ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the costs to the nation of the rise and demise of the President's Science Advisory Committee and the diminished role of the President's Science Advisor with regard to Presidential decision-making. It shows why some form of thorough institutionalized review process is necessary to assist the President in the management of the nation's scientific enterprise. The new Committee, established in 1951 by President Truman, was placed under the Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization, instead of reporting directly to the President. Because of the dominance of federal funding, the ability of the United States to manage effectively the wide-ranging and complex issues raised by the rapid advance of technology rests on the government, and thus ultimately with the President. The chapter argues that an overemphasis on government financing for space and military technology, without supervision or adequate consideration of the costs or need, is at the root of the problem.
