Proposed Legislation is How Not to Do Science

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Over at the ISC Blog, Michael Feldman from Intersect360 Research writes that the proposed High Quality Research Act under consideration in Congress would severely restrict the types of research that could be funded.

Think of digital computers, the Internet, lasers, and genome sequencing, all of which are underpinned by basic science, and all of which received federal funding in their early stages. The silliest part of the proposed legislation is that it mandates that the research be “ground breaking,” an attribute that is impossible to predict. It’s like saying unless the research will win a Noble Prize, it’s not worth doing. Such wording reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of how science works.

Read the Full Story or check out the Full Committee Hearing – A Review of the President’s FY 2014 Budget Request for Science Agencies.