In this issue:
ADVANCE YOUR CAREER AND MAKE A DIFFERENCE! APPLY FOR AN ASME 2010-2011
FEDERAL FELLOWSHIP
For more than 35 years, ASME Federal Fellows have been applying the same pragmatic, problem-solving approach to public policymaking that they are trained to apply in the physical world. Their experience and understanding of the “law of unintended consequences” often counters partisan rhetoric and special-interest bias on scientific and technical issues. In short, ASME Federal Fellows are “engineering the greater good” for society.
ASME is accepting applications for the 2010-2011 Federal Fellows Program, which enables selected ASME members to spend one year in Washington, D.C. working on the staff of a congressional committee, U.S. senator or U.S. representative. Federal Fellowships offer the opportunity for ASME members to provide a valuable public service to the nation, while at the same time providing those engineers with a unique opportunity to participate directly in the policymaking process.
A stipend of $60,000 is awarded to each Fellow for a one year term,
which would begin in early 2011. All applicants must be U.S. citizens
and ASME members at the time of application. General information and
participation criteria is available at: http://www.asmefederalfellows.org/.
The online application is available at: https://secure.asme.org/fedgovfellows/appform.cfm. Applications will be accepted through September 30, 2010. Applicants need to review participation criteria thoroughly and submit all requested information.
Please contact Kathryn Holmes, Director, ASME Government Relations at holmesk@asme.org for additional information.**
ASME LAUNCHES SITE TO KEEP MEMBERS INFORMED OF DEVELOPMENTS RELATED
TO OIL SPILL
As part of the ongoing efforts of ASME to keep its membership informed of the most current developments related to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, ASME has recently launched an ASME Response to the Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico site. The site comes replete with an archive of articles that contain information related to legislative efforts to prevent future accidents, as well as mainstream media articles. This effort is intended to not only inform ASME members, but also to demonstrate to the public the role that nonpartisan technical professional societies can play in developing public policy solutions.
The site begins by reading: “ASME joins the engineering and technology community in expressing its deep concern for the situation in the Gulf of Mexico resulting from the explosion that occurred on the Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig on April 20, 2010. Our sincere sympathies go out to the families and colleagues of the workers that lost their lives and more that were injured in this tragedy and to the communities being impacted.’
‘As ASME continues to monitor news on the efforts to contain the oil flow from the damaged undersea well, the Society will make every effort to support the dissemination and discussion of the facts and available technical information related to this incident.”
Recently, ASME has added to the site a summary of legislative activity within
Congress to address the oil spill. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate
are expected to vote before the August recess adjournment on legislation intended
to prevent future accidents similar to what took place in the Gulf of Mexico.
The aforementioned legislative summary is also available at: http://files.asme.org/asmeorg/NewsPublicPolicy/24574.pdf
Robert Rains handles public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at rainsr@asme.org**
COMPARISON OF FY 2011 SENATE AND HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS BILLS FOR NASA
As noted in last week’s Capitol Update, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2011 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations (CSJ) bill, S. 3636, by a vote of 17 to 12. Included in that bill is FY 2011 funding for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The following is a detailed comparison of the proposed NASA funding in the FY 2011 Senate and House bills.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Obama Administration’s full budget request of $19 billion for NASA to implement the President’s new space exploration policy. The House Appropriations Subcommittee also provided NASA this top-line funding level, which represents a 1.5 percent increase ($275.5 million) over FY 2010. While top-line figures are the same, the House and Senate appropriations bills contain substantial differences for several accounts, with marked differences of support for the Commercial Space and Space Technology development efforts.
The total Senate funding for NASA includes: $1.6 billion for Space Shuttle operations; $2.78 billion for Space Station operations; $3 billion for development of the next generation Crew Launch Vehicle and Crew Exploration Vehicle; $5 billion for science; and $904 million for aeronautics and space technology research.
The Senate bill also restructures NASA’s human spaceflight programs to make them parallel to those outlined in the NASA Reauthorization bill approved by the Senate Commerce Committee last week (for more detailed information, please see the July, 23 edition of Capitol Update), providing for a new heavy lift launch vehicle and crew capsule for exploring beyond low-Earth orbit, extending the life of the International Space Station through 2020, supporting the emerging commercial space industry, investing in new technology development, and allowing one additional Space Shuttle flight if determined to be safe.
However, differences in the House and Senate bill are significant, and may prove difficult to resolve before the end of the current fiscal year, which ends October 1, 2010. For example, within the Aeronautics and Space Research and Technology (ASRT) budget, the CJS bill provides for $904.6 million, an increase of $403.6 million over the current year. That figure for ASRT compares with the President’s request of $1.15 billion and the House subcommittee’s recommendation of $887.1 million.
Of the Senate’s approved funding for ASRT, $579.6 million is slated for Aeronautics Research, matching the President’s request for an increase of 14.2 percent over FY 2010. The remaining $325 million in this account is slated for the President’s new ‘Space Technology’ portfolio, which is aimed at developing ‘game-changing’ technologies for NASA’s future space exploration needs. In contrast, the House CJS subcommittee provided $512 million for Space Technology, showing strong support for greater NASA technology-oriented research and falling just $67 million shy of the President’s $572 million request.
While the Senate lacked enthusiasm for the Administration’s Space Technology proposal, Senators did provide more support for the Administration’s commercial space development agenda than was provided in the House. The Senate’s version of NASA Exploration budget received $3.91 billion, an increase of $165.7 million or 4.4 percent over the current year. The House subcommittee provided only $3.56 billion, a decrease of $182.8 million or 4.9 percent from the current year’s budget. The Administration had requested $4.26 billion for the program in FY 2011,
Lastly, NASA Education activities would be funded at $145.8 million under the Senate CJS bill, a decrease of $36.7 million or 20.1 percent from FY 2010, matching the President’s request. In contrast, the House recommended $205.2 million, an increase of $22.7 million or 12.5 percent over the current year.
Senate Report 111-229, which includes the approved appropriations levels as well as the rationale for each, is available at: http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/cpquery/R?cp111:FLD010:@1(sr229).
A four-page summary of the entire CSJ appropriations bill as approved by the full Senate Appropriations Committee may also be viewed at: http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=56660e39-3811-4133-816f-93392e152437
To review House CJS Appropriation subcommittee funding levels, please visit: http://appropriations.house.gov/images/stories/pdf/cjs/CJS_FY_11_Top-line_Table.pdf
Paul Fakes covers NASA public policy-related issues for ASME. He can be reached at fakesp@asme.org. **
S&T SUBCOMMITTEE MARKS UP NUCLEAR ENERGY RESEARCH BILL
The House Science and Technology’s (S&T) Energy and Environment Subcommittee met on Wednesday to mark up H.R. 5866, the “Nuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 2010.” The bill was authored by S&T Committee Chair Bart Gordon (D-TN).
In his opening remarks, Subcommittee Chair Brian Baird (D-WA) noted, “The legislation before us today amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to update and enhance our Federal nuclear energy R&D programs. Nuclear energy is the single largest source of low-emissions power in the United States. If we are to increase our energy independence and mitigate the effects of climate change, nuclear will likely have to continue be a large part of the energy mix.” To review his entire statement, please visit: http://science.house.gov/publications/OpeningStatement.aspx?OSID=2837
The bill aims to lower the cost of nuclear energy, improve its efficiency and safety, and minimize waste and proliferation risks. Among its key provisions are the following:
- Providing more than $800 million per year through 2013 for research and development (R&D) programs for small nuclear reactors, advanced fuels and waste storage;
- Creating a 50 percent cost-share program with the private sector to build small modular reactors that have a capacity of less than 300 megawatts;
- Requiring DOE to research several different high-level waste management techniques;
- Creating a DOE research program for advanced on-site storage and materials for deep geologic storage; and,
- Requiring DOE to report on progress toward the “next generation nuclear plant” cost-share program to commercialize “Generation IV” reactors.
To review the text of H.R. 5866, please visit: http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?NewsID=2895
Robert Rains handles public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at rainsr@asme.org ***
DOE AWARDS $122 MILLION FOR FUELS FROM SUNLIGHT ENERGY INNOVATION
HUB
As part of a broad effort to achieve breakthrough innovations in energy production, DOE Deputy Secretary of Energy Daniel Poneman has announced an award of up to $122 million over five years to a multidisciplinary team to establish an Energy Innovation Hub aimed at developing revolutionary methods to generate fuels directly from sunlight. The Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis (JCAP), led by the California Institute of Technology (Cal Tech) in partnership with DOE’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), will bring together leading researchers in an ambitious effort aimed at simulating nature's photosynthetic apparatus for practical energy production. The goal of the Hub is to develop an integrated solar energy-to-chemical fuel conversion system, and move this system from the bench-top discovery phase to a scale where it can be commercialized.
"The Energy Innovation Hubs have enormous potential to advance transformative breakthroughs," said Deputy Secretary Poneman. "Finding a cost-effective way to produce fuels as plants do -- combining sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide -- would be a game changer, reducing our dependence on oil and enhancing energy security. This Energy Innovation Hub will enable our scientists to combine their talents to tackle this bold and highly promising challenge."
The Fuels from Sunlight Energy Innovation Hub is one of three Hubs that will receive funding in FY 2010. The Hub will be funded at up to $22 million this fiscal year. The Hub will then be funded at an estimated $25 million per year for the next four years, subject to Congressional appropriations.
For additional information about this hub, please visit: http://www.energy.gov/news/9243.htm
General information about the Energy Innovation Hubs is also available at: http://www.energy.gov/hubs/index.htm
Robert Rains handles public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at rainsr@asme.org **
NRC REPORT: RELIABLE INFORMATION AND BETTER COMMUNICATION NEEDED
TO GUIDE U.S. RESPONSE TO CLIMATE CHANGE
A comprehensive national response to climate change should be informed by reliable data coordinated through climate services and a greenhouse gas monitoring and management system to provide timely information tailored to decision makers at all levels, according to a report by the National Research Council (NRC). The report recommends several mechanisms for improving communication about climate science and responses and calls for a systematic framework for making and evaluating decisions about how to effectively manage the risks posed by climate change.
“Global climate change is a long-term challenge that will require all of us to make many decisions about how to respond,” said Diana Liverman, co-chair of the panel that wrote the report. “To make choices that are based on the best available science, government agencies, the private sector, and individuals need clear, accessible information about what is happening to the climate and to emissions. We also need information on the implications of different options -- especially to assess whether policies are effective.”
The report identifies several key functions that should be included in climate services, such as enhanced observations and vulnerability analyses on a regional scale, sustained interaction with stakeholders and research to understand their needs, an international information component that provides data on global climate observations and impacts, and a central accessible web portal that encourages sharing of information.
The most recent report is part of a Congressionally requested suite of studies known as “America's Climate Choices,” which also includes three other recently released reports. An overarching report to be released later this year will build on all four reports and other materials to offer a scientific framework for shaping the policy choices underlying the nation's efforts to confront climate change.
A four-page summary of the report, “Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change,” is available at http://dels.nas.edu/resources/static-assets/materials-based-on-reports/reports-in-brief/Informing_Report_Brief_final.pdf
The complete 300-page report is available for purchase at http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12784
For additional information on the “America’s Climate Choices” series, visit http://americasclimatechoices.org
Robert Rains covers 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.