Inform & Influence S&T Policy 9: Democratic and Republican Party Platforms and S&T Policy; Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

Your practical guide to the victories and struggles in Science and Technology (S&T) policy and how to make a difference.

I address the following topics in this week’s science and technology (S&T) policy newsletter.

(1) Societal Progress Catalysts: Democratic Party Platform and S&T Policy

(2) Societal Progress Roadblocks: Republican Party Platform and S&T Policy

(3) Where You Can Make a Difference:? Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

Societal Progress Catalysts: Democratic Platform and S&T Policy

During my first solo trip to New York City as an engineering student, I unwittingly attended during the same days as the Democratic National Convention.? As you might imagine, it was quite an exciting time.? The year was 1980 when Jimmy Carter was nominated.? In case you don’t know it, although Jimmy Carter was well-known as a peanut farmer, he graduated from the Naval Academy, served as an engineering officer on a submarine, and assisted "in the design and development of nuclear propulsion plants for naval vessels."? As president, he continued his interest in alternative forms of energy, including installing solar panels on the White House.? The panels, which stayed in place for seven years, even into the Reagan Administration, represented Carter’s vision for an energy future, and he was well ahead of his time on energy policy.

I have found over the years that the degree to which presidents care about science and technology is often personal.? For President Carter, it was energy; for President George W. Bush, it was innovation and business; and for President Biden, it is cancer research.

One of many lessons I learned during the Obama administration when I served as executive director of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology was that campaign promises really do count, and it's also important to hold any Presidential Administration accountable for their promises.? This is a very unusual year because Kamala Harris was a late nominee, so her influence over the platform is not apparent.??

As I previously discussed, Vice President Harris has already evidenced interest in biomedical and climate change research, but what does the Democratic platform (developed every four years) say about science, technology, and innovation. ? The platform discusses both accomplishments in the Biden Administration and new policies. A note that President Biden is still mentioned as is a second term. I’m only going to focus on the new policies. Here’s a quick rundown of the S&T policy elements of the 2024? Democratic Party Platform approved last Monday, August 19 (all items are direct quotes):

Climate Policy

• To help find new ways of generating and storing energy, reducing emissions, and boosting climate resilience, we’ll launch an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Climate (ARPA-C), modeled on the defense research agency that’s behind breakthrough technologies like the internet and GPS, and the new ARPA-H that the Administration created to transform medicine.?
• We’ll also establish a new national lab for climate research and innovation, affiliated with an HBCU, Hispanic-, or other Minority-Serving Institution, to ensure the opportunities of the future are available to everyone, and built by everyone.

Health Policy

• [B]ecause the gun violence epidemic is a public health crisis, we will fund gun violence research across the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as community violence interventions.
• [A]ppoint leaders at the FDA who respect science.

Technology Policy

• We will invest in the AI Safety Institute to create guidelines, tools, benchmarks, and best practices for evaluating dangerous capabilities and mitigating AI risk. We will also prioritize funding for critical AI research and development that advances AI safety.
• Building on joint technology initiatives with the European Union, India, Singapore, South Korea, and other partners, . . .promote innovation and shared rules for global technologies.

There is, of course, a great deal more in the document itself than what I have here.? It provides a good overview of Biden Administration activities and a fair amount of bashing of Trump Administration policies.

Societal Progress Roadblocks:? Republican Party Platform

Of course, now I must look at the Republican Party Platform, adopted on July 15, 2024.?

Let me say before I start that in the past and today, I have worked and do work with many of what I call “Reasonable Republicans,” who respect science, technology, and innovation.? This was particularly true in the passage of the America COMPETES Act, which came out of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine report called “Rising Above the Gathering Storm,” which was requested by both Democratic and Republican congressional leaders (See Appendix B).

Some Republicans I have worked with have even been scientists, engineers, or health professionals themselves. Many represent districts where there are, for example, many national laboratories or universities that employ a good portion of their constituency.? As a result, plenty of Republicans would probably support action related to health policy, climate policy, and innovation policy and would not object to the Democratic Party positions above.

However, this is the Trump era, and perhaps the best that can be said is that former President Trump doesn’t care much about any of the above and is more focused on social policy in general.? As a result, when he was President, many S&T policy programs were not touched, probably because few of the S&T political positions were filled and filled very late, and civil servants kept going with the past (Obama) administration policies.? S, progress continued to be made in most aspects of S&T policy.

As discussed in this CNN article, which annotates the full platform, it is very Trump’esque with many strong statements, emphasis capitalization, and exclamation points. With that preamble, here are some S&T policies in the Republican party platform (all material is quoted):

K-12 Education Policy

• Republicans will ensure children are taught fundamentals like Reading, History, Science, and Math, not Leftwing propaganda. We will defund schools that engage in inappropriate political indoctrination of our children using Federal Taxpayer Dollars.

Higher Education Policy

• Make Colleges and Universities Sane and Affordable: Republicans will fire Radical Left accreditors, drive down Tuition costs, restore Due Process protections, and pursue Civil Rights cases against Schools that discriminate.
• To reduce the cost of Higher Education, Republicans will support the creation of additional, drastically more affordable alternatives to a traditional four-year College degree.

Health Policy

• Affordable Healthcare: Healthcare and prescription drug costs are out of control. Republicans will increase Transparency, promote Choice and Competition, and expand access to new Affordable Healthcare and prescription drug options. We will protect Medicare, and ensure Seniors receive the care they need without being burdened by excessive costs.

Energy Policy

• Common Sense tells us clearly that we must unleash American Energy if we want to destroy Inflation and rapidly bring down prices, build the Greatest Economy in History, revive our Defense Industrial Base, fuel Emerging Industries, and establish the United States as the Manufacturing Superpower of the World. We will DRILL, BABY, DRILL and we will become Energy Independent, and even Dominant again. The United States has more liquid gold under our feet than any other Nation, and it's not even close. The Republican Party will harness that potential to power our future.
• Republicans will revive the U.S. Auto Industry by reversing harmful Regulations, canceling Biden's Electric Vehicle and other Mandates, and preventing the importation of Chinese vehicles.

Technology Policy

• Republicans will ensure our Military is the most modern, lethal and powerful Force in the World. We will invest in cutting-edge research and advanced technologies, including an Iron Dome Missile Defense Shield, support our Troops with higher pay, and get woke Leftwing Democrats fired as soon as possible.

A note that there are more detailed policy positions in the Project 2025 report, which I described in an earlier Inform and Influence S&T Policy if that interests you.

How YOU Can ENGAGE in S&T Policy:?Citizens' Climate Lobby

Several scientists and engineers I have worked with in the past have participated in Citizens’ Climate Lobby (CCL), a “nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots advocacy climate change organization focused on national policies to address the national and global climate crisis.” Participants come from a wide array of backgrounds, and the contributions of scientists, engineers, and health professionals in their work is appreciated, according to those I’ve spoken to.??

They work through local chapters, which I appreciate since my policy journey began with the League of Women Voters, which operates similarly.? Here’s how they work:

“Our consistently respectful, nonpartisan approach to climate education is designed to create a broad, sustainable foundation to drive climate action across all geographic regions and political inclinations. By building upon shared values rather than partisan divides, and empowering our supporters to work in keeping with the concerns of their local communities, we work towards the adoption of fair, effective, and sustainable climate change solutions.

We train and support volunteers to build relationships with elected officials, the media and their local community.”

Joining is simple, and local chapters are available throughout the United States and globally.? If you’re a college student or recent graduate, they also have internships available.

Thank YOU for reading!?

My name is Debbie Stine, the founder of the Science & Technology (S&T) Policy Academy, which offers workshops for organizations, “done for you” policy analysis, and career, leadership, and business coaching services.??

I spent over 30 years in Washington DC, working for the Obama White House as executive director of the President’s Council on Science and Technology (PCAST), an S&T policy specialist at the Congressional Research Service (a think tank for Congress), and 18 years at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, directing studies on innumerable S&T policy topics.??

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You can also find out more about the services offered by the Science and Technology and Policy Academy and my 2024 book From Expertise to Impact: A Practical Guide to Informing And Influencing Science and Technology Policy.

And, if you want to read past editions of this newsletter to catch up on all the latest S&T policy happenings, go here.

See you next week for yet more compelling science and technology policy news and insights. Debbie