You may want to ping the list. Evidently, the anti-science attitude expressed by many folks in the U.S. is obviously a goodly portion of the problem.
I have experienced (first hand) federal government science policy for about 25 years. (Before that, as a tenured professor, I just taught.) I would rate the administrations' position on science as:
Reagan: mildly pro
Bush I: mildly neutral
Clinton: wildy ignorant
Bush II: mildly anti
Of course, the mildly is because none of the above had much use for any science that disagreed with their politics-of-the-moment. Anyway, the above list may just reflect the attitudes of the public more than that of the administrations.