IEEE-USA Eye on Washington No. 8 2009

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Vol. 2009, No. 8 (1 May 2009)
125 Years of Innovation and Ingenuity

CAPITOL HILL ACTIVITY

House Approves Bills to Improve Collaboration, Coordination in IT R&D, International S&T, STEM Education

It's Deja Vu All Over Again: House & Senate Don't Agree on Patent Reform Language

House Reviews Role of Science in Regulatory Reform

EXECUTIVE ACTIVITY

White House Announces New Members of PCAST

DoD Announces Additional $835 Million in Recovery Act Projects

Secretary Chu Announces $93 Million from Recovery Act to Support Wind Energy Projects

REPORTS & DOCUMENTS OF NOTE

Podcasts from The National Academies

U.S. STATES WATCH

AWARDS & GRANTS

2009 Collegiate Inventors Competition is Now Accepting Applications

LATEST IEEE-USA & IEEE ACTIVITIES

IEEE-USA Supports High-Tech Visa Reform Legislation Introduced in Senate

IEEE-USA Stimulus Webpage

IEEE-USA Workshop, "STEM Measures for Innovation and Competitiveness"

CAPITOL HILL

House Approves Bills to Improve Collaboration, Coordination in IT R&D, International S&T, STEM Education - The House Science and Technology Committee approved three bills designed to expand the scope of existing science research and boost U.S. global competitiveness. Chairman Bart Gordon (D-Tenn.) said "all (the bills) strengthen an interagency coordination process to achieve a set of goals that no one agency can achieve on its own." The bills are:

1) HR 1709 - the STEM Education Coordination Act of 2009 - requires the OSTP to create a committee to coordinate federal programs and activities related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. The economic stimulus bill enacted earlier this year (PL 111-5) provided $40 million for a math and science partnership fund and $1 billion to expand and modernize research equipment shared by universities.

"When half the world's workers earn less than $2 a day, we cannot compete on numbers. To stay competitive, we must keep feeding the marketplace with new ideas that lead to new U.S. companies and new highly paying jobs. The foundation for this innovation economy is the 21st century skilled workforce. The Federal government can play an important role in STEM education at all levels because of the richness of the science and technology resources at our research agencies," said Gordon.

The committee also approved several non-controversial amendments, including one by Donna Edwards (D-Md.) to require the new coordinating committee to track the participation of underrepresented minorities in education programs and activities.

2) HR 1736 - the International Science and Technology Cooperation Act of 2009 - creates a panel within the National Science and Technology Council to coordinate international science and technology cooperation across federal agencies. Officials from the State Department and OSTP would lead the panel. Sponsor Brian Baird (D-Wash.), chairman of the Science Energy and Environment Subcommittee, said the bill advances "both U.S. and international interests in the search for solutions to the problems created by global overheating, infectious diseases and other problems that could directly affect the security of our country and the daily lives of the American people."

3) HR 2020 - the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act of 2009 (NITRD) - improves NITRD by strengthening the program's interagency strategic planning process and mandating periodic reviews of networking and information technology research. "The NITRD Program involves a collaboration of more than a dozen federal research and development agencies for a current total federal investment of approximately $3.5 billion. To ensure that we make the most effective use of our own resources to remain a leader in these fields, it is critical that these many agencies come together to develop common goals and well defined strategies for networking and information technology R&D," said Gordon.

It's Deja Vu All Over Again: House & Senate Don't Agree on Patent Reform Language

The House Judiciary Committee held its first patent reform hearing in the 111th Congress this week, and while it is unclear when the committee might consider their own version of the reform bill (H.R. 1260), House members indicated that they have no intention of going along with their Senate counterparts' approach to overhauling U.S. patent law.

Ranking Member Lamar Smith (R-Tex.) said he is inclined to wait to mark up the House bill until Senate sponsors make some of the changes he would like to see. But Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) said the committee will "absolutely not" wait until the Senate acts on its bill. The Senate Judiciary Committee approved its patent reform bill (S. 515) on April 2nd but the bill has not gone to the Senate floor. Conyers insisted the House committee would mark up its bill "ASAP" but did not specify when that might be.

Both House and Senate bills were introduced on March 3rd. House sponsors let the Senate move first this time, as the patent bill had floundered in the Senate last Congress. The Senate Judiciary committee members made significant changes to the bill this year, which are not necessarily to the liking of House sponsors. (A Congressional Research Service summary is available on Thomas: http://thomas.loc.gov/)

The central sticking point remains language addressing how to apportion damages in patent infringement suits. The Senate bill included a compromise that would define judges as the gatekeepers in deciding what evidence juries can hear in apportioning damages. The IEEE-USA Intellectual Property Policy Committee supported this idea in a message to Senator Leahy's office the day before the Senate committee approved S. 515, saying, "We therefore favor ...adding a judicial gatekeeper function (analogous to Daubert v. Merrell-Dow Pharmaceuticals, 509 U.S. 579 (1994)) for evidence that is to be considered. A judicial gatekeeper will help control any perceived problem with runaway jury awards. Adoption of any alternative damages language risks a loss of adaptability in the law that could result in unintended consequences. Time has proven the need for adaptability in the calculation of damages; each case poses a unique set of problems for innovators and manufacturers."

That compromise helped attract the support of hold-out Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Arlen Specter (D-Pa.). But large high-tech companies prefer the original damages language, which remains in the House bill.

House Reviews Role of Science in Regulatory Reform

The House Science and Technology Committee Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight held a hearing to explore the role science should play in the creation of federal regulations.

"Regulations affect the lives of every citizen, whether it is through public health, economic stability, or public safety," said Subcommittee Ranking Member Paul Broun (R-GA). "Science is central to this process and provides a foundation of knowledge that informs policymakers. Unfortunately, this connection is often manipulated by those who claim their policy decisions are indisputably required by science, and those who question the quality or interpretation of that science."

In one of his first orders, President Barack Obama withdrew a Bush Administration's Executive Order setting guidelines for regulatory review. That Executive Order amended the Clinton-era Executive Order which provided guidance to agencies for submitting proposed regulations to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review.

The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), created in 1980, is the office at OMB that coordinates and reviews proposed agency regulations. Throughout the years, OIRA's functions have been expanded through legislation and executive action. The House hearing specifically focused on the role that scientific information should play in OIRA's restructured review process. Across the board, the hearing witnesses agreed that science should play a critical role in the formulation of federal regulations. However, a significant portion of discussion revolved around the ability of science to fully inform regulatory decisions.

"All too often, controversies arise over issues that are not questions of science, but of policy," Broun said. “For example, when decisions are made based on values or ethics, this is seen as an affront to science, but it shouldn't be as long as the decision isn't sold under the banner of science." This hearing marked the third by the Subcommittee to examine the role of OIRA in the federal regulatory review process.

EXECUTIVE ACTIVITY

White House Announces New Members of PCAST

President Obama announced the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST). PCAST was established in 1990 to enable the President to receive advice from the private sector and academic community on technology, scientific research priorities, and math and science education. Read President Obama's full remarks on the future of science in America, delivered at the National Academy of Sciences annual meeting this week.

DoD Announces Additional $835 Million in Recovery Act Projects

28 APR: The Department of Defense (DoD) announced details of more than 850 facility improvement projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The $835 million allocated to these new projects represents the balance of the ARRA funds provided to the DoD for construction and repair projects, and is in addition to the approximate $6.1 billion contained in the first infrastructure investment list announced on March 20, 2009.

All of the new projects will be conducted at Army and Army National Guard facilities in 37 states and the District of Columbia. More than half of the $835 million will be spent in five states: Texas ($155 million), Kentucky ($83 million), North Carolina ($83 million), Oklahoma ($66 million) and Hawaii ($59 million).

In addition to making much-needed improvements to military installations, an additional $346 million will be spent on energy-related projects enabling the DoD to lead the way in the national effort to achieve greater energy independence. Representing less than 1 percent of the entire $787 billion ARRA package, the overall $7.4 billion investment in defense-related projects will further the legislation's stated goal of stimulating the American economy through job creation, while improving the quality of life for service members, their families, and DoD civilian workers.

The DoD intends to spend ARRA funds as quickly as possible with full transparency and accountability. To view a complete list of the specific projects announced, please visit http://www.defenselink.mil/recovery.

Secretary Chu Announces $93 Million from Recovery Act to Support Wind Energy Projects

In an ongoing effort to expand domestic renewable energy, U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced plans to provide $93 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to support further development of wind energy in the United States during a visit to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Secretary Chu also announced more than $100 million in funding from the Recovery Act for NREL facility and infrastructure improvements. The funding will leverage the DoE's national laboratories, universities, and the private sector to help improve reliability and overcome key technical challenges for the wind industry. These projects will create green jobs, promote economic recovery, and provide the investments needed to increase renewable energy generation.

Wind energy is among the fastest growing energy technologies in the United States. The U.S. now leads the world in wind energy generation and has led the globe in new wind energy capacity installations for the past four years. Last year, wind energy accounted for 42 percent of all new energy generation capacity in the United States. In 2008, DOE published the 20% Wind Energy by 2030 report which examines the technical feasibility of using wind energy to generate 20 percent of the nation's electricity demand by 2030.

REPORTS & DOCUMENTS OF NOTE

Government Accountability Office

Higher Education: Approaches to Attract and Fund International Students in the United States and Abroad GAO-09-379, April 30, 2009 Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 40 pages)

Space Acquisitions: Government and Industry Partners Face Substantial Challenges in Developing New DOD Space Systems GAO-09-648T, April 30, 2009 Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 22 pages)

Information Technology: Management and Oversight of Projects Totaling Billions of Dollars Need Attention GAO-09-624T, April 28, 2009 Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 17 pages)

Women's Pay: Converging Characteristics of Men and Women in the Federal Workforce Help Explain the Narrowing Pay Gap GAO-09-621T, April 28, 2009 Summary (HTML) Highlights Page (PDF) Full Report (PDF, 11 pages)

Podcasts from The National Academies

The National Academies provides podcasts on subjects in all areas of science, engineering, medicine, and technology.

Sounds of Science: Findings from National Academies reports - This informative and entertaining weekly series of audio podcasts puts a spotlight on the high-impact work of the National Academies. Focusing on a wide range of critical issues in science, engineering, and medicine, these short 10-minute episodes are a quick and easy way to tune in to all the key findings and important recommendations made by the Academies.

Engineering Innovation - The weekly Engineering Innovation podcast from the National Academy of Engineering highlights exciting developments in engineering and provides technical context to stories in the news. The 40-second episodes demonstrate how engineers are making an impact -- in energy, health, the environment, sports, and more.

US STATES ACTIVITIES

If you like to keep up with what's going on in state politics, StateLine.org provides a good overview of the activities in all 50 state legislatures.

AWARDS & GRANTS

2009 Collegiate Inventors Competition is Now Accepting Applications - The 2009 Collegiate Inventors Competition is now accepting applications! This prestigious program shines a spotlight on deserving researchers and innovators early in their careers in an effort to provide support and inspiration to those who have tremendous potential to make the world healthier, the economy stronger, and the planet safer. Go to www.invent.org/collegiate for more information and to download the application.

Grand Prize $25,000

Top Undergraduate Prize $15,000

Top Graduate Prize $15,000

Up to 12 Finalists will be selected to advance to the final judging round. Each will 1) receive an all-expense trip to the final judging round and awards ceremony 2) meet and present their work to a distinguished panel of judges and 3) receive a $2000 cash prize per team. Advisors to the Grand Prize, Top Undergraduate and Top Graduate Prize winners will also be awarded a cash prize. The presenting sponsors of this year’s Competition are the United States Patent and Trademark Office and the Abbott Fund.

You can find an informational brochure on the 2009 CIC at: http://www.invent.org/collegiate/pdfs/09_CIC_ebrochure.pdf . You can view video from last year's Award's ceremony at http://www.invent.org/collegiate/video/index.htm.

Questions? Please email collegiate@invent.org or call Joyce Ward at 800.968.4332, ext. 6951 for guidance on the advisor requirement, invention summary, the patent search or any other parts of the application. Not sure whether your project is actually an "invention", call or email collegiate@invent.org. Don't miss this incredible opportunity. All applications must be postmarked by June 16, 2009.

AAAS GrantsNet Express - A weekly American Association for the Advancement of Science listing of science funding opportunities from private foundations and organizations, and new U.S. government grant announcements in the sciences. AAAS will send GrantsNet by e-mail to AAAS member subscribers.

Grants.gov - The President's 2002 Fiscal Year Management Agenda established grants.gov as a central storehouse for information on over 1,000 grant programs. The site provides access to approximately $400 billion in annual awards. Most agencies, such as the DOE's Office of Science, use only grants.gov to list all funding opportunities. Other funding opportunities of interest include the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and NASA.

LATEST IEEE-USA & IEEE ACTIVITIES

Public Policy Priority Issues (111th Congress, 1st Session, 2009)
Position Statements - The statements identify important technical or engineering career-related aspects of public policy issues deemed to be of concern to or affecting IEEE's U.S. members; and make specific public policy recommendations for the consideration of Congress, the Executive Branch, the Judiciary, representatives of State and Local Government, and other interested groups and individuals, including IEEE members.

IEEE-USA Supports High-Tech Visa Reform Legislation Introduced in Senate In a letter to the U.S. Senate, IEEE-USA communicated its support for legislation introduced by Senators Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) that is designed to reduce fraud and abuse in the H-1B and L-1 visa programs for temporary skilled workers. The letter also affirms IEEE-USA's long-standing support for permanent skills-based immigration as a more appropriate strategy than temporary visas to help meet the workforce needs of the U.S. high-tech industry. See IEEE-USA's position on high-tech immigration at http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/positions/Immigration0607.pdf.

IEEE-USA Stimulus Webpage -The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) (Public Law 111-8) appropriates significant federal funding for technology-related programs in areas identified by IEEE-USA as being of high priority for strengthening the nation's innovation infrastructure and ensuring its long-term economic competitiveness. To stimulate the economy, funds are being distributed as quickly as possible, using existing federal programs as funding outlets where possible. This webpage provides information and links on these funding opportunities as a resource for IEEE members and their companies. Additional information is available on-line at Recovery.Gov. Members should also look to funds distributed through their respective state governments

IEEE-USA Workshop, "STEM Measures for Innovation and Competitiveness" IEEE-USA is organizing a workshop at George Washington University, Washington, D.C. (22-23 October 2009). We encourage experts in these areas to participate and submit papers for presentation. The science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) enterprise includes the research & development activities of the federal, academic and private sectors, both nationally and globally. STEM is accepted as the driving force for worldwide economic and social advancement. National policies and planning influencing the health and productivity of this enterprise should be derived from basic incorruptible, unbiased data and measures. The IEEE-USA STEM workshop will address these important questions and work toward viable solutions. We believe STEM policy should be based on arguments fully supported by concrete data and rigorous analysis.

* Is the workforce data on the number of workers that are employed, unemployed and underemployed
complete, nonexistent, or questionable and controversial?

* Should earmarks in any federal agency allotment be counted as part of the R&D budget? What is the amount of the industrial input to the R&D budget and its contribution to basic, applied and develop-mental research? What are the return on investment of R&D and its impact on society and quality of life?

* How can we measure and assess the STEM outcome/productivity? Is bibliometric data sufficient to measure this, both in quantity and quality? What data exists to follow interactions among federal, academic and private STEM entities?

* Can there be a federal, for-profit, non-profit or academic body that can produce unbiased reports and recommendations for national STEM enterprise policy employing the products mentioned above?

Former IEEE-USA Government Fellows Available to Speak to Sections - Several former IEEE-USA Congressional Fellows including Tom Fagan, Marty Sokoloski, Emily Sopensky and George Hanover are available to speak to your section meetings or other IEEE meetings in the United States. The fellows provide recounts of their experiences as IEEE-USA's Congressional and State Department fellows. For example, George Hanover discussed the innovation and competitiveness issues that he worked on while serving as an IEEE-USA congressional fellow on the staff of the Environment, Technology and Standards Subcommittee of the House Science Committee. George also served on the personal staff of Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), a member of the House Science Committee. George discussed an engineer's perspective on the "government process" and the IEEE-USA's involvement in that process. If your section is interested in having one of the former government fellows speak to your group about the program, how the legislative process works in Washington, and how IEEE-USA is influencing it, please contact Erica Wissolik at e. wissolik @ ieee. org. For more information on the IEEE-USA Government Fellows Program, please visit: http://ieeeusa.org/policy/govfel/default.asp

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What's New @ IEEE-USA's Eye on Washington highlights important federal legislative and regulatory developments that affect U.S. engineers and their careers. In addition to this biweekly newsletter, subscribers receive legislative bulletins and action alerts on IEEE-USA priority issues, including: retirement security, employment benefits, research & development funding, computers and information policy, immigration reform, intellectual property protection and privacy of health/medical information.

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