Dear (Candidate),

IEEE-USA represents the career and public-policy interests of the nearly 225,000 U.S. members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. As IEEE-USA president, I would appreciate it if you would answer the following technology-related questions. We'd like to distribute your responses to our members and the general public.

1) What would you do as president to help high-tech professionals displaced by offshore outsourcing of engineering and information technology work and to ensure that America remains the world leader in new technology, as cutting-edge research and development (R&D) and design work moves overseas?

2) What are your priorities for federal investments in R&D and what do you think is the appropriate level of federal funding for R&D? Specifically, do you believe there is a need for increased federal investment in R&D, and in what areas of science and engineering should that be focused?

3) Given that the unfunded corporate pension liability in the United States now exceeds $250 billion and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation is operating almost $10 billion in the red, what would you do as president to ensure the security of pensions earned by American workers?

4) With more and more personal information – consumer habits, financial and medical records, etc. – now collected in databases and accessible worldwide, what do you believe is an appropriate expectation of privacy by individuals and what steps would you propose as president to ensure the privacy of personal information?

5) Despite high levels of high-tech unemployment and underemployment, corporate lobbyists continue to argue that there is a skills shortage, cite recent declines in U.S. engineering/computer graduates as evidence of a future worker shortfall, and ask for increases in the number of H-1B visas for entry of skilled non-immigrant guest workers into the United States. What do you believe is the appropriate policy response to ensure that America maintains a strong and competitive high-tech workforce?

Chris McManes, our senior public relations coordinator, will follow-up on this request and you can contact him at 202-785-0017 (ext. 8356) if you have any questions. Please direct your responses to him by e-mail (c.mcmanes@ieee.org), fax (202-785-0835) or U.S. mail at the address listed on this letterhead. If possible, please respond by Aug. 31.

Thank you very much.