As a share of GDP, federal support for science research in America has fallen from about 2 percent of GDP during the 1960s to about 0.6 percent today. Policymakers should reverse this trend in order to boost productivity growth, raise living standards, compete with Chinese innovation efforts, and manage future problems like climate change. Fortunately, Congress appears to be moving in this direction, and so I’m excited to discuss what the future of federal R&D policy should look like with Matt Hourihan.

Matt is the director of the R&D Budget and Policy Program for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), where he focuses on past, present, and future federal science budgets.