America's Gathering Storm

American Chemical Society members are part of a $516 billion chemical enterprise critical to our nation's economic health. As chemists and chemical engineers, we are drivers of the scientific innovation that enhances our nation's global competitiveness. ACS members must be acutely aware of the signs that U.S. innovation and economic leadership are slipping, such as:

◾ Last year, chemical companies were forced to shutter 70 facilities in the U.S., and 40 more are targeted to close.
◾ Of the 120 new chemical plants with a price tag of $1 billion or more each being built around the world, only one is in the U.S. Fifty are in China.
◾ U.S. 12th-graders recently performed below the international average for 21 countries in mathematics and science.
◾ Last year, 600,000 engineers graduated from Chinese institutions, 350,000 from Indian institutions, and only 70,000 from U.S. institutions.

I hear from ACS colleagues at universities that more of their best and brightest foreign students are returning to their home countries instead of staying to work in the U.S. Emerging economic powers, such as China and India, are making tremendous investments in basic research and science education in an effort to become dominant economic forces, which, if successful, will mean stiffer competition for our scientific workforce. Unfortunately, the U.S. is not aggressively responding to this global challenge.

As chair of the ACS Board Committee on Public Affairs & Public Relations (PA&PR), I want to share some of the ways that ACS is working to positively impact the national conversation regarding the future of U.S. science and technology leadership. ACS has been actively communicating with policymakers about the need to keep our innovation pipeline healthy. ACS advocacy activities are guided by official ACS position statements vetted through PA&PR. ACS public policy priority areas and position statements can be viewed at http://chemistry.org/government/policy/index.html.

Stating the Problem, Identifying theSolution

ACS is a leader in the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation, a coalition of scientific, university, and business groups that released the report Benchmarks of Our Innovation Future (www.futureofinnovation.org). This report details how other nations are patenting technology, publishing articles in scientific journals, and producing a science-and-technology-focused workforce at a rate far faster than the U.S.

An October 2005 report by the National Academies, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing & Employing America for a Brighter Economic Future" (www.nap.edu), makes a unified set of recommendations to rejuvenate U.S. innovation, including investments in U.S. education at the K-12 and undergraduate levels, doubling the funding for basic physical science and engineering research, and improving incentives and lowering barriers to innovation by our companies. ACS Executive Director Madeleine Jacobs served on one of the panels of the study group.

Engaging Policymakers

ACS has met with a wide range of high-level policymakers both in Congress and within the Administration, including the Office of Science & Technology Policy, Office of Management & Budget, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Department of Commerce, National Institute of Standards & Technology, and White House. On Capitol Hill, ACS is working closely with leaders such as Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) and Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) and Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) to secure greater investments in basic research funding, math and science education, and innovation funding, as well as to introduce legislation to implement the findings of the National Academies report. This is in addition to other calls for action that have been made by several reports during the past several months. Among the bills that have been introduced are the Manufacturing Technology Competitiveness Act of 2005 (H.R. 250), the Workforce Investment Act of 2005 (S. 1021), and the Higher Education Amendments of 2005. Over the next several months, we will be following the course of this legislation and commenting as appropriate.

Partnering With Industryand Other Organizations

ACS has long been a leader in advocating for basic research funding and improved science education. This fact, coupled with the findings of the reports cited, adds new urgency to our message that these investments are critical to our nation's future competitiveness.

ACS President William F. Carroll joined business leaders from Intel, the National Association of Manufacturers, and the American Electronics Association in a message to President George W. Bush urging the Administration to assign a high priority to R&D, science education, and other elements of the innovation challenge in next year's federal budget. This is just one example of how ACS continues to work closely with other scientific, education, and business organizations to leverage our collective concerns and interests.

While we carry out our efforts to maintain competitiveness, we are forever mindful of the need to support initiatives that will increase job opportunities for our members. Indeed, we see the thrust toward greater competitiveness as part of an overall strategic program that, in the long term, will lead to a more secure and stable workforce.

What Can You Do?

Make sure your elected officials understand how scientists and engineers contribute to our well-being and the long-term health of the economy. Attend a town hall meeting. Write your member of Congress a letter. Join and participate in the ACS Legislative Action Network (chemistry.org/government/action).

By working together, we can wake up America to the gathering storm.

More Online

ACS Comments, which appear in C&EN from time to time, are written by society officers and committee chairs. They are available on C&EN Online at www.cen-online.org/html/acscomments.html. Comments are archived back to 2000.