

Francis Dummer Fisher
LBJ School of Public Affairs, UT-Austin
fdfisher@uts.cc.utexas.edu
3208 Harris Park Ave., Austin, TX 78705

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