Whats
New @ IEEE-USA - Eye On Washington
Vol. 2006, No. 20 (15 December 2006)
1)
CAPITOL HILL WATCH
-
E-Health High on the List of 110th Priorities
-
Innovation Not Part Of the New House Speaker's 100-Hour
Agenda
-
Congressional Internet Caucus Hosts Panel to Debate REAL
IDs
2) WHITE HOUSE & EXECUTIVE
AGENCY WATCH
3) REPORTS, SPEECHES &
DOCUMENTS OF NOTE
- Government
Accountability Office Reports
-
National Academy of Sciences
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 & IEEE
ACTIVITIES
-
SAVE THE DATE! March 13 – 14, 2007 The 3rd Annual
IEEE-USA Career Fly-In
9) U.S. COMPETITIVENESS & INNOVATION:
WHO'S DOING WHAT TO ADDRESS THE ISSUE?
10) OTHER ITEMS OF POSSIBLE
INTEREST
-
Google Gives You for Free, What the US PTO Will Not
1) CAPITOL HILL WATCH
The 110th Congress convenes on Thursday, 4
January 2007. The new members will be sworn in that day and shortly thereafter,
the freshmen, as they are known, will attend several orientations offered by
such organizations as the Congressional Research Service. The CRS event
takes place in Williamsburg, VA and can be likened to college orientation.
Members will attend to attend various seminars and conferences, they will be
housed together, learn how Congress operates and how they should try to get
along, regardless of party affiliation.
-
E-Health High on the List of 110th Priorities
The new Democratic leaders of
Congress are big fans of health information technology.
However, as
Government Health IT reports that rapid action on health
IT is unlikely because new hearings will be necessary, at
least in the House. According to the Democratic staff
of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the committee
with jurisdiction in this area, "There was not a lot of open
process on the health IT legislation this year."
Despite bipartisan support, health IT
bills failed to pass this year when the House and Senate could not agree on a
compromise.
"The private sector all over the place is
way ahead of the federal government on health IT" and related issues, such as
pay for performance, which involves paying doctors and other health care
providers more for following guidelines for quality care, said Mark Hayes,
health policy director of the Republican staff of the Senate Finance Committee.
The failed legislation was a
disappointment to organizations like the
Alliance for Health Reform and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The
Alliance looks to wider use of health information technology as one way to
improve the quality of care and reduce medical errors, while reducing the
continued rapid growth of health care spending. The RWJ Foundation reports that
Americans want increased control over and privacy of their health care records.
Health IT offers them this.
The research community thinks there are
other advantages to E-health records. According to a report released by
FasterCures, a nonprofit medical think tank, d rug development could be
accelerated if researchers are permitted access to the data contained in the
records. The report suggests a program modeled after the Markle Foundation's
Connecting for Health initiative that would be called Connecting for Clinical
Research. The program would work in lockstep with the National Institutes of
Health to create a common framework for conducting clinical research on the
nation's Internet-based health information network. The report recommends using
the network to monitor the effects of newly approved drugs on consumers. Such
analysis would benefit pharmaceutical companies and patient safety, according to
FasterCures.
Keep track of IEEE-USA's activities
related to health technology at
http://www.ieeeusa.org/volunteers/committees/mtpc/default.asp.
-
Innovation Not Part Of the New House Speaker's 100-Hour Agenda
Despite her strong and enthusiastic
support for the American competitiveness initiative,
incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) did place
innovation on the early part of her agenda. In a press
briefing, she detailed the first 100 hours of her
leadership, promising to take up measures that would raise
the minimum wage, fix the Medicare prescription-drug
program, institute ethics reforms and "cut the link between
lobbyists and legislation," implement all the
recommendations of the 9/11 commission, and cut oil and gas
subsidies to bring in tens of billions of dollars for
investments in research on renewable energy. One
tangentially related item that will help the competitiveness
cause did make it onto the 100-hour agenda, Pelosi plans to
bring up legislation that would cut interest rates for
student loans in half. This could help American
technology workers by making higher education more
affordable.
As for the House Democrats' innovation
agenda, Pelosi spokeswoman Jennifer Crider told Technology Daily that, "It
definitely will be a high priority early in the Congress." That
publication also reported that basic research funding likely would be among the
easiest items to move early, as both the House and a Senate subcommittee this
year approved legislation that would authorize funding increases for the
National Science Foundation.
-
Congressional Internet Caucus Hosts Panel to Debate REAL IDs
At a
roundtable discussion hosted by the Congressional Internet Caucus, a panel
of technology experts discussed the REAL ID Act, a 2005 law that requires states
to modernize their ID systems by a 2008 deadline. The law would require citizens
to have federally approved IDs to travel on airplanes or access some types of
federal services, such as Social Security.
Just before adjourning the 109th Congress,
Senators Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) and John Sununu (R-N.H.) introduced a bill to
repeal REAL ID. They most certainly will file the bill again in the 110th
Congress since there was no time for action in this year.
Jennifer Kerber of the Information
Technology Association of America said the approach proposed by the bill is
sensible. She said REAL ID, which was part of an $82 million military spending
bill in 2005, killed the rulemaking process initiated by the intelligence law.
Jim Harper, director of information policy
studies at the Cato Institute, said REAL ID requires state and local governments
to invest a lot of money into ID cards that will not necessarily make people
more secure. He said ID-based security is "incredibly risky and incredibly
flimsy." Harper cited
a study issued jointly this fall by the American Association of Motor Vehicle
Administrators, the National Conference of State Legislatures and the National
Governors Association. The study estimated that it will cost states $11 billion
over the next six years to comply with REAL ID.
Dan Bailey, a senior research analyst at
RSA Laboratories, also said he expects that REAL ID will impose a heavy
financial burden on the states. But he said the cost of compliance will decline
over time as technologies used for IDs become cheaper.
New Hampshire's
legislature was only a few votes away from making the state the first in the
country to reject REAL ID. State Rep. Neal Kurk, the author of the failed
anti-REAL ID bill, said earlier this fall that he intends to introduce the
measure again when the legislature reconvenes next year.
On the other side,
Meg Hardon of Infineon Technologies, a computer chip manufacturer that produces
"smart card" contactless applications, said policymakers also should be mindful
of the costs of not having a secure ID system.
The panel also examined several other ID
technology-related issues, including the use of radio-frequency technologies in
e-passports and pass cards as part of federal programs to bolster security and
speed travel at points of entry into the United States.
2) WHITE HOUSE & EXECUTIVE AGENCY WATCH
Dr. Joshua Lederberg has devoted his
life to the advancement of human knowledge across a
remarkable range of scientific endeavor. His work in
bacterial genetics earned him a Nobel Prize and laid the
groundwork for future progress in the study of genetics. He
has helped develop advanced computer technology, worked with
NASA in the search for life on Mars, and served as a
distinguished scientific advisor to our Nation's
policymakers. The United States honors Joshua Lederberg for
his achievements in scientific discovery and his commitment
to improving the lives of others. Dr. Lederberg also has
received a Nobel prize and the 1984 IEEE Centennial Award.
Read more at
http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/BB/ and
http://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/BB/A/L/L/C/_/bballc.pdf.
3)
REPORTS, SPEECHES & DOCUMENTS OF
NOTE
- Government
Accountability Office Reports
Information Technology: Status and Challenges of Employee
Exchange Program -
Recognizing the importance of human capital to information
technology (IT) and the need to improve the skills of
federal IT workers, Congress created the Information
Technology Exchange Program (ITEP) as part of the
E-Government Act of 2002. ITEP aims to improve federal IT
skills through exchanges of staff between the government and
the private sector. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
was required to issue implementing regulations, which it did
in September 2005, and to report semiannually to the
Congress. OPM's regulations require that each participating
agency develop an ITEP plan before proceeding with
exchanges. Agencies' opportunity to begin exchanges ends in
December 2007 With only 1 year remaining to begin exchanges
under the ITEP program, the seven agencies that volunteered
to participate are still initiating their programs, and no
exchanges have taken place. All participating agencies have
drafted plans, but only three—Department of Homeland
Security, Department of Defense, and Department of
Commerce—have finalized them. Further, only Homeland
Security has attempted to negotiate an exchange, but it was
unsuccessful. In its last two semiannual reports, OPM has
reported on the status of agency plans, but has not reported
that no exchanges have taken place to date.
GAO-07-216 December 15, 2006 -
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-216
Highlights -
http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d07216high.pdf
-
National Academy of Sciences
Online Journal
Combines Teaching Math and Studying How Students Learn
- When instructors at Bronx-area community colleges applied
for a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to study how
students think about fundamental concepts of calculus, they
hoped to gain a better understanding of how college students
learn mathematics. During
the 4-year project, the teacher-researchers integrated
ongoing research theories with classroom teaching. As a
result, their project has evolved into a tool for helping
students reason their way through complex calculus. For more
information, visit
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=108229
- National
Science Foundation
Updated Statistics on Women,
Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and
Engineering Education and Employment -
http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/wmpd/
4) U.S. COURTS ACTIVITY
5) US STATES WATCH
6) AWARDS &
GRANTS
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 research.
7) CONFERENCES, FELLOWSHIPS,
PROGRAMS & INTERNSHIPS FOR ENGINEERS, and STUDENTS &
SCHOLARS OF ENGINEERING
8) LATEST IEEE-USA & IEEE
ACTIVITIES
-
IEEE-USA Commends Sen. Collins for Seeking Answers on
Flawed H-1B Program
IEEE-USA commends Sen. Susan Collins(R-Maine), outgoing
chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs, for her recent letter questioning the
effectiveness of workplace safeguards in the H-1B temporary
guest worker program.
"The H-1B visa
program was created to address the scarcity of qualified
professionals and technical workers in the United
States, but with safeguards to mitigate the potential
harms to American workers and to protect foreign workers
from exploitation," Collins wrote to U.S. Secretary of
Labor Elaine Chao and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services Director Emilio Gonzalez on 4 December.
"The effectiveness of these safeguards, however, is in
question."
"We applaud Sen.
Collins for highlighting the abuse and misuse of H-1B
visas, particularly in smaller states like Maine, and
for seeking answers from leaders who oversee the
program," IEEE-USA President Ralph W. Wyndrum Jr. said.
"We're pleased that someone of her stature realizes that
flaws in the H-1B program harm U.S. and H-1B workers, as
well as the U.S. economy."Wyndrum added, "While many of
the H-1B problems must be fixed by Congress, the Labor
Department has simply not done enough to address these
concerns. We hope Sen. Collins' letter will spur the
department to improve the integrity of a flawed and
broken program. It has much more discretion than it has
exercised to investigate obvious program misuse and
abuse."Collins' letter cited an in-depth investigative
series by the Portland (Maine) Press Herald into the
H-1B program's "problems and loopholes."
One of the abuses
the newspaper found was "some companies appear to file
through Maine to receive its lower prevailing wage, and
then ship the foreign worker off to a higher-wage areas,
like New Jersey and Silicon Valley." The series is
available at
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/news/immigration/.
IEEE-USA highlighted
prevailing wage abuses with a Sept. 2006 news release,
"Reports, Studies Shatter Myth that H-1B Visa Holders
are Paid Same Wages as U.S. Citizens."
See
http://www.ieeeusa.org/communications/releases/2006/090606.asp.
In an Aug. 2006
release, "Government Reports Show Significant H-1B Wage
Violations, Enforcement Mechanism Broken," IEEE-USA
demonstrated how the Labor Department's limited
investigative authority helps enable companies to pay
H-1B holders below-market wages. See
http://www.ieeeusa.org/communications/releases/2006/082306pr.asp.
"While some American
businesses need access to foreign skilled laborers, we
should not allow unscrupulous companies to circumvent
the system," Collins wrote in her letter. "Their
subversion of the law harms American technology workers,
as well as legitimate firms whose high standards
prevents them from exploiting the system's flaws. We
must protect these workers and employers. "See Collins'
letter to Secretary Chao at
http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/issues/H1bvisa/CollinsH1B.pdf.
-
SAVE THE DATE! March 13 – 14, 2007 The 3rd Annual
IEEE-USA Career Fly-In
IEEE-USA invites all IEEE members in the United States to
join us in Washington, D.C. this coming March. All
participants will have an opportunity to meet with their
elected officials and staff to discuss issues related to
engineering careers. This is a great opportunity for
you to express your concerns directly to people who can do
something about them.
The 2007 Fly-In will
probably focus on immigration reform. Congress is
planning on continuing to debate major changes in the
nation's immigration system. High-skill
immigration, which directly affects engineers, will be
part of that debate. But because the number of
high-skill immigrants is so much smaller than low-skill
immigrants, skilled immigration often does not receive
much attention from legislators.
The Fly-In will
change that. Participants will have an opportunity to
express their opinions on this important issue directly
to the individuals responsible for making immigration
policy. Face-to-face meetings offer the best
possible chance to influence their decisions because
they force policy makers to focus on your position.
Politicians always listen when voters travel to
Washington. Meetings in Washington are, without
question, one of the best ways to influence Congress.
IEEE-USA will fully brief and prepare you in advance of
your meetings. We will also schedule your
appointments. You just have to come to Washington
to have a direct impact on immigration policy.All IEEE
members in the U.S. are welcome and encouraged to
attend.
More information can
be found at www.ieeeusa.org or
by contacting IEEE-USA staffer Russ Harrison at
r.t.harrison@ieee.org.
Review IEEE-USA's year-to-date progress in
working for the IEEE U.S. members at the new IEEE-USA Year-in-Review Web page.
Check out what IEEE-USA activities and programs helped the IEEE 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
For more
IEEE-USA in the News items, go to
http://www.ieeeusa.org/communications/inthenews/default.asp
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.asp
10) OTHER ITEMS OF POSSIBLE
INTEREST
-
Google Gives You for Free, What the US PTO Will Not
The Internet search firm Google unveiled the beta version of
a patent search
engine, which allows users to search for U.S. patents by
keyword, patent number, inventor or filing date. More than 7
million patents granted by the Patent and Trademark Office
are available, and more are being added. The program uses
the same technology that powers the company's controversial
Google Book Search initiative, so people can scroll through
pages and zoom in on text and illustrations, software
engineer Doug Banks said on Google's
Web log. "It's a natural extension of our mission to
make this public-domain government information more easily
accessible using Google's search technology," he said.
The database covers millions of patents dating back to the
1880s; PTO gives you only full text back to 1976.
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New@IEEE
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IEEE-USA
Whats New @ IEEE-USAs 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.
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 © 2006, The Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
Permission granted to copy for personal use or for
non-commercial republication with appropriate attribution.
Updated:
15 December 2006
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