Is Holdren Cabinet-Bound?
New OSTP Director Should Be Close to the President
SOURCE: Belfer Center at Harvard University, AP
The science community wants John Holdren’s expected confirmation to the Office of Science and Technology Policy to be followed by his elevation into Obama’s cabinet.
Harvard University physicist John Holdren testifies today before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and is expected to be confirmed as President Obama’s Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, making him the 15th science adviser at the White House and co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. Many in the science policy world hope his confirmation will coincide with elevating the position to the cabinet-level title of Assistant to the President.
Although the President’s cabinet formally consists of 15 department heads, President Obama has the authority to elevate other executives to that level for the duration of his administration. The last time the director of OSTP was a cabinet-level official was in the Clinton White House. [Clarification: Under Clinton, the science adviser was not an official cabinet post, but did have access to cabinet meetings and information. -Asst. Ed.]. A myriad of organizations have called for this elevation.
Last year, for example, the American Association for the Advancement of Science published an open letter to then-Senator Obama calling for a reinvigorated, cabinet-level science adviser, with 178 scientific societies, associations, universities, companies, and R&D centers signing the letter. The Woodrow Wilson Center’s Foresight and Governance Project also published specific recommendations on how OSTP and the director’s role should be strengthened through the elevation of the OSTP director to a cabinet position.
These recommendations stem, in part, from the role the science adviser has played over the past eight years. OSTP under the Bush administration was widely seen as a weakened entity, allowing the implementation of policies that directly contradicted the views of the vast majority of the scientific community, which watched with dismay as important research and policy in areas such as climate change, embryonic stem cells, and renewable energy were stymied by the conservative policymakers. John Marburger, Bush’s director of OSTP, was complicit in these matters, backing up the White House positions with claims that he could only present advice to the President when all questions about the science have been resolved—yet he ignored overwhelming evidence by world-class scientists on these matters.
As a cabinet-level official, Holdren would have the ability to sit in on and comment at the weekly cabinet meetings, giving voice to science issues at the highest levels of government. The increased access should ease Holdren’s ability to coordinate science policy throughout the executive branch. Yet even with cabinet-level access, science’s role in the Obama White House will depend on three things.
First, Holdren must be savvy in understanding the unique power and processes of the White House in order to get his ideas moved forward and his advice heard. He will need to take a strong stance to advocate for science and be able to pull from his relationships in academia and the private sector as well as his relationships with those closest to the President to pull in the political support for his ideas.
Second, coordinating policy among all of the myriad science agencies in the Executive branch will be no easy task. He must quickly get the lay of the land, and balance OSTP’s leadership on interagency initiatives with regard for agency autonomy and pet projects.
Third, how Holdren structures OSTP will determine its success. Marburger, Holdren’s predecessor, greatly reduced the scope and staff of the office. Multiple science policy experts have called for the re-expansion of the office to four associate directors that sit in close proximity with other White House officials. In the Fall issue of Issues in Science and Technology Policy, one Clinton-era OSTP Assistant Director, Gerald Hane, called for an even bolder move in creating a position of deputy assistant to the president for science, technology, and global affairs.
Holdren’s success will give a strong voice for science in the White House, but he will have his work cut out for him defending governmental research and development funding and U.S. leadership in innovation. After the promising early nomination of Holdren for science adviser, the science community is waiting for further bold action on science, such as lifting the federal ban on embryonic stem cell research. The elevation of OSTP director to a cabinet level would go a long way toward realizing Obama’s inaugural declaration to “restore science to its rightful place.”
Amy Hoang-Wrona is a Senior Policy Analyst at Strategic Analysis, Inc.
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