Editing National Science Foundation (section)

====1940–49====
Amidst growing awareness that US military capability depended on strength in science and engineering, Congress considered several proposals to support research in these fields. Separately, President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] sponsored creation of organizations to coordinate federal funding of science for war, including the [[National Defense Research Committee]] and the [[Office of Scientific Research and Development]] (OSRD) both from 1941 to 1947. Despite broad agreement over the principle of federal support for science, working out a consensus on how to organize and manage it required five years.<ref name="nsf3" /> The five-year political debate over the creation of a national scientific agency has been a topic for academic study, understood from a variety of perspectives.<ref name=":02">{{Cite journal|last=Wang|first=Jessica|date=1995|title=Liberals, the Progressive Left, and the Political Economy of Postwar American Science: The National Science Foundation Debate Revisited.|journal=Historical Studies in the Physical and Biological Sciences|volume= 26| issue =  1|pages=139–166|doi=10.2307/27757758|jstor=27757758|pmid=11609016}}</ref> Themes include disagreements over administrative structure, patents and inclusion of social sciences,<ref name=":02"/> a [[Populism|populist]]-versus-scientist dispute,<ref name=":7">B.L.R. Smith 1990: 40, cited in Daniel Kleinman ''Politics on the Endless Frontier''</ref> as well as the roles of political parties, Congress, and [[Harry S. Truman|President Truman]].<ref name=":02"/>

Commonly, this debate is characterized by the conflict between [[New Deal]] Senator [[Harley M. Kilgore]] and OSRD head [[Vannevar Bush]].<ref name="k3">{{cite book|title=Politics on the Endless Frontier|last=Kleinman|first=Daniel|publisher=Duke University Press|year=1995}}</ref>  Narratives about the National Science Foundation prior to the 1970s typically concentrated on Vannevar Bush and his 1945 publication Science—The Endless Frontier.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nsf.gov/about/history/vbush1945.htm|title=Science The Endless Frontier – A Report to the President by Vannevar Bush, Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development, July 1945|author=<!--Not stated-->|date=Jul 1945|website=nsf.gov|publisher=National Science Foundation}}</ref> In this report, Vannevar Bush, then head of the [[Office of Scientific Research and Development]] which began the [[Manhattan Project]], addressed plans for the postwar years to further foster government commitment to science and technology.<ref name=":1" /> Issued to President Harry S. Truman in July 1945, the report made a strong case for federally-funded scientific research, arguing that the nation would reap rich dividends in the form of better health care, a more vigorous economy, and a stronger national defense. It proposed creating a new federal agency, the National Research Foundation.<ref name=":1" />

The NSF first appeared as a comprehensive New Deal Policy proposed by Sen. Harley Kilgore of West Virginia.<ref name="j2"/> In 1942, Senator Kilgore introduced the "Science Mobilization Act" (S. 1297), which did not pass.<ref name="k3"/><ref name="j2"/> Perceiving organizational chaos, elitism, over-concentration of funds in elite universities, and lack of incentives for socially applicable research, Kilgore envisioned a comprehensive and centralized research body supporting [[Basic Science|basic]] and [[Applied Research|applied research]] which would be controlled by members of the public and civil servants rather than scientific experts.<ref name="k3"/> The public would own the rights to all patents funded by public monies and research monies would be equitably spread across universities. Kilgore's supporters included non-elite universities, small businesses, and the Budget Bureau.<ref name="k3"/> His proposals received mixed support.

Vannevar Bush opposed Kilgore, preferring science policy driven by experts and scientists rather than public and civil servants.<ref name="k3"/> Bush was concerned that public interests would politicize science, and believed that scientists would be the best judges of the direction and needs of their field. While Bush and Kilgore both agreed on the need for a national science policy,<ref name="k3"/> Bush maintained that scientists should continue to own the research results and [[patent]]s, wanted project selection limited to scientists, and focused support on basic research, not the social sciences, leaving the market to support applied projects.<ref name="k3"/>

Sociologist Daniel Kleinman divides the debate into three broad legislative attempts. The first attempt consisted of the 1945 Magnuson bill (S. 1285), the 1945 Science and Technology Mobilization Bill, a 1945 compromise bill (S. 1720), a 1946 compromise bill (S. 1850), and the Mills Bill (H.B. 6448). The Magnuson bill was sponsored by Senator [[Warren Magnuson]] and drafted by the OSRD, headed by Vannevar Bush. The Science and Technology Mobilization bill was promoted by Harley Kilgore. The bills called for the creation of a centralized science agency, but differed in governance and research supported.<ref name="k3"/><ref name=":02"/> The second attempt, in 1947, included Senator [[Howard Alexander Smith|H. Alexander Smith]]'s bill S. 526, and Senator [[Elbert D. Thomas|Elbert Thomas]]'s bill S. 525. The Smith bill reflected ideas of Vannevar Bush, while the Thomas bill was identical to the previous year's compromise bill (S. 1850).<ref name="k3"/>

After amendments, the Smith bill made it to President Truman's desk, but it was vetoed. Truman wrote that regrettably, the proposed agency would have been "divorced from control by the people to an extent that implies a distinct lack of faith in the democratic process".<ref name=":8">Truman, cited in Daniel Kleinman's ''Politics on the Endless Frontier''.</ref> The third attempt began with the introduction of S. 2385 in 1948. This was a compromise bill cosponsored by Smith and Kilgore, and Bush aide John Teeter had contributed in the drafting process. In 1949, S. 247 was introduced by the same group of senators behind S. 2385, marking the fourth and final effort to establish a national science agency. Essentially identical to S. 2385, S. 247 passed the Senate and the House with a few amendments.<ref name="k3"/> It was signed by President Truman on May 10, 1950.  Kleinman points out that the final NSF bill closely resembles Vannevar Bush's proposals.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Statement by the President Upon Signing Bill Creating the National Science Foundation. |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-the-president-upon-signing-bill-creating-the-national-science-foundation|access-date=2021-10-20|website=The American Presidency Project }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible" href="ozone hole"
|+Kilgore and Bush Proposals differed on five issues which were central to the larger debate (Chart reproduced)<ref name="k3"/>
!
! Populist Proposal
(Harley Kilgore)
! Scientist/Business Proposal
(Vannevar Bush)
!National Science Foundation Act
1950
|-
|Coordination/Planning
|Strong Mandate
| Vague Mandate
| Vague Mandate
|-
|Control/Administration
| Non-scientist members of the public:
Business, labor, farmers, consumers
| Scientists and other experts
|Scientists and other experts
|-
|Research Supported
| Basic and applied
| Basic
| Basic
|-
|Patent Policy
| Nonexclusive licensing
| No nonexclusive licensing
|No nonexclusive licensing
|-
| Social Science Support
| Yes
| No
|No
|}