ASME Members Submit Questions as Part of CNN-YouTube Presidential Debate

ASME Government Relations sponsored a booth at the Early Career Fair during the International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition in Seattle last month. At the booth, ASME members had an opportunity to formulate questions for the CNN-YouTube Republican Presidential debate, which was held on Nov. 28.

ASME Past President Harry Armen and current ASME Governor Marc Goldsmith were among several ASME members who recorded videos during the Early Career Fair. The idea came to fruition after 2007 ASME WISE (Washington Internships for Students of Engineering) intern Chris Deal submitted a question regarding climate change via YouTube for the debate.

Questions were submitted on behalf of the individual, and not on behalf of ASME. To view these videos, visit the ASME Government Relations Web site at www.asme.org/NewsPublicPolicy/GovRelations.

 

ASME Co-Sponsors "Sputnik in a YouTube Age" Briefing

On Nov. 8, the Task Force for the Future of American Innovation held a congressional briefing entitled, "Sputnik in a YouTube Age." ASME was one of the co-sponsors of this briefing, which was held in conjunction with the Congressional Research and Development (R&D) Caucus. The Task Force is comprised of representatives from industry, academia, and nongovernmental organizations who support increased federal support for research in the physical sciences and engineering.

Concerned that the U.S. lacks a similar unifying event today, the Task Force for the Future of American Innovation sponsored a YouTube video contest that asked for videos depicting how federally funded research has resulted in scientific innovations that have changed our lives. The winning video was produced by Adan Vielma, a communications major at Lewis and Clark College, and was shown at the briefing. To view this video and learn more about the contest, visit www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuGBNNCwkfs.

Primary briefing speakers included two former female astronauts - Kathryn Sullivan, the first woman to perform a space walk, and Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space. In discussing the current state of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, Sullivan said, "Nothing has managed to cut through the noise and rally us to a common cause." She encouraged parents to take the challenge of STEM education as seriously as was done in the 1960s. Jemison later challenged attendees by saying, "Ideas are like potential energy, but nothing is going to happen until we risk taking action. It's not enough to talk about these things."

For more information about the Task Force for the Future of American Innovation, visit www.futureofinnovation.org.

 

FY 2008 Defense Department Bill Signed by President

The fiscal year 2008 Department of Defense (DOD) appropriations bill was signed into law by President Bush on Nov. 13. H.R. 3222 contains $459.3 billion in funding.

Of the total amount allocated in the bill, $12.77 billion is for the defense science and technology programs and accounts for a total of 2.78 percent of the DOD fiscal 2008 budget. In FY 2007, defense appropriations bill science and technology expenditures accounted for 2.98 percent and 2.96 percent in the FY 2006. The allocation of funding between 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3 research is as follows:

• Aggregate 6.1 Basic Research: Funding is set to increase by 4.5 percent, or $70.1 million from $1.56 billion to $1.63 billion. The administration requested $1.43 billion in its FY 2008 budget request.

• Aggregate 6.2 Applied Research: Funding is set to decline by 4.4 percent, or $233.4 million from $5.33 billion to $5.1 billion. The administration requested $4.36 billion in its FY 2008 budget request.

• Aggregate 6.3 Advanced Technology Development: Funding is set to decline by 6.1 percent, or $393.5 million from $6.43 billion to $6.04 billion. The administration requested $4.99 billion in its FY 2008 budget request.

• Total Aggregate 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3: Funding is set to decline by 4.2 percent or $556.9 million, from $13.33 billion to $12.77 billion. The administration requested $10.77 billion in its FY 2008 budget request.

• Defense Wide (DARPA) 6.1: Funding is set to increase by 13.7 percent or $40.8 million from $297.5 million to $338.3 million. The administration requested $297.9 million in its FY 2008 budget request.

• Defense Wide 6.2: Funding is set to decline by 11.7 percent or $254.6 million from $2.18 billion to $1.93 billion. The administration requested $1.98 billion in its FY 2008 budget request.

• Defense Wide 6.3: Funding is set to decline by 2.8 percent or $94.1 million from $3.36 billion to $3.27 billion. The administration requested $3.15 billion in its FY 2008 budget request.

• Defense Wide 6.1, 6.2 and 6.3: Funding is set to decline by 5.3 percent or $307.9 million from $5.85 billion to $5.54 billion. The administration requested $5.41 billion in its FY 2008 budget request.

To review H.R. 3222, visit the Library of Congress Web site at http://thomas.loc.gov and search by bill number.

 

House and Senate Leaders Agree on CR Through Dec. 14

In mid-November 2007, House and Senate leaders also agreed to another month-long continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government through Dec. 14, 2007. This was attached to the aforementioned Defense appropriations bill.

The bill extends funding for all federal agencies under the FY 2007 levels. However, it also provides additional funding for several initiatives, including $500 million for wildfire-related spending, $3 billion for Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts, and $2.9 billion for the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Disaster Relief Fund.

At this time, it is not clear whether this will be the last CR that Congress passes this year. Some leaders on Capitol Hill predict that Congress will not adjourn until as late as Dec. 22.

For more information on the current status of appropriations, visit http://thomas.loc.gov/home/approp/app08.html.

 

Lieberman-Warner Climate Change Bill Markup Set for Dec. 5

The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Chair, Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., has set Dec. 5 as the date for a formal markup of S. 2191, "America's Climate Security Act." The bill, sponsored by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, I-Conn., and Sen. John Warner, R-Va., came out of the Subcommittee on Private Sector and Consumer Solutions to Global Warming and Wildlife Protection last month. S. 2191 is the first bill on global warming to be reported by a Senate committee since 2001.

Among the existing provisions contained in S. 2191 are:

• Reduce emissions in the United States by 63 percent from 2005 levels by 2050;

• Allow states to set higher emissions reduction targets than the federal government;

• Control compliance costs by allowing companies to trade, save, and borrow emission allowances, and by allowing them to generate credits when they induce non-covered businesses, farms, and others to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions or capture and store greenhouse gases; and

• Allow for states to set higher emissions reduction targets than the federal government.

The full text of S. 2191 is available on the Library of Congress Web site (http://thomas.loc.gov), by searching by bill number. While no information on this markup has been publicly released yet, we will continue to cover its development in future Washington Hotline columns.

 

New NRC Report Examines U.S. Competitiveness in M.E. Basic Research

A recent report released by the National Research Council draws some sobering conclusions regarding the state of American competitiveness. Entitled "Benchmarking the Competitiveness of the United States in Mechanical Engineering Basic Research," the report states that although America remains among the global leaders in mechanical engineering research, its status is being aggressively challenged by other nations.

The report notes that in 1988, the United States contributed 40 percent of mechanical engineering articles in the world. That percentage dropped to 20 percent in 2006. Additionally, the report found, the United States has been a leader in innovation, due to cutting-edge facilities, a steady flow of mechanical engineers and research funding. Since 1995, however, there have been significant declines in basic research funding.

The report concludes by observing that "the United States now holds a position among the leaders in most areas of mechanical engineering basic research, but because of the advance of mechanical engineering in other nations, competition is increasing and the U.S. lead will shrink. The United States is particularly strong in areas at the interface with other disciplines. In these areas, which include bioengineering, design, and mechanics of materials, the United States will maintain the leadership position in spite of growing competition. In some core areas where the U.S. position is currently not as strong, such as acoustics and dynamics, dynamics and controls, computational mechanics, and tribology, the U.S. position among the leaders may continue to fade."

For more information about this report, visit www.nas.edu/morenews/20071030.html.

 

Contact ASME Government Relations for more information:

Kathryn Holmes, director, ASME Government Relations: Board on Government Relations, Inter-Sector Committee on Federal R&D, Engineering R&D Symposium, Public Policy Agenda, ASME Federal Government Fellowship Program, Congressional R&D Caucus, Open Access, and broader R&D issues. (202) 785-7390; e-mail holmesk@asme.org.

Melissa Carl, government relations representative: Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education, Society of Women Engineers, National Science Foundation R&D, and the Washington Internships for Students of Engineering. (202) 785-7380; e-mail carlm@asme.org.

Anthony Quinn, government relations representative: Standards, Aerospace, Defense, and Bioengineering. (202) 785-7392; e-mail quinna@asme.org.

Robert Rains, government relations associate: Energy and Environment, including Climate Change, Sustainable Development, and Water. (202) 785-7483; e-mail rainsr@asme.org.

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