CAPITOL UPDATE
April 2, 2010
ASME News and Public Policy Updates
In this issue:
DOE MAKES $37.5 MILLION AVAILABLE
FOR JOINT U.S.-CHINA CLEAN ENERGY RESEARCH
Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Steven Chu this week announced the availability
of $37.5 million in U.S. funding over the next five years to support the U.S.-China
Clean Energy Research Center. Funding from the Department of Energy
will be matched by the grantees to support $75 million in total U.S. research
that will focus on advancing technologies for building energy efficiency;
clean coal, including carbon capture and storage; and clean vehicles.
The Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) will be located in existing facilities
in both the U.S. and China, and will include an additional $75 million in
Chinese funding.
"Cooperation between China and the United States on clean energy is crucial
to confronting the global climate crisis and presents an important opportunity
to create American jobs and build U.S. leadership in a growing global industry,"
said Secretary Chu. "By jointly developing new technologies and learning
from China's experiences, we can create new export opportunities for American
companies and ensure that we remain on the cutting edge of innovation.
This partnership will also be a foundation for broader partnerships with China
on cutting carbon pollution."
President Obama and President Hu Jintao formally announced the establishment
of the CERC during the President's trip to Beijing last November. The CERC
will facilitate joint research and development of clean energy technologies
by teams of scientists and engineers from both the U.S. and China, as well
as serve as a clearinghouse to help researchers in each country.
Funding from the U.S. government will be used to support work conducted by
U.S. institutions and individuals only.
DOE will provide one award for each of the CERC's initial work areas - building
efficiency, clean coal, and clean vehicles. Universities, national labs,
private companies and other relevant entities are eligible to apply through
Grants.gov, which can be found at: http://www.grants.gov.
Applications are due by Friday, May 14 with selections expected this
summer.
The full Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) is available on FedConnect's
public opportunities page, which is available at: https://www.fedconnect.net/FedConnect/PublicPages/PublicSearch/Public_Opportunities.aspx
Robert Rains handles public policy-related energy issues for ASME.
He can be reached at rainsr@asme.org.
HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE EXAMINES
NIST AND ITS ROLE IN STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT
Before lawmakers adjourned for a two week district work period late last week,
a hearing was held in the House Science and Technology Subcommittee on Technology
and Innovation to examine the National Institute of Standards and Technology
(NIST)'s proposed realignment, as well as the role that NIST plays in the
development of standards. A NIST program reauthorization will be included
in an "America COMPETES Act" reauthorization, which is slated for completion
by the Committee by the end of April and to be debated on the House floor
before Memorial Day. The America COMPETES legislation, which passed in an
overwhelmingly bipartisan fashion in 2007, authorized the gradual doubling
of funding related to research and development (R&D) and science education
for NIST, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the Department of Energy
(DOE) Office of Science.
House Science and Technology Committee Chair Bart Gordon (D-TN) presided
over the hearing, and spoke favorably of the proposed plan to reorganize NIST.
Chairman Gordon also addressed perhaps the most pressing question for attendees
in the hearing room for that day in his opening statement, stressing the facilitator
relationship between NIST and private standards developers. "I want
to make it clear that this Committee has no interest in telling private sector
standards developers how to do their jobs. This Committee has always been
Congress's strongest proponent of the public-private sector partnership that
defines the U.S. standards development system," declared Chairman Gordon.
Joining the committee to testify was Dr. Patrick Gallagher, Director of NIST.
Recently, Dr. Gallagher announced a NIST realignment to modernize the laboratories'
scope and purpose. This realignment is supposed to be reflective of
technological innovations and transformational products that were not in existence
during the previous realignment in 1988.
This realignment has two components. First, if his plan is approved
by Congress, Dr. Gallagher plans to abandon the current system of a Director
and Deputy Director of NIST in favor of three Associate Directors under the
NIST Director. Each Associate Director would be responsible for one
of the following: NIST laboratories; Innovation and Industrial Services, or
current programs; and Management Services, or administrative work. In
the second component, NIST plans to reorganize its eight laboratory divisions.
Currently, the divisions are set up along disciplinary boundaries-such as
physics and materials science and engineering within a university. The realignment
would create four labs focused on distinct goals of the agency, which include:
information technology, physical measurement, materials measurement, and engineering.
Any changes to NIST's organizational structure need the approval of the Department
of Commerce, where the institute is situated, and the Office of Management
and Budget in consultation with Congress, which provides its funding.
Witnesses spoke positively of the relationship that private standards developers
currently enjoy with NIST, they also warned of the critical test facing them
as they seek to expand further into markets and compete with China and the
European Union. Many invoked the recent efforts by NIST, in coordination
with standards developers to identify barriers, as a good example of a model
to be invoked more often moving forward.
For more information on the hearing or to view the archived webcast, please
visit: http://www.science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2774
Additional information about the proposed NIST realignment can be found at:
http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2010/03/nist-looks-to-reorganize-its-lab.html
Robert Rains handles public policy-related standards issues for ASME.
He can be reached at rainsr@asme.org.
**
EPA FORMALLY ANNOUNCES PHASE-IN
OF CLEAN AIR ACT PERMITTING FOR GREENHOUSE GASES
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this week formally announced
that it will not begin regulation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from stationary
sources before January 2011. The action determines that Clean Air Act construction
and operating permit requirements for the largest emitting facilities will
begin when the first national rule controlling GHGs takes effect. If finalized
as proposed, the rule limiting GHG emissions for cars and light trucks would
trigger these requirements in January 2011.
"This is a common sense plan for phasing in the protections of the Clean
Air Act. It gives large facilities the time they need to innovate, governments
the time to prepare to cut greenhouse gases and it ensures that we don't push
this problem off to our children and grandchildren," said EPA Administrator
Lisa P. Jackson. "With a clear process in place, it's now time for American
innovators and entrepreneurs to go to work and lead us into the clean energy
economy of the future."
Additional information about this announcement can be found at: http://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/d0cf6618525a9efb85257359003fb69d/1ef65148678fb4fc852576f50059a95b!OpenDocument
A fact sheet detailing the rationale behind this week's decision, as well
as implications for future actions, is also available at: http://www.epa.gov/nsr/documents/psd_memo_recon_fs_032910.pdf
Robert Rains handles public policy-related environmental issues for ASME.
He can be reached at rainsr@asme.org.
PCAST RELEASES REPORT ON FEDERAL
NANOTECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE
The President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) has
released the third in a decade-long series of assessments of the National
Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI). The report concludes that the NNI, which
provided $12 billion in investments by 25 Federal agencies over the past decade,
has had a "catalytic and substantial impact" on the growth of U.S. nanotechnology
innovation and should be continued.
However, the report warns, the United States stands to surrender its global
lead in nanotechnology if it does not address some pressing needs. Key among
these is a need to increase investments in product commercialization and technology
transfer to help ensure that new nanotech methods and products make it to
the marketplace, and the need to strengthen NNI commitments to explore in
a more orderly fashion environmental, health, and safety issues.
"It is important not only to continue increasing the Federal investment in
environmental, health, and safety research, but to do so in a coordinated
way, so the most important questions are answered first," said Ed Penhoet,
co-chair of PCAST's National Nanotechnology Initiative Working Group. "That
approach will ensure safety, bolster public confidence, and provide a clear
path to market for new companies and their products."
Among the report's recommendations are the following:
- Increase the focus of NNI programs on commercialization of products and
increase NNI's investment in nanomanufacturing by 100 percent over the next
five years.
- Better coordinate and rationalize the Nation's approach to identify any
environmental and health risks that may plausibly be associated with nanotechnology
and develop a coordinated strategic research plan to fill knowledge gaps
and decision-making needs of government and industry.
- Strengthen the National Nanotechnology Coordinating Office in part by
increasing its agency-contributed budget to about $5 million from the current
$3 million.
To review the "Report to the President and Congress on the Third Assessment
of the National Nanotechnology Initiative," please visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-nano-report.pdf
Additional information about this new report is also available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/nano-release.pdf
Paul Fakes handles public policy-related research and development (R&D)
issues for ASME. He can be reached at fakesp@asme.org.
EDUCATION SECRETARY DUNCAN
ANNOUNCES THE FIRST TWO "RACE TO THE TOP" WINNERS
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced this week that Delaware
and Tennessee have won grants in the first phase of the Race to the Top competition.
Delaware will receive approximately $100 million and Tennessee $500 million
to implement their comprehensive school reform plans over the next four years.
"We received many strong proposals from states all across America, but two
applications stood out above all others: Delaware and Tennessee," Duncan said
in announcing the winners. "Both states have statewide buy-in for comprehensive
plans to reform their schools. They have written new laws to support their
policies. And they have demonstrated the courage, capacity, and commitment
to turn their ideas into practices that can improve outcomes for students."
The $4.35 billion Race to the Top state competition is designed to reward
states that are leading the way in comprehensive, coherent, statewide education
reform across four key areas:
- Adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to succeed in
college and the workplace;
- Building data systems that measure student growth and success, and inform
teachers and principals how to improve instruction;
- Recruiting, developing, rewarding, and retaining effective teachers and
principals, especially where they are needed most; and,
- Turning around their lowest-performing schools.
For additional information on the Race to the Top state competition, please
visit: http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2010/03/03292010.html.
Statements from the governors of Delaware and Tennessee can be found at:
http://governor.delaware.gov/news/2010/1003march/20100329-racetothetop.shtml
and https://news.tennesseeanytime.org/node/4828,
respectively.
Melissa Carl handles public policy-related science, technology, engineering,
and mathematics (STEM) workforce issues for ASME. She can be reached
at carlm@asme.org.
THE ARTICLES CONTAINED IN CAPITOL UPDATE ARE NOT POSITIONS OF ASME OR ANY
OF ITS SUB-ENTITIES, UNLESS SPECIFICALLY NOTED AS SUCH. THIS PUBLICATION IS
DESIGNED TO INFORM ASME MEMBERS ABOUT ISSUES OF CONCERN BEING DEBATED AND
DISCUSSED IN THE HALLS OF CONGRESS, IN THE STATES, AND IN THE FEDERAL AGENCIES.
**** EDITOR: Mary James Legatski, ASME Government Relations, 1828 L Street,
NW, Suite 906, Washington, DC 20036-5104.