Government unveils 'one-stop' shop for grants

In December, the federal government unveiled a Web portal that is designed to provide comprehensive access to federal grant opportunities.

Dubbed "Grants.gov," the site links users to more than 900 grant programs. They are offered by the 26 federal grant-making agencies that administer more than $350 billion in funding distributed each year to state and local governments, academia, not-for-profit organizations, and other institutions.

The site is a centerpiece of President Bush's federal E-Government Initiative, which is intended to promote the Internet delivery of government services as a way to save taxpayer dollars and facilitate citizen-to-government communications.

See the HHS press release at www.hhs.gov/news/press/2003pres/
20031209.html, or visit www.grants.gov.

ASME to host second Engineering R&D Symposium

Building on the success of a similar event in 2003, ASME, in collaboration with the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), and the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), will again sponsor an Engineering R&D Symposium in Washington, D.C.

More than 200 engineers from the co-sponsoring societies are expected to attend the event, which will be held March 8-9 at the Holiday Inn on the Hill. The symposium will provide a primer on the federal budget process as well as an opportunity for engineering leaders to gain firsthand knowledge of the administration's R&D priorities and the potential impact of the president's fiscal year 2005 budget request on the science, engineering and technology community.

For additional information, go to www.asme.org/gric.

Republicans will try again on energy bill

Having failed to overcome a filibuster to H.R. 6, the Energy Policy Act of 2003, by two votes in the Senate last year, Senate Republicans will try again in the next couple of months to pass the bill. The House passed it last year, and the president has indicated that he will sign it once it passes the Senate.

There are unconfirmed reports that Senate leaders have persuaded two Democrats to switch their votes, allowing the bill to go to a vote in the full Senate, but it won't be known if that's the case until the bill is brought to a vote.

Some Washington observers believe that the fact Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., has drawn a strong challenger in his bid for re-election will make him more likely to push harder for Senate passage of the bill this year. South Dakota is a heavily agricultural state that would benefit greatly from provisions in the bill mandating increased use of ethanol, a fuel derived from corn.

Indeed, Daschle stated recently that he believes he could muster five to six additional Democratic votes to break the filibuster if Republicans would drop a controversial provision.

It provides limited liability protection for manufacturers of methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a fuel additive that has been found in groundwater supplies in some states, but that has not been shown to be harmful to humans. House lawmakers from key MTBE-producing states, such as Texas, Louisiana and Oklahoma, had inserted the provision to protect manufacturers. Any change by the Senate to the conference report would also have to be approved by the House.

— Francis Dietz
ASME Government Relations

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