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Policy

Policy Priorities

ACS position statements seek to persuade legislators

by Susan J. Ainsworth
January 12, 2009 | A version of this story appeared in Volume 87, Issue 2

What follows is a list of current ACS position statements categorized under the appropriate public policy priority. All statements are available online at www. acs.org/policy. C&EN will publish notices of new policy statements and the retiring of obsolete statements as information becomes available. The ACS committee primarily responsible for originating the statement is identified after each summary.

Department of Defense (fiscal-year 2009): Calls for a 16.8% increase in basic research to $2.08 billion. Supports the President's proposal for a $300 million increase in peer-reviewed basic research (as part of a larger $1 billion increase over five years). Committee on Chemistry & Public Affairs (CCPA)

Department of Energy (FY09): Supports, at a minimum, the proposal for the Office of Science to raise funding by 18.9% under the Bush Administration's American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) and calls for higher funding in keeping with the America Competes Act. CCPA

Department of Homeland Security (FY09): Supports the proposal to increase funding by 4.7% to $869 million for the Science & Technology Directorate. CCPA

Energy Science & Technology: Calls for government, industry, and academia to come together to develop a comprehensive energy science and technology policy. CCPA, Committee on Environmental Improvement (CEI), Corporation Associates (CA), Committee on Science (ComSci)

Environmental Protection Agency (FY09): Supports Office of Research & Development (ORD) funding to return to $646 million, representing a 17.9% increase. Opposes Science To Achieve Results (STAR) extramural research and fellowship cuts and calls for a return to a $110 million funding level, representing a 124% increase. CEI, CCPA

Innovation & Competitiveness: Supports innovation policies to fund science and technology research and science education and establish an environment conducive to innovation. CCPA

National Institutes of Health (FY09): Supports funding of $30.8 billion, representing a 6.7% increase. CCPA

National Institute of Standards & Technology (FY09): Supports, at a minimum, the $634 million proposal (or a 5.5% increase) for the core programs under ACI and calls for higher funding in keeping with the America Competes Act. Supports $535 million for NIST laboratories, representing a 21.3% increase. Opposes termination of the Technology Innovation Program and urges the authorized spending level of $131.5 million. CCPA

National Science Foundation (FY09): Supports, at a minimum, the proposal of $6.8 billion (or a 13.6% increase) under ACI and calls for higher funding in keeping with the America Competes Act. Supports funding for the NSF Math & Science Partnerships program to approach the authorized level of $111 million. CCPA, Society Committee on Education (SOCED)

Patent Reform: Supports comprehensive reform of the U.S. patent system with 10 detailed recommendations. Committee on Patents & Related Matters (CPRM)

Association Healthcare Plans: Supports access to affordable, quality health care for all Americans and advocates association health care plans to efficiently deliver cost-effective benefits through purchasing pools. Committee on Economic & Professional Affairs (CEPA)

Computer Simulations in Academic Laboratories: Says computer simulations that mimic laboratory procedures have the potential to be a useful supplement to student hands-on activities, but not a substitute for them. SOCED

Department of Education (FY09): Supports the proposed $175 million (or 302% increase) for new math and science education programs under ACI. Opposes flat funding of the DOE Math & Science Partnership program and calls for the authorized spending level of $450 million, representing a 151% increase. SOCED

Employment Nondiscrimination: Recommends federal legislation to extend employment discrimination protection to include sexual orientation, gender expression, and gender identity. CEPA

Retirement Security: Reviews the challenges to retirement security for chemical professionals. Calls for Congress to deal with major areas impacting financial and health security of retirees. CEPA

Science Education Policies: Summarizes the science education policies of ACS. SOCED

Teaching of Evolution: Supports teaching of evolution and opposes alternative, nonscientific theories in the science classroom. Urges states and localities to support high-quality science standards and curricula. SOCED

Visa Restrictions: Supports timely screening for visiting scientists and students. SOCED, International Activities Committee (IAC), ComSci

Public Access to Scientific Results: Opposes government-mandated free access to published research results. Supports 2005 NIH public access policy experiment and encourages proper analysis before further steps are taken.

Scientific Freedom: Advocates freedom of scientific exchange and stronger scientific collaboration to benefit humankind. International Activities Committee (IAC)

Biomonitoring: Reviews the science and interpretation of biomonitoring data on human health. Calls for research to improve the utility of biomonitoring information in policy. CEI

Climate: Reviews the science and recommends action on global climate issues. CEI

Inherently Safer Technologies: Endorses federal support of developing IST and greater use of IST in reducing risk. CEI

Labeling of Chemicals: Comments on Occupational Safety & Health Administration proposal for global harmonization of hazard communication. Committee on Chemical Safety (CCS)

Laboratory Regulation: Endorses regulatory relief for research laboratories in academia, government, and industry. CCS

Scientific Insight & Integrity: Supports the use of insightful and comprehensive scientific and engineering research and analyses to assist the development and evaluation of policy options. Encourages policies that assist the government to obtain and integrate scientific assessments including transparency, openness, empowerment of scientists inside and outside of government, and an appropriate scientific advisory system. CEI, ComSci

Sustainability of the Chemical Enterprise: Defines the concept of sustainability in the context of the chemical enterprise. Supports government incentives for sustainable technologies including regulatory flexibility, tax incentives, and research support. CEI, ComSci

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