The United States has a long and storied history of scientific and technological innovation, serving as a global leader in many fields. This leadership is driven by factors such as:

• Strong research institutions: The nation boasts world-class universities, research laboratories, and national scientific foundations that foster groundbreaking research.
• Government support: Federal agencies like the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) provide significant funding for scientific research and development.
• A culture of innovation: The United States has a culture that encourages risk-taking, entrepreneurship, and the pursuit of new ideas.
• Collaboration: The U.S. has a strong tradition of collaboration between academia, industry, and government, leading to efficient knowledge transfer and commercialization of research.

There are many issues related to Science & Technology that Congress is looking to address with legislation. In the ‘About’ section of this post is an overview of the issues and potential solutions, party positions, and web links. Other sections have information on relevant committees, chairs, & caucuses; departments & agencies; and the judiciary, nonpartisan & partisan organizations, and a wikipedia entry.

To participate in ongoing forums, ask the post’s curators questions, and make suggestions, scroll to the ‘Discuss’ section at the bottom of each post or select the “comment” icon.

The Science & Technology category has related posts and three posts on issues of particular focus: Nanotechnology, Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), Space Exploration.

The vision of the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is a future in which the ability to understand and control matter at the nanoscale leads to ongoing revolutions in technology and industry that benefit society.

The National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI) is a U.S. Government research and development (R&D) initiative. Over thirty Federal departments, independent agencies, and commissions work together toward the shared vision of a future in which the ability to understand and control matter at the nanoscale leads to ongoing revolutions in technology and industry that benefit society. The NNI enhances interagency coordination of nanotechnology R&D, supports a shared infrastructure, enables leveraging of resources while avoiding duplication, and establishes shared goals, priorities, and strategies that complement agency-specific missions and activities.

• There are many issues related to Economy & Jobs that Congress is looking to address with legislation. In the ‘About’ section of this post is an overview of the issues and potential solutions, party positions, and web links. Other sections have information on relevant committees, chairs, & caucuses; departments & agencies; and the judiciary, nonpartisan & partisan organizations, and a wikipedia entry.
• To participate in ongoing forums, ask the post’s curators questions, and make suggestions, scroll to the ‘Discuss’ section at the bottom of each post or select the “comment” icon.

The Nanotechnology category has related posts on government agencies and departments and  committees and their Chairs.

The AI Policy Category in the US onAir hub has related posts on government agencies and departments and  committees and their Chairs. In addition, the AI Policy hub has more detailed posts on AI regulation issues and efforts.
Note: The Trump administration is in the early phases of clarifying its policy approach to AI  and many of the previous committees and legislative efforts no longer have active. See this post on current AI.policy 

In the ‘About’ section of this post is an overview of the issues or challenges, potential solutions, and web links. Other sections have information on relevant legislation, committees, agencies, programs in addition to information on the judiciary, nonpartisan & partisan organizations, and a wikipedia entry.

• To participate in ongoing forums, ask the post’s curators questions, and make suggestions, scroll to the ‘Discuss’ section at the bottom of each post or select the “comment” icon.

Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space.[1] While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted both by uncrewed robotic space probes and human spaceflight. Space exploration, like its classical form astronomy, is one of the main sources for space science.

• In the ‘About’ section of this post is an overview of the issues or challenges, potential solutions, and web links. Other sections have information on relevant legislation, committees, agencies, programs in addition to information on the judiciary, nonpartisan & partisan organizations, and a wikipedia entry.
• To participate in ongoing forums, ask the post’s curators questions, and make suggestions, scroll to the ‘Discuss’ section at the bottom of each post or select the “comment” icon.

The Space Exploration category has related posts on government agencies and departments and  committees and their Chairs.

The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with promoting economic growth.[clarification needed] Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for business and government decision making, and helping to set industrial standards.

This organization’s main purpose is to create jobs, promote economic growth, encourage sustainable development and block harmful trade practices of other nations. The Department of Commerce is headquartered in the Herbert C. Hoover Building in Washington, DC.

The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is a cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States’ policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material. Its responsibilities include the nation’s nuclear weapons program, nuclear reactor production for the United States Navy, energy conservation, energy-related research, radioactive waste disposal, and domestic energy production. It also directs research in genomics; the Human Genome Project originated in a DOE initiative. DOE sponsors more research in the physical sciences than any other U.S. federal agency, the majority of which is conducted through its system of National Laboratories.

The agency is led by the United States Secretary of Energy, and its headquarters are located in Southwest Washington, D.C., on Independence Avenue in the James V. Forrestal Building, named for James Forrestal, as well as in Germantown, Maryland.

Mission:  
Has broad jurisdiction over all matters concerning interstate commerce, science and technology policy, and transportation, the Senate Commerce Committee is one of the largest of the Senate’s standing committees, with 26 members in the 117th Congress.

House counterparts: Energy and Commerce Committee; Science, Space, and Technology Committee; and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee

Democratic Members (Minority):
Maria Cantwell, Washington, Ranking Member
Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota
Brian Schatz, Hawaii
Ed Markey, Massachusetts
Gary Peters, Michigan
Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin
Tammy Duckworth, Illinois
Jacky Rosen, Nevada
Ben Ray Luján, New Mexico
John Hickenlooper, Colorado
John Fetterman, Pennsylvania
Andy Kim, New Jersey
Lisa Blunt Rochester, Delaware

Republican Members (Majority):
Ted Cruz, Texas, Chair
John Thune, South Dakota
Roger Wicker, Mississippi
Deb Fischer, Nebraska
Jerry Moran, Kansas
Dan Sullivan, Alaska
Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee
Todd Young, Indiana
Ted Budd, North Carolina
Eric Schmitt, Missouri
Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia
Cynthia Lummis, Wyoming
John Curtis, Utah
Bernie Moreno, Ohio
Tim Sheehy, Montana

Featured Video: 
U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation Hearing Q&A 06/24/2021

Mission:
To oversee all non-defense federal scientific research and development. More specifically, the committee has complete jurisdiction over the following federal agencies: NASA, NSF, NIST, and the OSTP. The Committee also has authority over R&D activities at the Department of Energy, the EPA, FAA, NOAA, the DOT, the NWS, the DHS and the U.S. Fire Administration.

Senate Counterpart: Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation

Subcommittees:

• Energy
• Environment
• Investigations and Oversight
• Research and Technology
• Space and Aeronautics

Chair: Frank Lucas, Oklahoma (R)
Ranking Member: Zoe Lofgren, California (D)

Majority Staff Director: Janie Thompson
Minority Staff Director: Josh Mathis
Meeting Location: 2321 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515; Phone: 202-225-6371

Featured Video: Building Back the U.S. Research Enterprise: COVID Impacts and Recovery – Feb. 25, 2021
Web Links

The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health. With an annual budget of about $8.3 billion (fiscal year 2020), the

NSF funds approximately 25% of all federally supported basic research conducted by the United States’ colleges and universities. In some fields, such as mathematics, computer science, economics, and the social sciences, the NSF is the major source of federal backing.

Source: Wikipedia

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency of the U.S. federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. Established in 1958, it succeeded the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) to give the U.S. space development effort a distinctly civilian orientation, emphasizing peaceful applications in space science.

It has since led most American space exploration, including Project Mercury, Project Gemini, the 1968–1972 Apollo Moon landing missions, the Skylab space station, and the Space Shuttle. It currently supports the International Space Station and oversees the development of the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System for the crewed lunar Artemis program, the Commercial Crew spacecraft, and the planned Lunar Gateway space station.

From Wikipedia Entry

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA) is a scientific and regulatory agency within the Washington, D.C.–based United States Department of Commerce, headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland.

The agency is charged with forecasting weather, monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions, charting the seas, conducting deep sea exploration, and managing fishing and protection of marine mammals and endangered species in the U.S. exclusive economic zone.

The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH, is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late 1880s and is now part of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Many NIH facilities are located in Bethesda, Maryland, and other nearby suburbs of the Washington metropolitan area, with other primary facilities in the Research Triangle Park in North Carolina and smaller satellite facilities located around the United States. The NIH conducts its own scientific research through the NIH Intramural Research Program (IRP) and provides major biomedical research funding to non-NIH research facilities through its Extramural Research Program.

As of 2013, the IRP had 1,200 principal investigators and more than 4,000 postdoctoral fellows in basic, translational, and clinical research, being the largest biomedical research institution in the world, while, as of 2003, the extramural arm provided 28% of biomedical research funding spent annually in the U.S., or about US$26.4 billion.

The NIH comprises 27 separate institutes and centers of different biomedical disciplines and is responsible for many scientific accomplishments, including the discovery of fluoride to prevent tooth decay, the use of lithium to manage bipolar disorder, and the creation of vaccines against hepatitis, Haemophilus influenzae (HIB), and human papillomavirus (HPV).

Source: Wikipedia

In 2025, the U.S. AI policy is characterized by a focus on enhancing global AI leadership, promoting human flourishing, and addressing the risks associated with AI, particularly regarding national security and the spread of misinformation.

• The Trump administration’s policy, established through Executive Order 14179, aims to remove barriers to American AI innovation and establish the U.S. as a global leader in AI. This includes revising and reissuing OMB memoranda to ensure efficient acquisition and governance of AI across the federal government.
• In the absence of comprehensive federal AI legislation, US states are actively shaping AI policy, with initiatives ranging from government AI use guidelines to consumer protection measures and studies on AI’s impact.

Source: Other