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Science and Technology Issues in the 116Th Congress

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Science and Technology Issues in the 116Th Congress Science and Technology Issues in the 116th Congress February 6, 2019 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov R45491 SUMMARY R45491 Science and Technology Issues in the 116th February 6, 2019 Congress Frank Gottron, Science and technology (S&T) have a pervasive influence over a wide range of issues Coordinator confronting the nation. Public and private research and development spur scientific and Specialist in Science and technological advancement. Such advances can drive economic growth, help address national Technology Policy priorities, and improve health and quality of life. The ubiquity and constantly changing nature of science and technology frequently create public policy issues of congressional interest. The federal government supports scientific and technological advancement directly by funding and performing research and development and indirectly by creating and maintaining policies that encourage private sector efforts. Additionally, the federal government regulates many aspects of S&T activities. This report briefly outlines a key set of science and technology policy issues that may come before the 116th Congress. This set is not exhaustive, however. Given the rapid pace of S&T advancement and its importance in many diverse public policy contexts, other S&T-related issues not discussed in this report may come before the 116th Congress. The selected issues are grouped into 10 categories: Overarching S&T Policy Issues, Agriculture, Biomedical Research and Development, Climate Change Science and Water, Defense, Energy, Homeland Security, Information Technology, Physical and Material Sciences, and Space. Each of these categories includes concise analysis of multiple policy issues. The material presented in this report should be viewed as illustrative rather than comprehensive. Each section identifies CRS reports, when available, and the appropriate CRS experts to contact for further information and analysis. Congressional Research Service Science and Technology Issues in the 116th Congress Contents Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Overarching S&T Policy Issues ...................................................................................................... 1 Federal Science and Technology Policymaking Enterprise ...................................................... 1 Federal Funding for Research and Development ...................................................................... 2 Disruptive and Convergent Technology .................................................................................... 3 America COMPETES Act Reauthorization .............................................................................. 4 Technology Transfer from Federal Laboratories ....................................................................... 5 Adequacy of the U.S. Science and Engineering Workforce ...................................................... 5 Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education .............................................. 6 Tax Incentives for Technological Innovation ............................................................................ 7 Agriculture....................................................................................................................................... 8 Agricultural Research ................................................................................................................ 8 The National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Economic Research Service Relocation Proposal ............................................................................................................... 9 Agricultural Biotechnology ....................................................................................................... 9 Cell-Cultured Meat .................................................................................................................. 10 Biomedical Research and Development ......................................................................................... 11 st National Institutes of Health and the 21 Century Cures Act ................................................. 12 The Food and Drug Administration: Medical Product Innovation .......................................... 13 Oversight of Laboratory-Developed Tests (LDTs) .................................................................. 13 Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine .................................................................................. 14 CRISPR: Advanced Genome Editing ...................................................................................... 15 Climate Change Science and Water ............................................................................................... 16 Climate-Related S&T Expenditures and Activities by the Federal Government .................... 16 Climate Change-Related Science ............................................................................................ 17 GHG-Related Technology Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment .......... 18 Climate Change and Infrastructure ......................................................................................... 19 Science and Technology for Adaptation and Resilience ......................................................... 20 Carbon Capture and Sequestration .......................................................................................... 21 Water ....................................................................................................................................... 22 Defense .......................................................................................................................................... 24 Department of Defense Research and Development ............................................................... 24 Energy ........................................................................................................................................... 25 Reprocessing of Spent Nuclear Fuel ....................................................................................... 25 Advanced Nuclear Energy Technology ................................................................................... 26 Biofuels ................................................................................................................................... 27 Offshore Energy Development Technologies.......................................................................... 28 ITER ........................................................................................................................................ 29 Homeland Security ........................................................................................................................ 30 R&D in the Department of Homeland Security ...................................................................... 30 Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Medical Countermeasures ........................ 31 Microbial Pathogens in the Laboratory: Safety and Security .................................................. 32 Information Technology ................................................................................................................ 33 Cybersecurity .......................................................................................................................... 33 Congressional Research Service Science and Technology Issues in the 116th Congress Artificial Intelligence .............................................................................................................. 34 Broadband Deployment .......................................................................................................... 35 Access to Broadband Networks and the Net Neutrality Debate ............................................. 36 Deployment of the FirstNet Network ...................................................................................... 37 Emergency Alerting................................................................................................................. 37 5G Technologies ...................................................................................................................... 38 The Internet of Things ............................................................................................................. 38 Digital Services Tax ................................................................................................................ 40 Evolving Technology and Law Enforcement Investigations ................................................... 40 The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Program ............ 41 Quantum Information Science ................................................................................................ 42 Physical and Material Sciences ..................................................................................................... 43 National Science Foundation .................................................................................................. 43 Nanotechnology and the National Nanotechnology Initiative ................................................ 44 Space ............................................................................................................................................. 45 NASA .....................................................................................................................................
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