ASME seeks to fill federal fellow positions

ASME's Board on Government Relations is seeking applications for four federal fellow positions starting as early as April. Two of the positions are funded by the ASME Foundation.

Fellowships are available for one-year positions in the Department of Homeland Security; the Office of Science and Technology Policy, Executive Office of the President; and the U.S. Congress.

For more information, visit www.asme.org/gric, or contact Allian Pratt at pratta@asme.org.

President announces $1.2 billion FreedomFuel Initiative in his State of the Union address

In his State of the Union address, President Bush announced a $1.2 billion Freedom-
Fuel Initiative, saying, "America can lead the world in developing clean, hydrogen-powered automobiles."

FreedomFuel would invest $720 million in new funding over the next five years to develop the technologies and infrastructure needed to produce, store and distribute hydrogen for use in fuel cell vehicles and electricity generation.

Combined with the FreedomCAR (Cooperative Automotive Research) Initiative, President Bush is proposing a total of $1.7 billion over the next five years to develop hydrogen-powered fuel cells.

Through partnerships with the private sector, FreedomFuel and FreedomCAR would seek to develop new vehicle and fuel technologies and the infrastructure needed to make it practical and cost-effective for large numbers of people choosing to use fuel cell vehicles by 2020.

More information on the FreedomFuel Initiative can be found at www.eren.doe.gov/freedomfuel.

President proposes increase in loan forgiveness plan for math and science teachers

President Bush's fiscal year 2004 budget request triples the student loan amount to be forgiven for teachers in elementary and secondary schools serving low-income areas.

The plan will provide up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness for teachers of math and science who work for five consecutive years in schools serving poor populations.

A similar proposal failed in the Senate last year. The president's proposal will continue the current program, which is expected to provide the $5,000 loan forgiveness to 38,000 borrowers who will begin their postsecondary education next year and are expected to become qualifying teachers. Of these borrowers, some 7,000 are expected to become math, science or special education teachers and could benefit from the expanded loan forgiveness program.

On a related note, ASME President Susan H. Skemp attended the Secretary of Education's Summit on Mathematics on Feb. 6, during which the administration released a new national initiative on K-12 math and science education.

ASME model bill introduced in Mississippi legislature

Sen. Alan Nunnelee, R-Tupelo, has introduced Senate Bill 2812, the "Mississippi Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Competitiveness Act," and Senate Concurrent Resolution (SC) 528, to establish a study committee to examine STEM education improvement and competitiveness in Mississippi.

Senate Bill 2812 is a modified version of the ASME STEM Education model bill, the resolution is also based on. Richard Heinecke, ASME Mississippi State Government Coordinator since 2001, met with Nunnelee, his own state Senator recently, to initiate the introduction.

Boiler safety is still an issue for South Carolina

A recent article in The State, the Columbia, S.C.-based newspaper, profiled Bob Woodward, ASME's South Carolina State Government Coordinator since 1993, regarding his involvement with boiler safety regulation legislation.

ASME's Council on Codes and Standards began setting standards for boilers in 1914 in response to boiler disasters, and North Carolina passed the first state law to reference the code in 1935.

South Carolina is the only state that does not require boiler inspections. A boiler safety regulation bill has been introduced in the South Carolina legislature in all but two sessions since 1976. Sen. Warrant Giese, R-Richland, introduced a new bill again this year, S.133.

Since 1997, South Carolina's building code has required that new boilers installed in the state be manufactured according to ASME's Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code.

— Melissa Murray
ASME Government Relations

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