The news from Washington last week, as usual, was grim. Senate Republicans blocked legislation to create a bipartisan commission to investigate the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Bipartisan talks over President Joe Biden’s infrastructure proposals are dragging out. Senators negotiating a police reform bill missed their deadline.
It’s disappointing to progressives who want to see the government get things done, and to moderates who were hoping a Biden White House would successfully lower the temperature of American politics after the zany Trump years. Even conservatives, who are largely responsible for the gridlock, profess to be disappointed.
I have good news for everyone. This image of a hopelessly broken American political system is basically false. What I call the Secret Congress is working away on legislation that flourishes in the shadows like a fern, avoiding the polarization and zero-sum thinking that engulfs any high-profile political fight.
Consider the Endless Frontier Act, which is expected to pass the Senate with a large bipartisan majority. This bill never led the front page of The New York Times, was never the lead item in Politico’s Playbook, never topped the hour on cable news.
What is it? A major boost in U.S. science funding, including $12.4 billion extra to the National Science Foundation over the next five years, $17.5 billion in new funding for DARPA, $17 billion to the Department of Energy and its various national labs, $10 billion to the Commerce Department to create new regional tech hubs, and $10 billion to NASA for a Human Landing System program. The headline feature is $26.5 billion to stand up a new Technology Directorate at the NSF to make grants in areas that are considered national priorities, such as artificial intelligence.