Joseph Paul Martino - Science Funding: Politics and Porkbarrel

Politics and Porkbarrel

Joseph P. Martino

First published 1992 by Transaction Publishers

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ISBN 13: 978-1-56000-033-4 (hbk)

To Tony and Mike,
whose scientific careers are just beginning

I gratefully acknowledge the inspiration of Bob Poole, who conceived the idea for this book; the financial support of the Reason Foundation, the CATO Institute, the Earhart Foundation, and Mr. Paul Glenn, which made it possible for me to write the book; the collaboration of my former boss and still colleague, Nick Engler, on the survey of scientists attitudes; and the careful editing of Lynn Scarlett, who put me back on track every time I left it. Any remaining errors of commission and omission are solely my responsibility.

Were resigned to seeing Congress vote money for porkbarrel projects of all kinds: roads, dams, post offices, and military construction projects in the districts of influential legislators. This kind of vote buying and pandering to special interests may disgust us, but it no longer shocks us.

Now, without any fanfare, and almost without public notice, Congress has extended porkbarrel politics to a new domain: science. In fiscal year (FY) 1988, Congress included $143 million in earmarked appropriations in the budget of the Department of Energy. These earmarks included $15 million for a Pediatric Research Center at Childrens Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, $12.7 million for the Institute for Human Genomic Studies at the Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City, and $7.5 million for the Institution of Nuclear Medicine at the University of Medicine and Dentistry in New Jersey. The Department of Energy hadnt asked for the money, nor had there been any committee hearings on the merits (if any) of the projects themselves. Congress also included $100 million of earmarks in the University Research program of the Department of Defense (DOD), and $31 million of earmarks in appropriations for the Department of Agriculture. Likewise, none of these were based on hearings or departmental requests. The total amount earmarked in the FY 1988 budget came to approximately $250 million (Greenberg, 1988:3).