In this issue:
ADVANCE YOUR CAREER AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE! APPLY FOR AN ASME
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT FELLOWSHIP!
ASME is currently accepting applications for participation in its Federal
Government Fellowship Program through which ASME members provide engineering
and technical expertise to policy-makers in Congress (Congressional Fellowships)
and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (ASME Foundation
“Swanson” Fellowship). Federal Fellows provide a valuable
public service to the nation while at the same time providing engineers with
a unique opportunity to participate directly in the public policy making process.
Persons interested in serving as a 2011-2012 Congressional Fellow would spend
one year in Washington, DC working with the staff of a congressional committee,
U.S. Senator or U.S. Representative. Congressional Fellowships are designed
to demonstrate the value of engineering-government interaction, bring technical
backgrounds and external perspectives to the decision making process in Congress
and provide a unique public policy learning experience to the Fellow. Because
of the limited number of Congressional Fellowships available, the process
is very competitive. The following credentials are encouraged: at least five
years of professional experience; an advanced engineering degree; professional
engineer registration; and, some public policy experience.
The ASME Foundation “Swanson” Fellowship was established
in 2010 in recognition of Dr. John A. Swanson, an internationally recognized
authority and innovator in the application of finite element methods to engineering.
The Swanson Fellowship provides a unique opportunity for an experienced engineer
to serve as a Federal Fellow in the White House Office of Science and Technology
Policy (OSTP), where her/his broad, multi-disciplinary background would be
applied to finding solutions to technical issues. The Swanson Fellow will
confer with public policy professionals to make practical contributions on
the most effective use of engineering in federal decision making. Swanson
Fellow applicants should be established engineering researchers/practitioners
with an advanced degree in engineering plus approximately ten years of R&D
product development experience in an academic setting or in industry.
Entrepreneurial experience, R&D commercialization and some understanding
of working with federal agencies are also desirable.
ASME Fellows will be awarded a stipend of $60,000 for the one year Fellowship.
ASME Federal Fellows typically serve from September through August, but a
January through December term is sometimes an option. Applications are accepted
annually from December 1st through March 31st. All Fellows must be U.S. citizens
and ASME members at the time of application. Federal employees are not eligible.
To apply for the Congressional Fellowship or the Swanson Fellowship, fill
out the online application at https://secure.asme.org/fedgovfellows/appform.cfm and
provide the requested materials. The application deadline is March 31, 2011.
Visit the ASME
Federal Government Fellowship Program for additional information or
contact Kathryn Holmes, Director, ASME Government Relations, at holmesk@asme.org
or 202-785-7390.*
DEFICIT COMMISSION CITES NEED TO INVEST IN EDUCATION, R&D
The President’s bipartisan deficit reduction commission failed to reach consensus on a final plan to reduce the federal deficit last week, falling three votes short of a 14-vote goal that might have pressured congressional leaders to vote on the controversial proposal. The final 11-7 vote on the plan - which would cut $3.9 trillion from the debt over nine years through tax increases and program cuts – means that the commission’s final product is unlikely to get a vote on the floor of either the House or Senate.
Even so, several recommendations from the commission, co-chaired by Erskine Bowles, President Bill Clinton's former chief of staff, and retired Sen. Alan Simpson (R-WY), are likely to receive serious consideration in the President’s FY 2012 budget and in Congressional efforts to cut back spending next year. In mid-November, the two Chairs released a draft proposal, which was discussed in the November 15th edition of Capitol Update.
Among the Commission’s key recommendations was a proposal to create a bipartisan ‘Cut and Invest Committee’ to be charged each year with identifying two percent of the discretionary budget that should be cut and identifying how to redirect half of that savings, or one percent, into high-value investment. According to the Commission’s final report, these investments include, “education, infrastructure, and high-value research and development to help our economy grow, keep us globally competitive, and make it easier for businesses to create jobs.”
Further emphasizing the importance of research and education, the Commission’s report continued, “Over the next decade, the Cut-and-Invest Committee will be expected to recommend more than $200 billion in discretionary cuts, freeing up $100 billion for high-priority investments America will need to remain competitive, such as increasing college graduation rates, leveraging private capital through an infrastructure bank, and expanding high-value research and development in energy and other critical areas.”
The Commission’s final report is available for review at: http://www.fiscalcommission.gov/sites/fiscalcommission.gov/files/documents/TheMomentofTruth12_1_2010.pdf
Paul Fakes handles public policy-related research and development (R&D) issues for ASME. He can be reached at fakesp@asme.org
Melissa Carl handles public policy-related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education issues for ASME. She can be reached at: carlm@asme.org*
PCAST REPORT CALLS FOR NEW INVESTMENTS IN ENERGY R&D
A report released on November 29th by the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) calls for substantial investments in energy research, development and deployment (RD&D), some restructuring at the Department of Energy, and the initiation of a strategic Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) modeled after similar reviews conducted by the Department of Defense. “Accelerating the Pace of Change in Energy Technologies Through an Integrated Federal Energy Policy” lays out a roadmap for the federal role in transforming the U.S. energy system over the next ten to 20 years. The report was initially approved at the PCAST September 2nd meeting, and an overview of the report’s proposed recommendations were discussed in the September 7th edition of Capitol Update.
“The development of clean, secure, safe, and affordable sources of energy is clearly one of the preeminent challenges facing the United States and will be central to solving a host of other challenges in the years ahead,” said Ernest Moniz, co-chair of the PCAST Energy Technology Innovation System Working Group. “This report details what the Federal government can do to accelerate innovation in the energy sector, encourage scale-up of the best ideas, and lower current barriers to the widespread adoption of winning technologies.”
The report found that a major factor in slowing the transformation of the nation’s energy system to a more sustainable model is the large number of federal policies that affect the development, implementation and use of energy technologies, as well as the lack of coordination among the many federal agencies with responsibilities for implementing those policies. The QER would establish national goals and coordinate actions across agencies. The report recommends implementing a staged process to provide some elements of a QER during each of the next four years, with the first complete and integrated QER targeted for release in early 2015. The report also recommends that the Department of Energy (DOE) prepared a DOE-level version of a QER by June 1, 2011.
Other findings of the report include the following:
- The federal investment in energy-related RD&D should be increased from the current level of $5 billion annually to $16 billion per year;
- The offices within the Department of Energy should be restructured, combining an office of energy policy with an office of international affairs;
- The Administration should inventory existing energy subsidies and incentives with the goal of aligning them with the priorities specified by the QER; and
- An important focus should be on promoting widespread use of new technologies that have proven worthy of scale-up.
To review the 58-page report or its executive summary, please visit: http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/pcast-energy-tech-report.pdf
A webcast of the press conference announcing the report may be viewed at: http://www.tvworldwide.com/events/pcast/101129/
Robert Rains handles public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at Rainsr@asme.org
SENATE COMMERCE COMMITTEE PRESSES ON NASA OVERSIGHT
Citing concern about NASA’s implementation of the recently passed NASA Authorization Act, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing last week entitled, “Transition and Implementation: The NASA Authorization Act of 2010.” While the NASA authorizing legislation was signed by President Obama only 2 months ago, Senate supporters of NASA, including Committee Chair Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), want to ensure vigorous oversight of the agency given the contentious debate leading up to the reauthorization, the tight fiscal environment expected over the next several years, and a number of major program cost-overruns, which may lead NASA officials to cut funding for some programs in order to shore up others.
Further complicating oversight at NASA is the lack of a formal FY 2011 appropriations bill. This leaves the agency operating under both the terms of the new 2010 authorization bill and the current FY 2011 Continuing Resolution (CR), which prevents ‘new starts’ and may complicate NASA’s efforts to move forward with the new Congressional vision for the agency.
Senators on both sides noted that they remain concerned that NASA’s record of cost overruns and poor financial management – as detailed by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) - will leave it facing further budget cuts in the near future as appropriators seek to reign in spending. To demonstrate that NASA is making progress in improving its financial practices and following Congressional direction, witnesses at the hearing included: Dr. John Holdren, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy; Dr. Beth Robinson, NASA’S Chief Financial Officer; and two experts from the GAO - Ms. Cristina Chaplain, Director of Acquisition and Sourcing Management, and Ms. Susan Poling, the Managing Associate General Counsel.
While Dr. Robinson offered a detailed accounting of how NASA is proceeding under the current CR funding scenario, the recent announcement of major cost overruns with the high-profile James Webb Space Telescope – which could amount to as much as $200 million in the current fiscal year – left the Committee with major concerns about program implementation across the board at NASA.
To view a webcast of the hearing or review witness testimony, please visit: http://commerce.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=Hearings&ContentRecord_id=63c5863f-8419-4aa3-9474-cef769b345f3&ContentType_id=14f995b9-dfa5-407a-9d35-56cc7152a7ed&Group_id=b06c39af-e033-4cba-9221-de668ca1978a&MonthDisplay=12&YearDisplay=2010
Additional detail about the 2010 NASA authorization bill can be found in the September 27, 2010 and October 4, 2010 editions of Capitol Update.
Paul Fakes handles public policy-related aerospace issues for ASME. He can be reached at fakesp@asme.org
DOE’S CHU: THE SUCCESS OF CHINA AND OTHER COUNTRIES IN CLEAN ENERGY INDUSTRIES REPRESENTS NEW "SPUTNIK MOMENT" FOR THE U.S.
In his recent remarks before a speech at the National Press Club, DOE Secretary Steven Chu said that the success of China and other countries in clean energy industries represents a new "Sputnik Moment" for the U.S. and requires a similar mobilization of America's innovation machine so that the nation can compete in the global race for the jobs of the future.
"When it comes to innovation, Americans don't take a back seat to anyone - and we certainly won't start now," said Secretary Chu. "From wind power to nuclear reactors to high speed rail, China and other countries are moving aggressively to capture the lead, said Secretary Chu. “Given that challenge, and given the enormous economic opportunities in clean energy, it's time for America to do what we do best: innovate. As President Obama has said, we should not, cannot, and will not play for second place."
In his remarks, Secretary Chu outlined a number of promising research efforts currently underway, including:
- Revolutionary electric vehicle batteries capable of carrying a four-passenger electric car 500 miles without recharging at a price that is cost competitive to that of internal combustion engines; and,
- Converting sunlight into usable fuel by creating a system of artificial photosynthesis that is ten times more efficient than traditional photosynthesis in converting sunlight into fuel, thus expanding the nation’s biofuels industry and reducing dependence on oil.
Secretary Chu also highlighted several crucial technologies on which the U.S. must innovate or risk falling behind, technologies on which China is moving ahead at a rapid pace:
- High voltage transmission;
- High speed rail;
- Advanced coal technologies;
- Nuclear power;
- Alternative energy vehicles;
- Renewable energy; and,
- Supercomputing.
For more information about Secretary Chu’s remarks, please visit: http://www.energy.gov/media/Chu_NationalPressClub112910.pdf
Robert Rains handles public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at Rainsr@asme.org
HOUSE APPROVES NUCLEAR ENERGY R&D ACT OF 2010
On the precipice of a change of leadership for the House of Representatives in January, lawmakers returned to Washington, D.C. to conduct unfinished business. This week, the House of Representatives approved H.R. 5866, the Nuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 2010 by a bipartisan voice vote on November 30th. The bill focuses on R&D programs to help nuclear power overcome shortfalls, including increasing the efficiency of current and future technology, decreasing the costs of plant development, and providing the technology for safe long-term waste management.
“Our nation’s 104 commercial reactors today produce 20 percent of our electricity and 70 percent of our emissions free energy. Clearly, if we are to increase our energy independence, nuclear must continue to be a large part of our nation’s energy mix,” said bill author and Committee on Science and Technology Chair Bart Gordon (D-TN). “However, despite a strong record of safety and operating efficiency, capital costs continue to rise for construction of new plants, and the question of how to manage the waste byproducts of nuclear fission remains. This bill will modernize and improve our federal nuclear energy R&D programs to seek the answers to these challenges.”
H.R. 5866 also:
- Authorizes a Small Modular Reactors program to conduct both near-term and advanced research and development of small reactor technologies;
- Authorizes R&D in waste management and for advanced reactor concepts; and,
- Supports the development or revision of technical standards for nuclear power technologies.
To read H.R. 5866 as approved, go to http://thomas.loc.gov and search by bill number.
Chairman Gordon’s full statement is available at: http://science.house.gov/press/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=2953
Additional information about the bill can be found in the September 27th edition of Capitol Update.
Robert Rains handles public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at Rainsr@asme.org
SELECT COMMITTEE ON ENERGY INDEPENDENCE & GLOBAL WARMING HOLDS
FINAL HEARING
The House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming, chaired by Rep. Ed Markey (D-MA), held its final hearing on December 1st. The committee, established by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) at the beginning of the 110th Congress, will not be renewed when the 112th Congress convenes in January.
While the Select Committee was created as a platform to fulfill the House leadership’s goals related to energy and climate change legislation, the committee was never provided with subpoena authority, reducing their hearings to opportunities to further discuss, but not to develop, legislation. The announcement of the committee’s demise was made by Ranking Member Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) during the December 1st hearing. Rep. Sensenbrenner is now vying with Reps. Ralph Hall (R-TX) and Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA) to chair the House Science and Technology Committee. Next session’s chairmen will not be announced until later this month.
The hearing, entitled “Not Going Away: America’s Energy Security, Jobs and Climate Challenges,” featured a panel of speakers including General Wesley K. Clark, US Army (Ret.), NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe 1997-2000, and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Chairman of the Waterkeepers Alliance.
Additional information about this hearing, including the written statements of the hearing’s witnesses, may be found at: http://globalwarming.house.gov/pubs?id=0024
Robert Rains handles public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at Rainsr@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.