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Testimony of Daniel B. Willingham, Ph.D. Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, I’m Dr. Daniel Willingham, submitting testimony on behalf of the American Psychological Association, a scientific and professional organization of more than 159,000 psychologists and affiliates. Our behavioral scientists play vital roles within the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and I would like to address the proposed Fiscal Year 2001 research budgets for each of these three agencies. National Science Foundation NSF is currently celebrating its 50th anniversary as the only federal agency whose primary mission is the support of fundamental research in science and engineering. As a member of the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF), APA urges the Subcommittee to reinvest in the critical basic research enterprise that is responsible for many of the most exciting discoveries and dramatic advances in scientific understanding and technological development in the last five decades. Federal support for basic research has played a major role in the longest sustained economic growth in this country's history, as these industry leaders have recently noted:
Basic research in each field of science establishes the underpinnings of these fields, forms the backbone for new scientific discovery, and establishes the tools for interdisciplinary research. Leading edge advances in science and engineering today, more often than not, need cross-disciplinary perspectives, which depend on the vitality of the science, mathematics, computing and engineering disciplines supported by NSF. In the 1990s, NSF's basic research budget grew at an annual rate of 1.9 percent -- much less than the 5.1 percent (in constant dollars) annual growth rate of the 1970s. It is clear that many of the technology innovations enjoyed today are based upon research done twenty and thirty years ago, and that innovations twenty to thirty years in the future will depend upon significant investment in present-day research. We join CNSF in applauding the President's proposed Fiscal Year 2001 budget of $4.57 billion for NSF, and urge this Subcommittee to support an increase of at least this amount. Psychological researchers can play a particularly important and unique role in one of NSF's primary research initiatives, the Information Technology Research (ITR) program. NSF takes the lead role in this multi-agency effort to increase long-term computer science research and provide scientists access to world-class supercomputers. This initiative addresses concerns raised by the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee in its recent report, in which it described federal support for information technology research as "dangerously inadequate." One of the stated goals of the initiative within NSF is to examine social and ethical implications of emerging information technologies. Behavioral and social scientists have expertise in addressing vital questions regarding design of, access to, and potential impact of these information technologies as they become increasingly prevalent in our lives. APA supports the Administration's request for an increase in Fiscal Year 2001 funding for the multi-agency Information Technology Research Initiative. We view the proposed total of $327 million for information technology research at NSF, the Initiative's lead agency, as an excellent first step. However, NSF should be strongly encouraged to make research on the impact of emerging technologies on society, and particularly the potential effects on children's and adolescents' development, a funding priority within both the Initiative and the agency's core disciplinary research programs. National Aeronautics and Space Administration Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences (OLMSA) NASA is demonstrating an unprecedented interest in psychological and behavioral research. That interest stems from recent historical observations of astronauts and cosmonauts living aboard Mir, the recognition that a multicultural workforce will build and occupy the International Space Station, and the longer term goals of sending astronauts to Mars. Psychologists are involved at many levels within NASA, studying everything from basic neuroscience in rats to determining how to optimize the habitability of next-generation space suits. Much of this research is funded through the Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications (OLMSA). This past year OLMSA has leveraged its modest resources by continuing to enhance its partnerships with the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). With NASA priorities in mind, both of these partner agencies have advanced psychological research. This year, NSBRI will expand from eight core research teams to twelve, including one dedicated to Neurobehavioral and Psychosocial Factors. Two weeks ago, ten NIH Institutes joined NASA in the release of a joint program announcement that will help expand the breadth of ground-based research with an increased emphasis on behavioral and psychological processes. OLMSA leads the nation’s efforts in using the attributes of the space environment to advance knowledge about the effects of gravity on living systems to improve the quality of life on Earth, and to strengthen the foundations for continuing the exploration and utilization of space. However, OLMSA still lacks the resources it needs to attract the very best researchers. Despite large numbers of meritorious applications OLMSA funds only a small percentage of the applications it receives with relatively short-term awards during a single review cycle each year. APA congratulates NASA for recognizing the critical role that psychological science must play in evaluating and maintaining astronaut health and performance. In order to redress budgetary short-falls across previous years and to continue building a vigorous portfolio of investigator-initiated research, APA recommends funding for the Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications of the Fiscal Year 2001 Administration request of $ 302.4 million, at a minimum. Office of Aero-Space Technology (OAST) Another arm of NASA makes good use of psychological science closer to Earth. One of the stated goals of the NASA Administrator is to reduce the aircraft accident rate by a factor of five within 10 years. A second goal is to triple the aviation throughput in all weather conditions by 2007. These two goals are not incompatible, but because the vast majority of accidents are attributed to human error, NASA will need to make an extraordinary investment in human factors research to achieve these ambitious milestones. Human factors psychologists conduct research on the decision-making processes used by pilots and controllers, ensure that new technology is designed with the user in mind, and continue to play a critical role in our understanding of why mistakes happen when humans are required to operate in a complex environment. Continued research on the complex interactions of flight crews with ground controllers, with cockpit technology, and with other aircraft systems will provide the insight needed to design error-tolerant systems. NASA has continued to strengthen its existing ties with the Federal Aviation Administration in an effort to advance the common research interests of both agencies in the areas of aviation capacity and safety. APA applauds NASA for its attention to human factors research in the Aviation Systems Capacity and Aviation Safety focus programs and recommends at least $507.4 million for Fiscal Year 2001 for the Focused Programs account within the Office of Aeronautics and Space Transportation Technology. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical and Prosthetic Research Account The VA funds intramural research that supports its clinical mission to care for our nation’s veterans, including medical, rehabilitation and health services research. Mental illness has been designated as a priority area of research, and psychological scientists within the VA continue to make great strides in:
For the second year in a row, the Administration has recommended no funding increase at all for VA Medical and Prosthetic Research in Fiscal Year 2001. To accommodate the less-than-inflationary increase provided in Fiscal Year 2000, the VA already has had to cut all ongoing research programs by 6.6 percent. APA is concerned that the Administration's failure to provide any increase at all reflects a lack of understanding about the impact of VA research on veterans. If Congress sustains the Administration's proposal to flat-fund VA research in Fiscal Year 2001, the VA will have to impose further cuts and curtail or cancel vital research initiatives important to veterans' health. APA joins the Friends of VA Medical Care and Health Research (FOVA) and the Independent Budget (IB), a coalition led by veterans service organizations, in recommending a Fiscal Year 2001 budget of at least $386 million for VA research. This will put the program back on track to recover from years of minimal increases. APA also joins FOVA in recommending that the VA be encouraged to address the difficulty clinician-researchers have finding time to conduct important basic and clinical research, given the chronic problem of understaffing for direct patient care. Centers of Inquiry for Patient Safety Largely in response to a recent report released by the Institute of Medicine, "To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System," there is heightened interest in increasing patient safety and reducing medical error and injuries in health care systems. The VA already has created an error reporting system and established four Centers of Inquiry for Patient Safety to address these issues. Experts from a variety of disciplines, including psychologists with expertise in human factors and safety issues, must be included in all phases of the VA response to medical error issues to ensure that sophisticated data collection and analysis are used to improve medical treatment. Measures not designed with respect for the complexity of the medical error problem risk being ineffective or even injurious themselves. APA also urges the Subcommittee to increase VA funding for monitoring medical errors and improving patient safety in its health care system, through increased support to its four Centers of Inquiry for Patient Safety. Summary On behalf of APA, I would like to express my appreciation for this opportunity to present testimony before the Subcommittee. Psychological scientists address a broad range of important issues and problems confronting our nation, from basic research on the impact of technology on children's development, to studies of how to optimize next-generation space suits and development of tools to better detect Alzheimer's disease. As the Subcommittee considers funding requests, I urge you to place a high priority on the issues I have outlined in my testimony - the need to reinvest in vital behavioral research within the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the VA so that our nation can meet the millennium's scientific and technological challenges. |
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