ASME concerned about ending student problem-solving program

The EPA Task Force of ASME's Environmental Engineering Division recently submitted its statement on EPA's fiscal year 2003 budget request.

The Task Force noted that the complex nature of environmental issues makes it essential for the EPA to base its policies and recommendations on sound science. A strong research and development program is critical for the ongoing development of scientific-based decision making, the Task Force emphasized.

The Task Force also expressed concern that the proposed transfer of EPA's environmental education program to the National Science Foundation for fiscal 2003 could adversely affect environmental education. That concern stems from the elimination of the Science to Achieve Results Fellowship Program, which in the past has provided a funding source for graduate students interested in solving environmental problems, allowing them to undertake research in areas directly relevant to EPA's mission and objectives.

The position statement is available for review on ASME's Government Relations Web site at www.asme.org/gric/ ps/2002/02-10.html. For more information about this issue, contact Kathryn Holmes at holmesk@asme.org.

For details on ASME's Environmental Engineering Division, visit www.asme.org/divisions/eed/.

Survey results that shape ASME public policy are due in June

The deadline to participate in the 2003-04 Public Policy Agenda Survey is June 13, the conclusion of the Summer Annual Meeting.

Survey results help set ASME's Public Policy Agenda, a compendium of federal and state issues of concern to the Society that is published every two years. The agenda establishes federal and state priorities that ASME will address during legislative sessions, and informs policy makers, other organizations, and members about the Society's federal and state concerns.

The Agenda Survey results will be published and released at the International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Nov. 17-22 in New Orleans. To participate, log on to the ASME Government Relations Web site at www.asme.org/gric.

For more information, contact Francis Dietz at (202) 785-3756 or at dietzf@ asme.org.

Aviation task force informs partnerships of funding cuts

The Aviation Research and Technology Task Force of ASME's Aerospace Division recently submitted its position statement on NASA's fiscal year 2003 budget request for inclusion in the hearing record of the Subcommittee on Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development (VA-HUD), and Independent Agencies of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The position statement addresses the aeronautics research and technology (R&T) programs within NASA's Aerospace Technology Enterprise. During the past decade, funding for NASA's aeronautics R&T program has fallen by approximately 50 percent, and this trend is continuing. The Administration's fiscal year 2003 request of $541.4 million for aeronautics is a reduction of $58 million from fiscal 2002 appropriated funding.

The position statement acknowledges NASA's recently released Aeronautics Blueprint and encourages sustained partnerships among the key agencies to develop a national aviation research and technology policy to turn the Aeronautics Blueprint into reality.

The statement also supports recommendations in a report recently released by the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry, calling for the creation of a "multi-agency task force with the leadership to develop and implement an integrated plan to transform our air transportation system." The Commission's report also recommends significant increases in the NASA R&D budget.

To review the statement, visit www. asme.org/gric/ps/2002/02-11.html.

For more information about this issue, contact Kathryn Holmes at holmesk@ asme.org. For more about ASME's Aerospace Division, visit www.asme.org/divisions/aerospace/.

— Melissa Murray
ASME Government Relations

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