Office of Science and Technology Policy

Science

The Obama Administration and the Office of Science and Technology Policy are committed to restoring science to its rightful place in America as a tool for crafting smart policies that will strengthen the nation. That means getting the best available evidence to decision-makers; hiring highly qualified public servants to interpret that evidence; and strengthening and making full use of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).

President Obama’s vision for science in America includes dramatic increases in funding for biomedical research and the physical sciences and engineering; increased support for high-risk/high-payoff research that has the most potential to produce real breakthroughs; and making the R&D tax credit permanent—while eliminating all capital gains taxes on start-up and small businesses—to assure the steady flow of investment that is so crucial to producing good jobs and truly pioneering advancements.

Finally, it means ensuring that all Americans have the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education they will need to participate in modern society and to be a part of a reinvigorated American economy.

Among the benefits to be gained by this renewed support for American science and science education:

  • Enhanced Competitiveness in the Global Marketplace: Science has long been a major contributor to the American economy and holds the key to a strong recovery from the current global financial slump. 
  • Longer, Healthier Lives for all Americans: American biomedical science is the envy of the world.  By giving it our fullest support, including federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research and other promising approaches to treating diseases, we can make medicine better and more efficient.
  • Improved American Agricultural Productivity: Modern agronomic techniques offer solutions to the serious challenges facing farmers in the United States and around the world, including climate change, declining fresh water reserves and the need to reduce the substantial energy inputs and CO2 emissions attributable to agriculture.
  • Cultivation of a New Generation of Skilled, Educated, Science-savvy Americans: By boosting STEM education now, we can rest assured that the next generation of Americans will be among the best prepared in the world to face the challenges of the 21st Century, and will pass to their children a stronger, greener and more sustainable economy.