Presidential Debate on Science and Economy Called for by Industry, Academic and Labor Leaders

WASHINGTON—Today the Council on Competitiveness announced that it will co-sponsor a major effort to mount a presidential debate on science, technology and the economy.

“Science and technology must be cemented into the platform of the next president of the United States,” said Deborah L. Wince-Smith, president of the Council on Competitiveness and member of the Science Debate 2008 Steering Committee. “These discussions are vital to determining who will be the best champion for science and technology in the coming years. Game-changing innovations are constantly rising from around the world, and America’s ability to succeed is dependent on our ability to out compete and to lead in these areas.”

The endorsers of the ScienceDebate2008.com initiative include economists; several Nobel laureates and other leading scientists and engineers; executives from Apple Computer, Google, Merck, Hyatt and other leading companies; two dozen presidents of major American research universities; and the editors of major science publications and journals.

The effort is co-chaired by congressmen Vern Ehlers, R-MI, and Rush Holt, D-NJ, and is also championed by Congressman Bart Gordon, chair of the House Science & Technology Committee. It includes several former presidential science advisers from both major political parties.

Last November, the Council issued Five for the Future, a roadmap for competitiveness in the 21st century. According to this competitiveness call-to-action, leadership at the frontier of science and technology conveys competitive advantage in the global economy, particularly to those poised to rapidly translate new knowledge and insight into new high-value products and services.

“It’s a new, global knowledge economy. Dealing with that is going to be a pretty major policy question for the next president—one that affects every American. When you add global warming, the healthcare crisis, biotechnology and transportation, it starts looking like many of the major issues the next president will face are not being seriously debated,” said Shawn Lawrence Otto, a Science Debate 2008 organizer.  Otto said the group has set a tentative date for mid-April and will be formally inviting the candidates in the coming weeks.

About Science Debate 2008

Launched in December 2007, Science Debate 2008 is a citizen initiative lead by a group of largely non-scientists. Through word of mouth, the group has rapidly grown to include more than 11,500 scientists, engineers and concerned citizens. A list of the group’s more prominent signers can be found on the Science Debate 2008 Web site.