Whats
New @ IEEE-USA - Eye On Washington
Vol. 2007, No. 2 (9 February 2007)
1)
CAPITOL HILL WATCH
- House Members
Sponsor Resolution Supporting National Engineers Week
-
Wyden, Burr, Gordon, Hall Kick Off Congressional
Nanotechnology Caucus
-
Senate Finance Committee's Agenda Includes R&D Credit,
Tax Ban
-
President's FY08 Budget Critisized for Lacking
Priorities and Consistency to Ensure U.S.
Competitiveness
2) WHITE HOUSE & EXECUTIVE
AGENCY WATCH
-
NSF: Cyber-enabled Discovery and Innovation
-
Letter from NSF Director on the Effects of the Long-term
Continuing Resolution on NSF Programs
3) REPORTS, SPEECHES &
DOCUMENTS OF NOTE
- Government
Accountability Office Reports
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
-
2007 Engineering R&D Symposium
8) LATEST IEEE-USA & IEEE
ACTIVITIES
-
IEEE-USA Policy Priorities List Approved
-
IEEE-USA Commends Congress for Increasing Investment in
Innovation and Competitiveness Programs
-
IEEE-USA Presidents Cited in Recent Publications
-
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
1) CAPITOL HILL WATCH
- House Members Sponsor
Resolution Supporting National Engineers Week
Congressmen Dan Lipinski (D-IL) and Bob
Inglis (R-SC) sponsored H. Res. 59, a resolution
Supporting the Goals and Ideals of National Engineers Week, expressing the
House's support for this honorary week which occurs 18-24 February 2007).
National Engineers Week recognizes not only the contributions engineers have
made to American life, but also aims to raise interest in engineering and
technology careers and promotes literacy in math and science. For the full
text, visit: http://thomas.loc.gov/, and
enter "H Res 59" into the search field.
-
Wyden, Burr, Gordon, Hall Kick Off Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus
Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Richard Burr
(R-NC), and Congressmen Bart Gordon (D-TN) and Ralph Hall (R-TX) – co-chairs of
the Congressional Nanotechnology Caucus – kicked off the new Congress by
announcing a lecture series for congressional staffers designed to educate them
about the enormous potential and challenges faced by nanotechnology.
Nanotechnology is expected to have a
significant impact on the future of information technology, homeland security,
medicine, and energy production and distribution. Estimates of the potential
annual global market for products that apply nanotechnology exceed $2 trillion
by 2014, and projections indicate that two million workers are likely to be
needed to support nanotechnology industries worldwide.
The purpose of the Nanotechnology Caucus
is to promote nanotechnology, educate policy makers about this emerging area,
and facilitate communications between industrial and academic researchers and
the Hill. To that end, the Caucus' lecture series will draw speakers from
government, industry and academia to provide congressional staff with a solid
understanding of this dynamic field. IEEE-USA is working with the appropriate
congressional staff to provide expertise from among our membership. Topics will
include:
Nanotechnology: Introduction and Overview.
Nanotechnology and Medicine
Nanotechnology and Energy
Nanotechnology, Electronics and Photonics
Nanotechnology and Security
Nanotechnology and the Environment
Nanotechnology and Environment, Health, and Safety Issues
Nanotechnology and Commercialization
Nanotechnology and
International Competition
-
House and Senate Committees' Agendas Include R&D Credit
The perennial push for a permanent
research and development tax credit is back on the
technology industry's agenda this year, and the Senate
Finance Committee will be one of the chief battlegrounds. In
its last hours, the 109th Congress extended the credit; but
that reprieve lasts only through December 2007. In January,
Texas Instruments credited its higher-than-expected
quarterly profit to the extension of the research tax credit
retroactive to the beginning of 2006. Industry's long-term
goal is to make the credit permanent or to at least get
another extension for as long as possible.
Finance Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) has
filed comprehensive tax legislation, which includes language to make the R&D tax
credit permanent. Baucus said the goal of the tax bill is to boost American
competitiveness and encourage innovation. The measure also would create a tax
credit to help small tech companies access capital and give tax-exempt bond
authority to states and communities seeking to improve their research
capabilities.
Supporting the R&D tax credit is also a
priority for the House Ways and Means Committee, along with protecting
intellectual property and fostering citizen involvement in government through
technology. Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (D-NY) also supports health
information technology and e-health records but is concerned about protecting
patient privacy, too.
The House
passed H.R.6, a bill to "reduce our Nation's dependency
on foreign oil by investing in clean, renewable, and
alternative energy resources, promoting new emerging energy
technologies, developing greater efficiency, and creating a
Strategic Energy Efficiency and Renewables Reserve to invest
in alternative energy, and for other purposes." The
legislation, which shifts certain revenue from royalties and
tax incentives from oil and gas companies into a reserve
fund for alternative and renewable energies, has been placed
on the Senate's calendar and is awaiting a hearing.
Last year, eight
technology associations established an RFID Technology Council – of which
IEEE-USA is a part – to support the Senate Radio-Frequency Identification
Devices Caucus, also formed last year. Senators John Cornyn, (R-Tex.) and Byron
Dorgan (D-N.D.) co-chair the caucus which will work with government agencies,
research institutions, nonprofits and corporations to better understand how to
use RFID devices.
Kara Calvert, director of government
relations at the Information Technology Industry Council that co-founded the new
council, said the goal is to have up to five roundtables a year focusing on RFID
issues like privacy, the technology and risks associated with it. The hope is to
educate members of Congress, especially freshmen, and create a dialogue around
RFID. The devices are now used on everything from ID cards to tracing store
inventory and even vehicles going through toll roads. The Council hopes to
recruit more members – from users of the devices like Wal-Mart to industry
experts who make RFID. There is no cost to join. The goal is to focus the first
roundtable discussion early this spring on competitiveness issues associated
with RFID. For information on IEEE-USA's RFID activities, read:
http://www.todaysengineer.org/2006/nov/RFID.asp and
http://ieeeusa.org/volunteers/committees/ccip/ The
IEEE-USA position statement on this issue can be read at:
http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/positions/rfid.html
-
President's FY08 Budget Critisized for Lacking Priorities and Consistency to
Ensure U.S. Competitiveness
The
Administration has released its annual budget request to Congress. The FY
2008 $3 trillion request includes $142.6 billion for research and development.
"While the President's budget includes some important funding increases, it
lacks the priorities and consistency to ensure our competitiveness now and in
the long run," said House Committee on Science and Technology Chairman Bart
Gordon (D-TN).
"… I
am deeply concerned that our children will be the first generation of Americans
not to inherit a better quality of life than their parents. We need to get
serious about making sure our kids grow up in a country whose economic strength
is sound and continues to be the envy of the world. "
According to a press release from Gordon's office, the White House FY08 budget
includes $6.429 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF).
However, the President again proposes to create new requirements under the
Department of Education and the No Child Left Behind Act - which have been
perennially overburdened and under funded - while ignoring the demonstrated
success of K-12 education programs at NSF. Those programs are cut $15
million from the FY07 Continuing Resolution level and flat relative to the
President's FY07 request.
"Rather than continuing to add to the bureaucracy at the Department of
Education, the President would be better served to utilize the longstanding
expertise and success of the National Science Foundation in improving math and
science skills for teachers and students," added Chairman Gordon.
In January, Gordon,
who champions science education, led the House in authoring an innovation
package of legislation built upon the recommendations of the widely acknowledged
2005 "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" report issued by the National Academy of
Sciences. The new legislation ("10,000
Teachers, 10 Million Minds" Science and Math Scholarship Act (H.R. 362) and
Sowing the Seeds Through Science and Engineering Research Act (H.R. 363))
underscores the importance of NSF's work in maintaining U.S. preeminence in math
and science education and research.
These bills will serve as the vehicle for
broader discussion of issues by the Science and Technology Committee, as well as
a cornerstone of the Democrats' Competitiveness and Innovation Agenda.
Gordon also criticzed the budget for
insufficient support of it energy R&D at the Department of Energy Office of
Science, and not going far enough to promote the commercialization of energy
technologies. Thus, Gordon has introduced the
Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E) Act (H.R. 364). Under
the legislation, ARPA-E provides funding for innovative, out-of-the-box research
projects carried out by industry, universities and consortia of groups,
including federal laboratories. The program is designed to give science
and technology experts unprecedented flexibility and resources to develop new
technologies through high-risk, high-return research addressing the nation's
most pressing energy problems.
On the other
side of the aisle, the House Science Committee's
ranking member Ralph Hall (R-TX) said, "It should be no surprise that we are
operating in a very tight budget environment. Given these circumstances, I
am pleased with a budget proposal that first and foremost will reduce the
National Deficit, but will also increase American competitiveness through more
funding for research and development (R&D). The research agencies
highlighted in the American Competitiveness Initiative would get a significant
boost under the President's FY08 proposal, equivalent to a 7.1 percent increase.
I am particularly pleased with the increased funding for R&D at the National
Science Foundation, the Department of Energy's Office of Science, and the
National Institute of Standards and Technology."
The
President's FY 2008 budget also
-
proposes $640.7 million for the physical science portions of the National
Institutes of Science and Technology (NIST). However, since taking
office the President has proposed eliminating two programs that have a
proven track record of aiding small businesses and creating new jobs - the
Manufacturing Extension Partnership and Advanced Technology Program.
Overall, the President's budget proposes cutting NIST's budget by 4%.
-
proposes $17.3 billion for NASA and overall increase of 3.1 percent. The
budget also includes $396 million over five years in grants for aeronautics
research to university and industry labs, expanding the participation of the
best researchers around the country. However, the proposal is criticized as
being insufficient and unable to support the agency's long-term missions as
dictated by the new National Aeronautics Research and Development Policy.
NASA will concentrate on fundamental aeronautics, aviation safety, and the
needs of the Next Generation Air Transportation System; service and upgrade
the Hubble Space Telescope; and build new telescopes such as Kepler to find
planets around other stars and the James Webb Space Telescope to peer deep
into the history of the universe.
- proposed $1.9 billion for the U.S.
Patent and Trademark Office. This is the fourth year in a row the White
House has recommended the Congress allow the agency keep fees collected from
patent and trademark applications instead of diverting funding to other
government programs. The money would be used to hire a net gain of about 800
patent examiners and expand its worldwide intellectual property protection
efforts. The funding request also would let the agency move toward its goal
of processing all patent and trademark applications electronically.
- proposes a 6.8 percent increase to $6.4
billion over the agency's expected fiscal 2007 budget., for the National
Science Foundation. The budget also includes across-the-board increases for
NSF programs, including a 4.5 percent increase over Bush's fiscal 2007
proposal for NSF's nanotechnology research investments. The funding increase
is designed to help build a new NSF center to address environmental, health
and safety research needs for nanomaterials.
2) WHITE HOUSE & EXECUTIVE AGENCY WATCH
-
NSF: Cyber-enabled Discovery and Innovation
"America's preeminence in information
technology is widely recognized as essential to our economic
competitiveness. The infusion of computation into science
and engineering has revolutionized how research is carried
out and applied. Once used by only a handful of elite
researchers on select problems, advanced computing has now
become essential to future progress and exploration. Coupled
with continuing improvements in microprocessor speeds,
converging advances in networking, software, visualization,
data systems and collaboration platforms are changing the
way research and education are accomplished.
In FY 2008, the National Science
Foundation (NSF) will begin the Cyber-enabled Discovery and Innovation (CDI)
initiative to explore radically new concepts, approaches and tools at the
intersection of computational and physical or biological worlds. For four
decades, NSF has provided leadership in the scientific revolution made possible
by information technology. Through investments ranging from supercomputing
centers and the Internet to software and algorithm development, NSF-supported
information technology has stimulated scientific breakthroughs across all
science and engineering fields." For more information, visit,
http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=108366
-
Letter from NSF Director on the Effects of the Long-term Continuing
Resolution on NSF Programs
In a letter dated 12 January 2007,
NSF Director Arden L. Bement, Jr. said:
"Most Federal agencies, including the
National Science Foundation (NSF), are operating under a Continuing Resolution
(CR) through February 15, 2007. Under the terms of this current CR, NSF is being
funded at the FY 2006 level, roughly $400 million below the Administration's FY
2007 request.
"The outlook for the remainder of the
fiscal year remains highly uncertain, with one possibility being an extension of
funding at the current level. While we are acutely aware of the tight
constraints on the available budgetary resources, NSF is continuing to issue
program announcements and solicitations as previously planned.
"It is likely, however, that NSF may be
unable to fund a number of activities planned for this fiscal year. We believe
it is important for NSF's grantee community to be aware of this uncertainty, as
a number of activities may be affected later in the fiscal year.
"We will do our best to keep the science,
engineering, and education communities informed of budget developments, and will
continue our efforts to minimize any negative impacts to our nation's scientific
capability and economic competitiveness."
3)
REPORTS, SPEECHES & DOCUMENTS OF
NOTE
According to a new study from Duke University, immigrant
entrepreneurs founded 25.3 percent of the U.S. engineering
and technology companies established in the past decade.
What's more, foreign nationals -- those living in the U.S.
who are not citizens -- contributed to an estimated 24.2
percent of international patent applications in 2006. The
report, "America's New Immigrant Entrepreneurs," is
available
online.
Content First and the
National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) were
commissioned by the National
Venture Capital Association (NVCA) to develop a study on
the economic impact of immigrants on the U.S.
economy. Content First established a database of nearly 900
venture backed companies that went public beginning in 1970.
The founder(s) nativity for each company was examined to
determine the number of foreign born founders among these
firms.
Key Findings:
-
Fully 25% of the venture-backed public companies that
have been established in the last 15 years were started
by one or more immigrant founders
- In the tech sector,
that figure rises to 40 percent
- The list of
companies includes such well-known names as
Google, Yahoo,
Sun Microsystems and
eBay
- The combined market
cap of these companies exceeds $500 billion, which
standing alone would put it about 17th in
world GDP
- More than 400,000
jobs have been created worldwide by these companies
- Government
Accountability Office Reports
Highlights of a GAO Forum: Global Competitiveness:
Implications for the Nation's Higher Education System
(GAO-07-135SP) January 23, 2007
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-135SP
Highlights -
http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d07135sphigh.pdf
Dr. Ron Hira, IEEE-USA Vice President for Career Activities,
sent a letter to U.S. Comptroller David Walker in response
to this publication, expressing concern that the GAO report
did not include a balanced discuss of visa programs like the
H-1B. The letter can be read here:
http://ieeeusa.org/policy/policy/2007/020207.pdf
Department of Energy: Key Challenges Remain for Developing
and Deploying Advanced Energy Technologies to Meet Future
Needs (GAO-07-106) December 20, 2007
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-106
Highlights -
http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d07106high.pdf
4) U.S. COURTS ACTIVITY
No items at this
time.
5) US STATES WATCH
No items at this time.
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
-
2007 Engineering R&D Symposium
Mark your calendar to
attend the
5th Annual Engineering R&D Symposium scheduled for Tuesday,
May 8, 2007 in Washington, DC. Join leaders from the
engineering community to gain firsthand knowledge of the
administration's R&D priorities and the potential impact of
the President's fiscal year 2008 budget request on the
engineering, science and technology community.
Engineers play a critical role in the public policy process,
providing expertise and knowledge regarding research and
technology issues facing the nation. The symposium
will feature representatives from government, industry and
academia, who will participate in panel sessions on
innovation, U.S. competitiveness, research and development,
and the state of the U.S. engineering enterprise. Contact
Kathryn Holmes, Director, ASME Government Relations at
holmesk@asme.org for additional information.
8) LATEST IEEE-USA & IEEE
ACTIVITIES
- IEEE-USA Policy Priorities List
Approved
The IEEE-USA Board has approved the policy
priorities list for the 110th Congress. It is now available on our website
at
http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/issues/index.html
-
IEEE-USA Commends Congress for Increasing Investment in Innovation and
Competitiveness Programs
IEEE-USA President
John Meredith commended congressional leaders for including increased
investments in innovation and competitiveness in the proposed continuing budget
resolution in a 31 January letter. The continuing resolution includes increased
funding for research and development (R&D) at the Department of Energy Office of
Science, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National
Science Foundation."We are pleased to see that Congress recognizes the vital
role that science and technology R&D play in ensuring U.S. competitiveness,
energy independence and national security," Meredith wrote. "In addition, the
need for a strong and balanced federal R&D portfolio is critically important for
the United States to maintain its leadership role and assure future economic
prosperity in the emerging global economy."IEEE-USA encourages bipartisan
cooperation and support for legislation promoting U.S. innovation and
competitiveness. See the letter
at
http://www.ieeeusa.org/policy/policy/2007/013107.pdf
-
IEEE-USA President Cited in Recent Publications
U.S.
engineers need to hone their competitive edge through continuing education and
focus on productivity, innovation and entrepreneurship to maintain rewarding
careers, 2006 IEEE-USA President Dr. Ralph W. Wyndrum Jr. told Business Week
magazine."America's leadership
in technology has underpinned our economic prosperity for the past half
century," Wyndrum said. "But we have no monopoly on smart people, capital
investment or the will to succeed. As developing economies use comparative labor
cost and other advantages to build competing
industries based on mature technologies, the United States can best create new
jobs and new opportunity by leading the way with new technology."
"Keeping Research and Leadership at Home,"
by Duke University's Vivek Wadhwa, looks at what the United States can do to
maintain its technological leadership and remain on the cutting edge of
innovation.Wyndrum shared his
perspective alongside Intel Chairman Craig Barrett; Charles Vest,
president-elect of the National Academy of Engineering; and Rick Rashid,
Microsoft senior vice-president of research, among others. The article is
available at
http://www.businessweek.com/smallbiz/content/jan2007/sb20070118_135378.htm
Wyndrum's portion is on page 9.Also,
Cox Newspapers quoted current IEEE-USA President John Meredith on the H-1B
program in an article discussing how high-tech companies and other businesses
are planning a full-court press to get the 110th Congress to increase the yearly
allotment of H-1B visas for high-skilled foreign workers."
There
are many flaws in the H-1B program," including weak prevailing wage guidelines
and limited enforcement mechanisms, said John Meredith, president of IEEE-USA, a
unit of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc. Read
the full article at:
http://www.coxwashington.com/hp/content/reporters/stories/2007/01/21/BC_H_1B_VISAS_ADV21_COX.html
-
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
No items at this time.
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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 © 2007, The Institute
of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.
Permission granted to copy for personal use or for
non-commercial republication with appropriate attribution.
Updated:
07 February 2007
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