Climate change debate speeds up on Capitol Hill

Congressional lawmakers begin to make further steps toward action on climate change and regulating greenhouse gases in March. The House last month created a new Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Climate Change at the urging of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Pelosi named Ed Markey, D-Mass., as the Chairman and James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., will serve as the ranking Republican member. The committee will not have legislative authority and is set to expire in 2008. You can learn more about the committee at http://speaker.gov/newsroom/pressreleases?id=0090.

Former Vice President Al Gore and climate critic Bjorn Lomborg then drew attention by testifying on climate change policy before key congressional committees. Gore proposed a comprehensive package of policies to address climate change aimed at a 90 percent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050. The reception for Gore and his message in Congress was decidedly mixed, as many praised him warmly for his advocacy efforts, while others saw his recommendations as unworkable. On the other hand, Lomborg argued that these initiatives would stifle economic growth and be of little benefit in terms of protecting human health.

In his opening statement before a joint hearing of the House Energy and Commerce's Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality and the House Science and Technology (S&T) Committee, House S&T Chairman Bart Gordon, D-Tenn., praised Gore's efforts, saying, "Addressing climate change will not be easy. This problem arose over a long period of time as an unintended consequence of our use of fossil fuels to power our economy and improve our quality of life. However, now that we know the problem is real, we must begin to address this issue." S&T Ranking Member Ralph Hall, R-Texas, also complimented Gore for his work, but expressed concern that his plan would increase our dependence on foreign sources of energy.

Chairman Gordon's and former Vice President Gore's statements can be found at: http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.
aspx?NewsID=1726.

To view Hall's statement, go to http://gop.science.house.gov/hearings/energy07/
March%2021/hall.pdf.

 

Congressional leaders press forward on new competitiveness legislation

A bipartisan group of senators, led by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, introduced on March 5 the "America Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology, Education and Science (COMPETES) Act," a bill to implement the recommendations contained in the highly touted National Academies report, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm," and the Council on Competitiveness "Innovate America" report.

The legislation focuses on three areas important to maintaining and improving U.S. innovation:

• Increasing research investment;

• Strengthening educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), from elementary school to graduate school; and

• Developing an innovation infrastructure.

In an unusual procedural move, the Senate leaders will not refer the bill to a Senate committee, but will place it directly on the Senate calendar, ready for a full debate. Members of the Senate Commerce, Energy and Natural Resources, and the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committees provided input on the bill in the 109th Congress.

For more information about the America Competes Act, please visit: http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.
Detail&PressRelease_id=235230&Month=3&Year=2007&Party=0.

On the House side, the House Committee on Science and Technology also took action on competitiveness in March. It approved H.R. 362, the "10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds Math and Science Education Act," and H.R. 363, the "Sowing the Seeds through Science and Engineering Research Act." The former bill would help build capacity to reform STEM education by providing in-service teachers with much needed content development and by strengthening curriculum, while the latter bill would provide funding to the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy to fund innovative and transformative research. H.R. 362 and 363 are part of a package of three bills reintroduced earlier this year by Chairman Bart Gordon, based upon the recommendations of the National Academy of Sciences report, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm."

For additional information about Gordon's innovation legislation, go to http://science.house.gov/resources/innovation_2006.htm.

 

Gates, Task Force on Innovation call for action

The need for greater investment in America's global competitiveness was the focus of two recent congressional hearings. On March 7, the HELP Committee held a hearing on competitiveness issues that featured the testimony of Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates. The committee discussed how the U.S. can maintain a world-class engineering, science, and technology workforce.

Gates warned the committee not to be "content to live off the investments made for us. We must invest now to secure our economic and technological leadership for the future." His full testimony can be found at http://help.senate.gov/Hearings/2007_03_07/Gates.pdf.

On March 13, 2006, the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation, of which ASME is a member, joined other U.S. business and higher education leaders to unveil "The American Innovation Proclamation," which urges Congress to act now on an innovation agenda to maintain U.S. competitiveness. More than 270 American business and higher education leaders signed the call to action on innovation.

The Proclamation, which was delivered to every congressional office as well as presented to members of Congress during a press conference that day, calls for action on four key policy priorities aimed at promoting and sustaining U.S. innovation leadership, which are:

• Doubling the basic research budgets at the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Department of Energy's Office of Science, and the Department of Defense;

• Improving student achievement in STEM education through increased funding of proven programs and incentives for STEM teacher recruitment and professional development;

• Welcoming highly educated foreign professionals, particularly those holding advanced STEM degrees from U.S. universities, by reforming U.S. visa policies; and

• Making the R&D Tax Credit permanent in an effort to encourage continued private-sector innovation investment.

The full text of the Proclamation can be found at: http://www.aeanet.org/governmentaffairs/proclamation.html.

Following the press conference, the House S&T Committee held a hearing on innovation and competitiveness, including Chairman Bart Gordon's competitiveness legislation. The distinguished panel of expert witnesses included Norman Augustine, former chair and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp., and chair of the important "Rising above the Gathering Storm" report by the National Academy of Sciences.

More information about this hearing, including witness testimony, can be found at: http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.
aspx?NewsID=1714.

— Joshua Craft
ASME Government Relations

back to columns