What's New @ IEEE-USA - Eye On Washington

1) CAPITOL HILL WATCH

• Senate Committee Makes Headway on Immigration Reform, But Not Fast Enough for Frist

• IEEE-USA Statement on Senator Specter's Proposed Immigration Reform Legislation

• House Science Committee Praises American Competitiveness Initiative, But Concerned About Cuts to NSF & MEP

• Hearing Testimony Says Improving K-12 Math & Science Education Must Start at the Undergraduate Level

• House Judiciary Approves Bill Affecting Patent Process During Disasters

• Telecom Deregulation Talks Break Down

2) WHITE HOUSE & EXECUTIVE AGENCY WATCH

• R&D chief McQueary to step down at Homeland Security

• Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez Launches New Web-Based Filing System for Patent Applications

• Cresanti Confirmed As Commerce's Tech Undersecretary

• Nanotechnology: To Regulate or Not?

3) REPORTS, SPEECHES & DOCUMENTS OF NOTE

• NSF Reports

• AAU Releases a Report Providing Another Look at US Innovation Policies

• Ten Cool Colleges for Entrepreneurs

4) U.S. COURTS ACTIVITY

5) U.S. STATES WATCH

6) AWARDS & GRANTS

7) CONFERENCES, FELLOWSHIPS, PROGRAMS & INTERNSHIPS FOR ENGINEERS, and STUDENTS and SCHOLARS OF ENGINEERING

8) LATEST IEEE-USA ACTIVITIES

• Track IEEE-USA's Progress

• Frank Wolf Wins George E. Brown Jr. Leadership Award for Contributions to Science, Engineering & Technology

9) U.S. COMPETITIVENESS & INNOVATION: WHO'S DOING WHAT TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE?

• IEEE-USA Resource Web Page - U.S. Competitiveness: The Innovation Challenge

10) OTHER ITEMS OF POSSIBLE INTEREST

1) CAPITOL HILL WATCH

• Senate Committee Makes Headway on Immigration Reform, But Not Fast Enough for Frist

16 MAR: The 18-member Senate Judiciary Committee met for the 5th time this month to consider Chairman Arlen Specter's (R-Pa.) draft of a comprehensive immigration bill.  The committee members are close to agreement on the two most difficult elements:

-- how to design a system to regulate the flow of future workers into the country, and

-- what to do about the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants now living in the U.S.

At least 9 committee members support an agreement on how to handle future immigrants. This temporary worker plan would create a path to permanent residency while requiring most temporary workers to leave the U.S. for one year, before returning.

Specter said the committee was also near agreement on a plan to allow the 12 million illegal immigrants now in the U.S. to apply for permanent residency, though they would have to get in line behind those who have already applied for a green card. There are about 3 million such pending applications, according to figures cited by Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.).

The committee reconvenes March 27 to debate all of the proposals on the table, but that's not fast enough for the leadership. Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) introduced his own border security bill (S. 2454) this week and later filed a motion to invoke cloture on a motion to proceed to his measure. Frist's bill could come to the Senate floor on March 28th.

The Specter draft contains a guest worker provision to allow an uncapped number of persons not covered by other non-immigrant visas (H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, L, O, P and R visas. Frist's bill, like the House-passed border enforcement bill (HR 4437), does not. However, Frist's bill contains the same H-1B provision as Specter's bill –  a raise in the current H-1B cap from 65,000 to 115,000, and allowances for the cap to increase by 20-percent following each year that the visas quota is met. 

The simultaneous immigration debates in the committee and on the Senate floor "may be chaotic," said Specter, "but we want to get it done — out of the Senate and ready for conference. This is the best way to do that."

• IEEE-USA Statement on Senator Specter's Proposed Immigration Reform Legislation

"We are encouraged that the Senate Judiciary Committee is taking a comprehensive look at the immigration reform issue, and we support proposals to streamline the permanent immigration process so that U.S. companies can access skilled foreign professionals who enter the United States on a path to citizenship. Among the proposals is a new student visa that leads to a green card and removal of the cap on permanent employment-based admissions for outstanding professors, researchers and high-tech professionals. Immigration-based admissions level the playing field for all workers, and ensure that America benefits from recruiting the world's best and brightest as future Americans, rather than training future competitors.

"Because the current proposals address industry's request for better access to skilled foreign professionals, we don't understand why the Judiciary Committee is also considering expanding the H-1B visa program for entry of high-tech guest workers. We strongly oppose the proposal to raise the H-1B visa cap to 115,000 and to add a "market-based" cap escalator. Abuse of the H-1B program is rampant, and the serious weaknesses of the program have been highlighted in several recent government reports. The H-1B program exploits foreign workers and divides their families, artificially suppresses wages, and puts U.S. engineers at the end of the employment line. We hope Congress will see that immigration is the better solution to strengthening the U.S. high-tech workforce."

IEEE-USA President Ralph W. Wyndrum, March 14, 2006

• House Science Committee Praises American Competitiveness Initiative, But Concerned About Cuts to NSF & MEP

15 MAR: At a hearing examining the Administration's proposed R&D budget for FY 2007, House Science Committee Members applauded the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI), which proposes significant funding increases for three key science agencies. However, they expressed concern over proposed cuts to undergraduate and K-12 education programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF), as well as proposed cuts to the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The ACI urges the doubling over the next 10 years of the cumulative budgets of NSF, the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science, and core programs within NIST. The FY 2007 budget requests increases of 8, 14, and 17 percent respectively, for these agencies.

While Members were strongly supportive of the ACI, they expressed concern over proposed cuts to education programs at NSF, including the Math and Science Partnership (MSP) program which partners university faculty with K-12 teachers to develop innovative math and science curricula. Over the past few years, the budget for the MSP program has gradually declined, preventing new awards, while a Department of Education program that shares the same name but operates differently has increased over recent years, with level funding of $182 million requested for FY 2007.  In the FY 2007 budget request, NSF's MSP program would receive $46 million, a cut of $16 million from the FY 2006 enacted level.

Members were also concerned about the Administration's proposal to cut funding for the MEP program by more than half. MEP, which provides technical assistance to small and medium-size manufacturers, has been a vital tool in helping U.S. manufacturers better respond to the competitive pressures they face from global competition. Nationwide, the program has been credited with helping create and preserve thousands of manufacturing jobs. For FY 2007, the Administration requested $46 million for MEP, which represents a $60 million cut from the current FY 06 level. Science Committee Chairman Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY) pledged to work with Congressional appropriators to restore the proposed cuts.

For an archived webcast , and complete text of opening statements and witness testimony, visit: http://www.house.gov/science/hearings/full06/Feb15/index.htm

To read the Committee's "Views and Estimates" – the documents which explain the objections and concerns in detail, and which inform subsequent policy and budget deliberations – visit:

Republican - www.house.gov/science/hot/FinalViewsandEstimatesFY2007.pdf

Democratic  - http://sciencedems.house.gov/randd/views_fy07.htm

• Hearing Testimony Says Improving K-12 Math & Science Education Must Start at the Undergraduate Level

15 MAR: An expert panel of witnesses testified at a hearing of the Research Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science, saying that the key to improving science and math education at the K-12 level and to strengthening U.S. competitiveness, is improving undergraduate science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education. Hearing witnesses also advocated for targeted funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for undergraduate education programs.

"We must figure out a way to capture and retain the imagination and enthusiasm of undergraduates in technical math and science areas," Research Subcommittee Chairman Bob Inglis (R-SC) said. "Whether we encourage more knowledgeable and stimulating teachers or more engaging material, we cannot afford to wait any longer to address this."

The witnesses discussed the importance of educating undergraduates in STEM fields for graduate education that leads to careers as researchers and for the increasing number of employment opportunities that require expertise in science, math or technology. In discussing the high rates of attrition among academically qualified undergraduates, Dr. Elaine Seymour, author of Talking About Leaving: Why Undergraduates Leave the Sciences, said that "poor learning experiences were by far the most common complaint" both among those who switched out of STEM fields and those who graduated with a degree in those majors. Dr. Wieman noted, "science majors are not being created in college through educating students to the utility and intellectual challenges and rewards of science. Instead, successful science majors are primarily those few students that...manage to survive their undergraduate science education."

Several ideas were proposed to strengthen undergraduate STEM education and encourage undergraduate students to pursue teaching careers, including implementing professional development workshops for professors, junior faculty and teaching assistants, and using cognitive and educational research to improve introductory courses in STEM fields to make them more relevant and more accessible for all students. The witnesses were unanimous, though, in recommending increased NSF funding specifically targeted to undergraduate STEM programs.

The hearing was one in a series of hearings the Science Committee is holding to help guide its development of a legislative package aimed at strengthening U.S. competitiveness.  The Committee plans to introduce the legislation next month and hopes to move the bills to the House floor by May or June.

• House Judiciary Approves Bill Affecting Patent Process During Disasters

15 MAR: The House Judiciary Committee approved legislation aimed at avoiding some of the patent problems that arose in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina last year. The bill (HR 4742, sponsored by Lamar Smith, R-Tex.) would give the Patent and Trademark Office greater flexibility in how it handles deadlines during emergencies, and authorize the director of the patent office to waive statutory provisions that govern "the filing, processing, renewal and maintenance of patents, trademark registrations and applications, " thus helping inventors maintain their rights under adverse conditions.

After Hurricane Katrina, the patent office created a toll-free hotline for victims, stopped sending mail to affected ZIP codes and took other steps to try to deal with the disaster. But officials found they needed additional statutory authority to give individuals and businesses relief from pending deadlines, including maintaining granted patents and registered trademarks.

• Telecom Deregulation Talks Break Down

23 MAR: Bipartisan House Energy and Commerce Committee talks over a draft bill designed to pave the way for telephone companies to compete head-to-head with cable operators by replacing the existing local franchising system with a national one, broke down after committee leaders failed to reach agreement on several key issues. This comes shortly after committee leaders thought they had reached a broad agreement on the legislation following months of negotiations. Two earlier drafts ran into substantial opposition – the first from phone companies and the second from committee Democrats. This time, the Members could not agree on whether the bill should require phone companies to offer video service to an entire franchising region before offering service to anyone in that region.

The leaders, including include Joe L. Barton (R-Tex.). Charles Pickering Jr. (R-Miss.), John Dingell (D-Mich.), Fred Upton (R-Mich.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.), now expect to release a partisan draft and are hoping to hold a hearing next week.

Phone companies are spending billions to build fiber-optic networks that can deliver voice, Internet and video services. But they argue that requiring video providers to negotiate municipality-by-municipality for the right to offer services locally is slowing their push into the video market. The cable industry, which wants to head off new competition, insists the existing rules work well.

2) WHITE HOUSE & EXECUTIVE AGENCY WATCH

• R&D chief McQueary to step down at Homeland Security

10 FEB: Charles McQueary, undersecretary for science and technology at the Homeland Security Department, announcing his resignation in a letter to President Bush wrote that he had fulfilled his goals since joining the agency at its formation in March 2003.

"My objectives have been to build an excellent technical team to lead the research and developments for the department, and to launch breakthrough research and development programs to make a difference in our nation's protection from catastrophic events." The first objective has been achieved, while the second is "nearing fruition," he wrote.

McQueary was in charge of the Homeland Security Research Projects Agency that funds anti-terrorism technical research in the private sector. He oversaw government laboratory efforts to evaluate anti-terrorism technologies for certification under the Safety Act and to develop countermeasures against weapons of mass destruction.

Before joining DHS, McQueary was president of General Dynamics Advanced Technology systems in Greensboro, N.C., and also had been president and vice president of business units for AT&T Corp. and Lucent Technologies, and a director of AT&T Bell Laboratories. McQueary earned a doctorate in engineering mechanics from the University of Texas.  His resignation is effective 25 March and he indicated no immediate future plans.

• Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez Launches New Web-Based Filing System for Patent Applications

16 MAR: Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez and Under Secretary for Intellectual Property Jon Dudas launched the United States Patent and Trademark Office's (USPTO) new electronic filing system that will allow applicants to file over the Internet virtually anytime and anywhere, reducing the application process by 30 minutes and improving accuracy on filed documents.

Three early adopters--the 3M Company, the law firm of Fish & Richardson and the University of Maryland--filed the first applications using EFS-Web, the new web-based patent application tool, today at the Commerce Department, officially opening the system to all patent applicants. Read the press release here. For more information on EFS-Web, please visit http://www.uspto.gov

• Cresanti Confirmed As Commerce's Tech Undersecretary

The Senate confirmed Robert Cresanti as the Commerce Department's undersecretary for technology. Cresanti will succeed Phil Bond as head of the Technology Administration, which is responsible for providing support for the technology sector. The agency oversees the laboratories at the National Institute for Standards and Technology and manages the Advanced Technology Program, among other things. Cresanti said he intends to use his office to incite innovation and boost America's competitiveness in the global market.

"Innovation springs up in all sorts of places, from the backyard garage to government labs," he said in written testimony to the confirmation committee. "It is essential for [the Technology Administration] to play a strong role in nurturing entrepreneurial startups and promoting innovative activity in high-tech businesses to sustain and build on our competitive capabilities in the global marketplace."

• Nanotechnology: To Regulate or Not?

Two years ago, Congress committed $3.7 billion to nanotechnology research. They believed they were kick-starting a new industrial age and advocates wagered they would reap dividends in such areas as health care, environmental science and electronics. The bet is starting to pay off in labs around the country. Scientists are studying prototype "nanodevices" to help kill cancer tumors, clean up polluted groundwater, and create new semiconductors and sensing equipment.

However, as the discoveries move into the marketplace, experts are increasingly worried that the government lacks a regulatory system that can effectively police how the new materials are being used. The concerns are driven by recent scientific studies indicating that nanomaterials could pose health and environmental risks. A 2005 study by the New Jersey Institute of Technology found that in the lab, aluminum oxide particles inhibited the growth of soybeans, corn and several other common crops. Southern Methodist University researchers in 2004 linked the introduction of tiny carbon molecules called "buckyballs" in water to chemical changes in the brain tissue of largemouth bass. Researchers earlier found that nano-engineered particles can damage the lung tissue of mice if inhaled.

Creating a new regulatory system for nanotechnology presents a special set of regulatory challenges, such as how to categorize the technology. For example, the Food and Drug Administration will have to decide whether a tube-like nanodevice under development that is designed to carry drugs into the body is a drug in itself, a medical device or a biological substance. The decision will influence the way the agency tests the tubes for toxicity, monitors any adverse side effects and decides when to apply safety standards.

The Bush administration maintains that such a new regulatory system is not necessary and has taken the position that existing laws adequately address the risks nanotechnology poses, though federal agencies might have to adjust their rules as new risks become apparent. The EPA is among the furthest along among the approximately two dozen agencies currently evaluating the field. Agency officials say new regulatory authority would not necessarily help, at least until they know more about the properties of some of the materials.

"You need to have a fairly detailed understanding of the issues . . . to create a regulatory framework," said Charles Auer, director of the EPA's Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics. "The big problem right now is we don't really know how we would write that regulation."

3) REPORTS, SPEECHES & DOCUMENTS OF NOTE

• National Science Foundation

New Process Builds Electronics Into Optical Fiber - Scientists from Pennsylvania State University and the University of Southampton in the United Kingdom have demonstrated a new way to combine microelectronics and optical fibers--a development that opens up potential applications in fields as diverse as medicine, computing and remote sensing. http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=106777

• AAU Releases a Report Providing Another Look at US Innovation Policies

Blue-ribbon panel reports on US innovation policy are proliferating these days. The newest entrant in the market comes from the Association of American Universities (AAU). They released their report, National Defense Education and Innovation Initiative: Meeting America's Economic and Security Challenges in the 21st Century, as part of a program of recommendations to be implemented in time for the 50th anniversary of the 1958 National Defense Education Act. That law, enacted in the aftermath of the 1957 Sputnik scare, significantly expanded the federal government's role in funding scientific research. The AAU report contends that a similar high-level Federal commitment is required now to prepare America for future competition and potential national security threats. The report's recommendations echo those of previous studies such as Innovate America and Beyond the Gathering Storm. Specifically, the study recommends that:

1) the US government should increase spending on basic research and research infrastructure,

2) Universities and colleges must improve current offerings in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics and foreign languages, and

3) the US government and universities should undertake a series of reforms to make it easier for foreign talent to be educated and take up residence in the US.

To access the Association of American Universities' January 2006 report, National Defense Education and Innovation Initiative: Meeting America's Economic and Security Challenges in the 21st Century, visit http://www.aau.edu/reports/NDEII.pdf.

• Ten Cool Colleges for Entrepreneurs

Fortune Small Business (FSB) is out with an interesting list of 10 cool colleges for entrepreneurs. Instead of ranking schools, FSB opted to list schools that are doing interesting and innovative things in terms of teaching entrepreneurship. The list includes: DePaul, Florida International (FIU), Harvard, Howard, Simmons College, Sitting Bull College, University of Arizona-Tucson, University of Colorado-Boulder, University of Texas-Austin, and the University of Rochester. Several of these schools (FlU, Howard, and Rochester) were winners of grants from the Kauffman Campuses initiative, sponsored by the Kauffman Foundation. Others had unique niches like Sitting Bull College's focus on Native American entrepreneurship, Colorado's stress on "green" entrepreneurship, and Simmons College's focus on supporting women entrepreneurs. The article "Ten Cool Colleges for Entrepreneurs," by Patricia Gray, appears in the March 2, 2006 edition of Fortune Small Business and can be found on-line at:

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fsb/fsb_archive/2006/03/01/8370304/index.htm

4) U.S. COURTS ACTIVITY

None at this time.

5) US STATES WATCH

None at this time.

6) AWARDS & GRANTS

• AAAS Grant Site

The American Association for the Advancement of Science has a service called GrantsNet Express.  Each week GrantsNet will provide a 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. The weekly emails will include: — New science funding programs, divided into opportunities for postdocs/graduate students and undergraduates — Submission deadlines for funding opportunities scheduled in the upcoming week — New listings of funding for science-related grant programs from U.S. government agencies To register, visit http://www2.sciencecareers.org/promos/grantsubmit.asp

• National Science Foundation

Directorate for Education and Human Resources, Division of Human Resource Development:

1) Alliances for Broadening Participation in STEM (ABP)
2) Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP), Bridge to the Doctorate (BD)

3) Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP)

The two programs and one supplemental activity included under the Alliances for Broadening Participation in Science and Engineering (ABP) solicitation seek to increase the number of students successfully completing quality degree programs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Particular emphasis is placed on supporting groups that historically have been underrepresented in STEM: African Americans, Alaskan Natives, American Indians, Hispanic Americans and Native Pacific Islanders. ABP support begins at the baccalaureate level with the Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program. For eligible students, significant financial support is continued for two years of graduate study via the Bridge to the Doctorate (BD) activity. Rounding out the ABP cluster are Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP), which further the graduate education of minority students through the doctorate level, preparing them for fulfilling opportunities and productive careers as STEM faculty and research professionals. URL : http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf06552

Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (required): June 15, 2006

Computing Community Consortium (CCC): Defining the Large-Scale Infrastructure Needs of the Computing Research Community - The Directorate for Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) is calling for the computing research community to unite in the establishment of a Computing Community Consortium (CCC). CISE will support the CCC as a community proxy responsible for facilitating the conceptualization and design of promising infrastructure-intensive projects identified by the computing research community to address compelling scientific challenges in computing. The CCC will ensure broad community engagement in the identification of compelling research agendas and in the subsequent identification and refinement of related shared use infrastructure requirements. For more information: http://www.nsf.gov/publications/pub_summ.jsp?ods_key=nsf06551

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time): June 10, 2006

7) CONFERENCES, FELLOWSHIPS, PROGRAMS & INTERNSHIPS FOR ENGINEERS, and STUDENTS & SCHOLARS OF ENGINEERING

• National Science Foundation

NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows inK-12 Education (GK-12) - This program provides funding to graduate students in NSF- supported science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines to acquire additional skills that will broadly prepare them for professional and scientific careers in the 21st century. Through interactions with teachers in K-12 schools, graduate students can improve communication and teaching skills while enriching STEM instruction in K-12 schools. Through this experience graduate students can gain a deeper understanding of their own scientific research. In addition, the GK-12 program provides institutions of higher education with an opportunity to make a permanent change in their graduate programs by incorporating GK-12 like activities in the training of their STEM graduate students. Expected outcomes include improved communication, teaching and team building skills for the fellows; professional development opportunities for K-12 teachers; enriched learning for K-12 students; and strengthened partnerships between institutions of higher education and local school districts.

Letter of Intent Due Date(s) (required): May 05, 2006

Full Proposal Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitter's local time): June 19, 2006

INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH AND EDUCATION IN ENGINEERING (IREE) Dear Colleague Letter - This International Research and Education in Engineering (IREE) Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) seeks to provide supplemental funding to current awardees to support international travel by early-career researchers in the United States to enable them to gain international research experience and perspective, and to enable closer research interaction between U.S. institutions and their foreign counterparts. This DCL concerns opportunities for international research and education for early-career researchers, i.e., undergraduates and graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and early-career faculty members. The National Science Foundation (NSF), through the Divisions in the Directorate for Engineering (ENG) and the Office of International Science and Engineering (OISE), announces the International Research and Education in Engineering (IREE) initiative. NSF will entertain proposals for supplemental funding for existing awardees aimed at providing early-career researchers in engineering with international experience in research and education. IREE also seeks to enhance and broaden engineering research and education activities in current engineering awards by initiating closer linkages between awardees and their foreign counterparts. IREE will support medium-duration visits by U.S. early-career researchers to collaborating institutions/laboratories outside of the United States. The visits must be related to the objectives of ongoing work in current projects, augmented by evidence of engagement with the cultural activities in the countries visited.

Deadline: Supplement Request Deadline Date and Time: Due by June 8, 2006, 5 p.m. submitter's local time.

Eligibility: Eligible proposers are limited to current awardees of the Divisions in the Directorate for Engineering that include:

Engineering Education and Centers

Electrical and Communications Systems

Bioengineering and Environmental Systems

Chemical and Transport Systems

Civil and Mechanical Systems

Design and Manufacturing Innovation

To be eligible, the expiration dates, including no-cost extension, of current awards must fall on or after September 1, 2007. The maximum duration for IREE supplements is one (1) year.

8) LATEST IEEE-USA ACTIVITIES

• Track IEEE-USA's Progress

Review IEEE-USA's year-to-date progress in working for the IEEE's U.S. members at the new IEEE-USA Year-in-Review Web page. Check out what IEEE-USA activities and programs helped the IEEE's U.S. members in 2004 at the new IEEE-USA Annual Report online. And find out what's on IEEE-USA's agenda through 2009, with the new, online IEEE-USA Strategic & Operational Plan.

For the IEEE-USA Year-in-Review, go to: http://www.ieeeusa.org/about/yearinreview.asp

For the IEEE-USA Annual Report, go to: http://www.ieeeusa.org/about/Annual_Report/2004.pdf

For the IEEE-USA Strategic & Operational Plan, go to:

http://www.ieeeusa.org/volunteers/strategicplan/index.html

Read a full listing of IEEE-USA lobbying activities on our web site at: http://ieeeusa.com/policy/policy/index.html

Some of the most recent activities commuications have been:

-- a Statement to the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee for a hearing on Innovation and Competitiveness legislation;

--a Letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee endorsing immigration reform provisions and opposing H-1B cap expansion provisions in the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act; and

--a Statement to the House Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce and Agency Organization for a hearing on the Federal Family Health Information Technology Act of 2006 (H.R. 4859).

• Frank Wolf Wins George E. Brown Jr. Leadership Award for Contributions to Science, Engineering & Technology

WASHINGTON (20 March 2006) – Congressman Frank Wolf (R-Va.) will receive the 2006 George E. Brown Jr. Award for Science-Engineering-Technology Leadership at a Capitol Hill reception on 28 March. The award is presented annually by the Science, Engineering and Technology Work Group -- of which IEEE-USA is a member -- to members of Congress who are effective advocates for federal investment in science, engineering and technology. The award is named for the late Rep. George E. Brown Jr. (D-Calif.), who made outstanding contributions to federal support in these areas over a long and distinguished career in Congress.

Wolf was commended for his "longstanding commitment and support of science, engineering and technology" benefiting the nation, and his recognition and promotion of a vital federal R&D enterprise at all levels. He will be honored in conjunction with the 11th annual Congressional Visits Days, Tuesday and Wednesday, 28-29 March.

Congressional Visits Day (CVD) is the preeminent event bringing scientists, engineers, researchers, educators and technology executives to Washington to visit their congressional representatives and raise visibility and support for science, engineering and technology. The two-day event is coordinated by a multidisciplinary coalition of companies, professional societies and educational institutions that support science, engineering and technology in academia, government and private industry.  This year, IEEE-USA is bringing over 50 IEEE members to Washington to participate in the CVD. For more information on the award and CVD, see http://www.aas.org/cvd/. Visit http://www.agiweb.org/cvd/setwgrst.html for more information on the Work Group.

9) U.S. COMPETITIVENESS & INNOVATION: WHO'S DOING WHAT TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE?

• IEEE-USA Resource  Web Page

U.S. Competitiveness: The Innovation Challenge  - A comprehensive list of reports and activities can be found at http://ieeeusa.org/policy/issues/innovation/index.html

10) OTHER ITEMS OF POSSIBLE INTEREST

None at this time.

Top of Page | What's New@IEEE | EyeOnWash Archive | IEEE-USA

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. EDITOR: Erica Wissolik, IEEE-USA, 2001 L Street, N.W., Suite 700, Washington, DC 20036-5104

You can change your IEEE-USA Eye on Washington subscription status by using the forms at http://whatsnew.ieee.org/ or at http://www.ieeeusa.org/emailupdates/.

Copyright © 2005, The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.  Permission granted to copy for personal use or for non-commercial republication with appropriate attribution.

Updated: 23 March 2006
Contact: e . wissolik @ ieee . org