Scientists in Congress: 50 years of ACS Public Policy Fellowships

The year 1974 saw the US energy crisis, with the cost of oil rising almost 300% in spring that year globally; the NASA Skylab 4 mission crew returned to Earth; the Expo ’74 World’s Fair was held in Washington; the first Universal Product Code was scanned, selling a pack of Wrigley’s chewing gum; the Watergate scandal finally came to a close; and Pioneer 11 captured the famous Great Red Spot photos of Jupiter. It also saw the American Chemical Society approve the first ACS congressional fellow.Chemists providing advice to policymakers wasn’t a new idea for ACS, with one of the purposes in the original national charter being “to increase and diffuse chemical knowledge.” But there wasn’t a formalized, dedicated role for the execution of this idea. Leading up to 1974, science was becoming increasingly visible to the public with the ongoing Space Race and Cold War, and the US Congress was working to address environmental challenges with bills like the Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. The role of science in national security, public health, and economic growth had been growing in importance since World War II, as well as the idea that professional societies—many established to advance fields, promote research, and improve professional ethics and standards—could provide Congress with resources and expertise that could be used in decision making. “Some policy directly impacts science, and it makes sense for scientists to be involved in that,” says Dale Orth, 2010–11 ACS Congressional Fellow. “And while