[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 41 (Friday, March 9, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E511-E512]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       INTRODUCTION OF THE SCIENTIFIC COMMUNICATIONS ACT OF 2007

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                          HON. DORIS O. MATSUI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, March 9, 2007

  Ms. MATSUI. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce legislation that 
will better prepare our scientists to be professionally competitive

[[Page E512]]

and ensure that the American people benefit more directly from the 
large annual investment that we make in our research enterprise. I am 
proud to introduce the Scientific Communications Act of 2007. This 
program will train young scientists to more effectively communicate 
scientific and other technical topics to policymakers. The improvement 
in communications skills will also enhance the interaction of the 
scientific community with business leaders, the media, and the general 
public. This initiative will foster greater cross-disciplinary 
education and improve public access to scientific expertise.
  Innovation and competitiveness are at the forefront of public policy 
discussions. A key element to ensuring continued American excellence in 
science and technology innovation is providing our scientists with the 
skills necessary to offer their valuable expertise and insight to the 
public policy dialogue. By doing so, we will accelerate the speed with 
which the government, the media, and the general public are able to 
access information on new discoveries in science, technology, health 
and medicine, and other technical topics. Better access to expertise 
from our scientific community will ensure that we, the policymakers, 
can make the most informed and beneficial decisions possible when 
shaping new policy directions for our country.
  This legislation will provide resources to the National Science 
Foundation to expand its ability to offer communications training to 
scientists. Some training programs funded by the NSF and other agencies 
have already made the commitment to implement such training. For 
example, some awardees of NSF's Integrative Graduate Education and 
Research Traineeship program provide communications training for their 
students. I applaud the forward thinking of those program 
administrators. Unfortunately these are exceptions, whereas training 
our scientists to be effective communicators should be a standard 
practice.
  This legislation is designed to encourage the integration of 
communications training into more scientific programs. This type of 
training will ensure that our scientists are better equipped to 
incorporate their expertise into the public dialogue on science and 
technology-related issues. Members of Congress should take particular 
interest in this initiative, since we regularly invite scientists to 
provide us with first-hand knowledge on such topics as climate change, 
nanotechnology, and new research into health and disease. To ensure 
that those important conversations continue to be fruitful, curricula 
for the science communications program proposed in this bill might 
include case studies of actual Congressional testimony by scientific 
experts to demonstrate the importance of clear and concise expertise in 
public policy.
  While the training provided within this legislation focuses on the 
interaction between scientists and the public policy community, the 
benefits will spread more broadly. The ability to clearly explain 
technical topics to nonscientific audiences will translate to other 
industries, all of which will benefit the United States research 
enterprise and, consequently, our economy. Training our early-career 
scientists to discuss technical topics with nonscientific audiences 
will have the effect of augmenting the engagement of the scientific 
community with other professional fields. This might, for example, lead 
to more frequent interaction with business leaders and venture 
capitalists to inform the private sector and investors about cutting-
edge technologies and improve the transfer of research discoveries to 
the marketplace.

  The Scientific Communications Act of 2007 will add an important new 
dimension to the education of American scientists. The ability of the 
United States to remain an economic leader depends, in large part, on 
our continued successes in science and technology research and 
development. We must, therefore, ensure that our scientists are 
equipped with the skills to provide their expertise to policymakers, 
business and community leaders, and the general public. This initiative 
will enhance the dialogue on science- and technology-related topics and 
facilitate the development of fully informed public policy. I ask the 
support of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle in supporting this 
legislation.

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