DOD Task Force chair testifies before Senate Appropriations Subcommittee

In testimony before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense last month, John
Leland, chair of ASME's Department of Defense (DOD) Task Force of the Inter-Council Committee on Federal Research and Development, emphasized the importance of the Science and Technology (S&T) programs at the DOD.

"As a result of declining support for defense-related research and development for much of the past decade, the defense industry has had great difficulty in attracting and retaining the best-of-the-best engineering and scientific talents of this nation," Leland said.

The DOD Task Force supported the findings and recommendations of the Defense Science Board Task Force, the Quadrennial Defense Review and the Commission on the Future of the U.S Aerospace Industry, and endorsed the allocation of 3 percent of the total DOD budget, or $11 billion, in fiscal year 2003 for DOD S&T programs.

In concluding his remarks, Leland recognized the role DOD S&T plays in ensuring the national security of the United States, stating, "Investment in DOD S&T programs produced the scientific and engineering research underlying today's preeminent U.S. military forces. As varied and unpredictable threats to America develop in the coming years, this technological superiority will become an increasing national security imperative."

Leland's statement can be found on ASME's Government Relations Web site at www.asme. org/gric/ps/2002/02-25.html.

Aerospace Division joins others in endorsing aeronautics legislation

ASME's Aerospace Division recently joined nine other engineering and aerospace groups to endorse legislation introduced by Rep. John Larson, D-Conn., to increase funding for aeronautics research and development.

The bill, H.R.4653, the Aeronautics Research and Development Revitalization Act of 2002, would increase funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) aeronautics R&D budget to $1.15 billion, and to $550 million for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) by 2007.

In recent years, the Aerospace Division has joined with an aviation coalition to express concerns that reducing federal funding for aviation research and technology will jeopardize the nation's leadership in providing the technologies needed to develop the next-generation aircraft, improve aviation safety and security, and attract the next generation of aerospace scientists and engineers.

Over the last decade, funding for NASA's aeronautics R&D program has fallen by approximately 50 percent, and that trend is continuing. The administration's fiscal year 2003 budget request of $541.4 million for aeronautics is $58 million less than the fiscal 2002 appropriated funding.

In their letter, the Aviation Coalition strongly supported Larson's efforts to "counter the dramatic decline in U.S. research and development spending in aeronautics."

The letter can be found at: www.asme.org/ gric/ps/2002/02-24.html. More information about the Aerospace Division is available at www.asme.org/divisions/aerospace/.

Rep. Ehlers addresses ASME-led K-12 STEM education coalition

At the request of Rep. Vernon Ehlers, R-Mich., ASME called a meeting last week of the K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Education Coalition to discuss progress to date and strategy in securing additional funding for the Department of Education Math & Science Partnership program.

Ehlers is meeting individually with members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee to discuss the program and his funding recommendations. He thanked the Coalition for its continued support, and asked members to meet with Senate appropriators on increasing levels of funding in fiscal 2003.

The coalition's latest statement can be found at www.nsta.org/main/pdfs/mspc_statement.pdf.

 

— Melissa Murray
ASME Government Relations

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