Science and Politics in the US Congress

The role of Congress in the making of Science Policy is subject to a number of key influences—Partisan politics, the skill of the players in Congress, personal relationships and more. I will attempt to draw a brief history of Congress role in science policy, pointing to key periods of strength and weakness in the system, with the intent of illuminating the difficulties of the current administration, where the role of science in policymaking is being reduced and degraded. Particular attention will be paid to the sometimes false notion that partisanship is always the key element—a sometimes false notion that leads people to misunderstand the way Congress actually functions.