ASME applauds $1 billion in emergency funding to NASA

ASME President Terry Shoup sent a letter of thanks to the chair and ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Commerce, Justice and Science Subcommittee for introducing an amendment to add $1 billion in emergency funding to the fiscal year 2007 NASA budget. The letter was co-signed by Ralph W. Wyndrum, Jr., president of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA.

In part, the letter reads, "NASA was devastated by the Columbia Shuttle disaster and Hurricane Katrina, and was never financially reimbursed for either incident, which forced dramatic cuts to other programs. Your amendment for $1 billion in emergency funds will help restore funding to the Aeronautics, Science, and Exploration Mission Directorates by reimbursing these accounts. During this tight fiscal environment, vital research was being cut to fund emergency repairs to return the shuttle to flight. However, the nation's commercial and military aviation is dependent upon the research of NASA's Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate."

In addition to funding NASA, the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Bill funds the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, the Office of the United States Trade Representative, and the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State.

While the House passed its version of the bill on June 29, the Senate is not expected to consider its version until after Sept. 30, the end of the current fiscal year. In that case, Congress would have to pass a "continuing resolution" to fund those agencies and programs covered by the measure until the fiscal year 2007 funding bill is approved and agreed to by both the House and Senate.

To read the entire letter, go to www.asme.org/NewsPublicPolicy/GovRelations/
PositionStatements.

ASME lends support to R&D coalition letter to congressional leaders

ASME is supporting a letter to congressional leaders calling for the reinstatement of the federal R&D tax credit. Legislation establishing the R&D tax credit was enacted in 1981 to encourage businesses to invest in long-term, high-risk R&D activities in the United States. The credit expired eight months ago.

In part, the letter reads, "The undersigned companies represent American innovation. We are the idea generators and risk takers who want to continue investing, hiring and conducting research in the United States. The research and development tax credit expired more than eight months ago. The laps of the credit and accompanying uncertainty have increased the costs of U.S.-based R&D. As such, it is increasingly more difficult for us to commit to future high-risk, high-dollar R&D investments that would create high-wage jobs in the United States. We strongly urge you to ensure that, in September, Congress sends to the President a bill with a seamless and strengthened R&D tax credit.

"The National Academies recently cautioned that 'without high-quality, knowledge-intensive jobs and the innovative enterprises that lead to discovery and new technology, our economy will suffer and our people will face a lower standard of living.' Our trading partners around the globe recognize the long-term value of R&D and have moved aggressively to implement generous and permanent tax policies that attract these vital investments to their shores."

To read the entire letter, go to www.nam.org/s_nam/page_form.asp?CID=
201823&DID=233739&rcss=print.

Fate of energy and water appropriations bill uncertain

Earlier this year, a bill supporting new funds for energy R&D looked like it would sail through Congress. The President's American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI) and Advanced Energy Initiative (AEI) put funding for new basic energy research and emerging technology research at the top of the national agenda.

Leaders in both the House and the Senate expressed enthusiasm for the president's budget request for the Department of Energy's Office of Science and other areas of energy research. However, as Congress approached its fall recess, prospects appeared dim for passage of its fiscal 2007 Energy and Water appropriations bill, H.R. 5427.

Both Senate and House appropriators initially seemed ready to follow the president's lead. This past summer, each chamber agreed on approximately $4.2 billion for the Office of Science, as well as significant investments in energy technologies as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the president's AEI. Since then, however, Congress did little with H.R. 5427.

Part of the delay in passing the appropriations measure can be explained by the electoral calendar. With public attention focused on the war in Iraq and immigration, senators have been focused on the Defense and Homeland Security bills, not this energy appropriations bill.

More problematic, though, may be increasing clashes between members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committee and the House Energy and Commerce Committee over the future of the government's nuclear power programs. Members of each committee appear increasingly far apart on the future of nuclear waste storage and the president's new Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP). Energy and Water Appropriations chairs Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and Rep. David Hobson, R-Ohio, want to move ahead with interim storage for nuclear waste, a move that House Energy and Commerce chair Joe Barton, R-Texas, strongly opposes.

House and Senate appropriations have also disagreed strongly over the president's $250 million budget request for GNEP. Such major differences on the controversial nuclear programs may prevent Congress from passing the Energy and Water appropriations bill this year, and instead use a continuing resolution to fund these programs.

Testimony from the recent House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on nuclear energy can be found at http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?
FuseAction=Hearings.Detail&HearingId=810&Month=
9&Year=2006.

Testimony from the recent Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee on the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP) can be found at http://appropriations.senate.gov/subcommittees/
energy/topics.cfm?code=energy.

 

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