House Science Bill Seeks 4-Year US Tech Strategy

House Science Committee member Rep. Deborah Ross, D-N.C., led filing Monday of the National Science and Technology Strategy Act to institute a quadrennial review of U.S. science and tech issues. HR-3858 would direct the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Science and Technology Council to lead the review and develop a four-year policy strategy. HR-3858 would require the White House to send an annual report to Congress on national research priorities and potential threats to U.S. leadership in the science and tech field. “This legislation would require the federal government to take a methodical, comprehensive approach to plan for and meet our research and development needs,” Ross said. Technology Subcommittee ranking member Michael Waltz of Florida is HR-3858’s main GOP sponsor. Science Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas, and ranking member Frank Lucas, R-Okla., are also co-sponsors. The committee is set Tuesday to mark up the National Science Foundation for the Future Act (HR-2225), a rival measure to the Senate-passed U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S-1260). Johnson and Lucas have opposed S-1260 over its proposal to create a Technology Directorate within NSF (see 2104270045). The virtual markup begins at 10 a.m.