February 2020

On January 29, Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK), ranking member of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, introduced the Securing American Leadership in Science and Technology Act (SALSTA). The legislation aims to address international competitiveness in scientific research and climate change.

The bill proposes doubling the investment in basic research at several scientific agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), over 10 years. This would result in a budget for NSF overall of $13 billion and $1.16 billion for the Education and Human Resources Directorate by FY 2029. The bill also contains several policy provisions for NSF, including an organizational review, the development of ethics and security plans, and the encouragement of investment in midscale infrastructure. The legislation calls on NSF to support research and training for the reproducibility of research and to develop a set of criteria for trusted open repositories.

In addition, the legislation would provide authority for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to develop a national technology strategy, to be updated every four years. The bill would also authorize OSTP to conduct a quadrennial review of the U.S. scientific enterprise and would require a study from the Government Accountability Office on federal research security.

SALSTA is co-sponsored by many of the Republicans on the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.