A Vision for the Future

Congress established the National Science Foundation in 1950 to “promote the progress of science; advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; secure the national defense; and for other purposes.” What’s the best way to ensure that NSF fulfills this mandate? Issues is hosting a robust debate over the answer, including how, more broadly, science and innovation policy in the United States should be organized to achieve these important goals.

Now Eddie Bernice Johnson, the chairwoman of the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, lays out her vision for the future of American science. Instead of focusing on global competition or developing technology for its own sake, she argues that policymakers should adopt a solutions-oriented approach “that will help make people’s lives healthier and safer, society more equitable, and the globe more resilient to a changing climate and other threats.”

As she articulates the policy ideas behind the National Science Foundation for the Future Act, Representative Johnson addresses big questions about the future of US science and innovation policy. Read her full essay!

A Bipartisan Vision for the Future of American Science

Photograph by Alastair Philip Wiper featured in the Summer 2020 Issues.