In this issue:
CONGRESS PASSES STOPGAP SPENDING MEASURE
Just before heading home to campaign ahead of the November elections, Congress passed a stopgap spending measure (H.R. 3081) known as a 'continuing resolution' or 'CR' to fund the government for the next two months. Lawmakers will now have to dispose of all of the fiscal year 2011 appropriation measures - 12 bills in total - in a lame-duck session of Congress after the elections.
The remaining appropriation bills are likely to be rolled into an all-inclusive omnibus appropriations bill, but Congressional aides on both sides have not ruled out the prospect of another CR. In either case, passage of the stopgap spending bill sets up a major budget battle for later this year and creates uncertainty for a range of public programs. Without a budget plan for the next year, a host of federal programs will be forced to suspend new activities or lay off workers to meet on-going operational demands.
H.R. 3081 funds the government at a level of about $8.2 billion below current fiscal 2010 appropriations. These cuts come after both House and Senate Republicans offered unsuccessful amendments to make deeper cuts to federal spending in the CR. The Senate passed the measure 69 to 30. The House quickly followed suit in passing the measure on a largely party-line vote of 228-194, but not before House Republicans pursued cuts almost three times as large as those proposed in the Senate.
To view a summary of the CR, please visit: http://appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=f52bc28a-b828-49fa-a56c-5cbce6b07681
The full text of the CR is now available at: http://www.rules.house.gov/111/LegText/111_satohr3081_txt.pdf
Paul Fakes handles public policy-related research and development (R&D) issues for ASME. He can be reached at fakesp@asme.org
ASME HOSTS BRIEFING ON NASA AERONAUTICS R&D AS CONGRESS FINALIZES
NASA REAUTHORIZATION BILL
On September 29th, ASME partnered with the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), the House Aerospace Caucus, and the Congressional Research and Development Caucus to convene a congressional briefing on "NASA Aeronautics Research & Development".
The event, convened to inform congressional staff of the importance of NASA's research to the U.S. economy and aeronautics workforce, was moderated by ASME President Robert Simmons, P.E., and featured speakers including Representative Norman Dicks (D-WA), Representative Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), AIA President and CEO Marion C. Blakey, and NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver.
ASME President Robert Simmons, P.E. opened the briefing, noting that, "Aeronautics research and development is critical to U.S. national security and global economic competitiveness. As a world leader in aeronautics R&D, NASA has been instrumental in generating innovations in air and space travel, in making air travel safer, cleaner, and more accessible, and in inspiring young people around the world to pursue careers in aerospace and aeronautics."
AIA President Marion Blakey, who was the former Federal Aviation Administrator under President George W. Bush and now serves as Chair of the NASA Advisory Council Subcommittee on Aeronautics, emphasized that NASA's partnerships with U.S. industry play a critical role in supporting the U.S. aeronautics workforce, which "employs more than 800,000 workers and indirectly supports 30,000 suppliers and a further two million middle-class jobs across all 50 states." Blakey and Garver went on to offer some concrete examples of NASA aeronautics research outcomes, including advanced carbon-fiber materials for high-efficiency aircraft, new engine designs which halve noise pollution from jet engines, and the on-going deployment and development of the satellite- based NextGen air traffic control system.
Additional information about NASA's aeronautics research can be found at: http://www.aeronautics.nasa.gov/.
Also on September 29th, the House of Representatives approved the Senate's version of the NASA Authorization Act of 2010, S. 3729, with bipartisan support by a vote of 304 to 118. It is expected that President Obama will sign the legislation in the coming days.
While House S&T Committee Chair Bart Gordon (D-TN) preferred the House compromise language discussed in the September 27th edition of Capitol Update to the Senate bill, he said in a statement, "It has become clear that there is not time remaining to pass a Compromise bill through the House and the Senate. For the sake of providing certainty, stability, and clarity to the NASA workforce and larger space community, I felt it was better to consider a flawed bill than no bill at all as the new fiscal year begins. I will continue to advocate to the Appropriators for the provisions in the Compromise language."
To review S. 3729, go to: http://thomas.loc.gov, and search by bill number.
Paul Fakes handles public policy-related research and development (R&D) issues for ASME. He can be reached at fakesp@asme.org
HOUSE PANEL HOLDS HEARING ON U.S. COMPETITIVENESS
On Wednesday, September 29th, the House Committee on Science and Technology (S&T) held a hearing to receive testimony from distinguished members of the 2005 "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" Committee, who participated in a recent review of the 2005 report and produced an updated report, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5." Witnesses commented on the findings included in the new report and offered recommendations on how to maintain U.S. competitiveness and economic security for the long-term.
In his opening remarks, House S&T Chair Bart Gordon (D-TN) observed, "In 2007, this Committee took the lead in drafting legislation to implement the recommendations included in the "Rising Above the Gathering Storm" report. This landmark legislation, which became known as the America COMPETES Act, received overwhelming bipartisan support in both chambers of Congress. The America COMPETES Act was more than just a rallying cry for U.S. scientific and technological leadership and competitiveness. It authorized a doubling of basic research budgets at the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office of Science.
Chairman Gordon continued by saying, "Unfortunately, despite our best laid plans, the America COMPETES Act is set to expire tomorrow... Our marching orders are clear. We must continue what we started and recommit ourselves to the ideals we laid out in the original COMPETES Act. If this report tells us anything, it tells us that the worst thing we can do is let our efforts at reauthorization languish."
In his prepared statement, Mr. Norman R. Augustine, Retired Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Lockheed Martin Corporation and chair of the "Gathering Storm" Committee, said that members of the "Gathering Storm" Committee found the need to continue to support the original proposed actions even more compelling and urgent today than at the time they were initially proposed. He cited four circumstances warranting particular mention:
- Other nations are rapidly improving their competitive ability due to a major emphasis on education, including the creation of new science and engineering focused universities and progressive tax policies that favor innovation-driven firms;
- The ability of the U.S. to respond to the competitiveness challenges it faces has been increasingly hindered by the extraordinary budget pressures faced by the federal government as well as state and local governments;
- America's higher education system, long the gold standard of the world, is now being severely threatened. The source of this challenge is the serious financial condition of many states, plus the loss of endowments suffered during the recent financial downturn. Concurrently, universities in other nations are seeing this as an opportunity to attract many of the finest researchers and educators from America's educational institutions, particularly its research universities; and,
- At the time the original "Gathering Storm" study was conducted, the health sciences had just benefitted from a doubling of federal research funding and therefore were not given primary consideration in the Academies' work. Since that time, however, this upward trend has been reversed and the effects of inflation have further taken their toll.
The House passed its version of the America COMPETES Reauthorization (H.R. 5116) in late May, and the full Senate has yet to take up its version of the bill, which was passed out of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee in July.
For more information about this hearing, including the witness testimony and an archived webcast, please visit: http://science.house.gov/publications/hearings_markups_details.aspx?newsid=2919
Additional information about the report, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm, Revisited: Rapidly Approaching Category 5," can be found in the September 27th edition of Capitol Update.
Paul Fakes covers public policy-related research and development (R&D) issues for ASME. He can be reached at: fakesp@asme.org
Melissa Carl covers public policy-related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education issues for ASME. She can be reached at: carlm@asme.org.
ASME, IEEE-USA, AND DISCOVER CONVENE CONGRESSIONAL BRIEFING ON 'SMALL
MODULAR REACTORS'
On September 30th, ASME partnered with IEEE-USA and Discover magazine to convene a congressional briefing entitled, "The Road to the New Energy Economy: Small Modular Reactors (SMR)." This is the second in a series of briefings planned for 2010-2011 that seek to highlight various energy technologies.
Retiring Rep. Zach Wamp (R-TN) attended and provided some brief opening remarks about the subject. This event was moderated by former president of IEEE-USA Gordon Day. Speaking from the policy side of SMR technology and commercialization, Paul Genoa, Director of Policy Development at the Nuclear Energy Institute, guided attendees through the legislative and regulatory opportunities and challenges associated with SMRs, while also providing information about different concept designs being pursued by companies.,
Complimenting Genoa's presentation was Daniel Ingersoll, Ph.D., a Senior Program Manager for the Nuclear Technology Programs Office at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Dr. Ingersoll also serves as national technical leader for the anticipated Department of Energy/Nuclear Energy Small Modular Reactor program. After briefly revisiting the technical history of SMR designs, which were first introduced in the 1970s, he highlighted the current state of the technology, replete with various images of concept designs, as well as the virtues of deployment both domestically and abroad.
It appears that briefing attendees are not the only people paying attention to SMRs lately on Capitol Hill. As reported in the September 27th Edition of Capitol Update, the House Science and Technology (S&T) Committee recently approved H.R. 5866, the "Nuclear Energy Research and Development Act of 2010." The measure, which was reported from the S&T Committee's Energy and Environment Subcommittee by a voice vote in July, would provide up to $439 million a year through 2013 to improve current reactors' efficiency and life cycles and commercialize small modular reactors through a 50 percent public-private cost-share program. Unfortunately to date, there is no timeline for the legislation to be considered by the Senate. This event was videotaped and will soon be available to view online at: http://discovermagazine.com/events/road-to-new-energy-economy/
Robert Rains handles public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at: rainsr@asme.org
ASME CHAMPIONS PROGRAMS SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES
ASME's Innovation Committee recently issued a letter to the U.S. Congress urging federal government support of technology programs to support the small business community. The Committee shares the opinion of many economists and policy experts who believe innovation and growth at small businesses are key to job creation and national economic health.
In the letter, ASME is requesting Congressional leaders to reauthorize both the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program, which grant awards enabling small companies to develop new technologies and bring the technologies to commercial markets around the world. The program is currently scheduled to expire on January 31, 2011, having just been extended past September 30, 2010.
"The SBIR and STTR programs have an exemplary record of achievement across federal agencies," the Innovation Committee says in the statement. The programs "are crucial to fostering innovation in the U.S. economy and encouraging participation from small and minority-owned companies in federal research and development.".
In the statement, ASME also posits that SBIR and STTR be a permanent part of the U.S. government's technology investment portfolio. "Investment in small business is exactly what our country needs to grow the economy and create new jobs," the committee emphasizes in the letter, which was signed by Dr. Christian Przirembel, chair of the Innovation Committee.
The Small Business Administration estimates that 60 percent or more of the net new jobs in the United States are created by small and medium-sized businesses. Many experts in both government and business believe innovation and entrepreneurship hold the best hope for lifting the United States out of the nation's current economic morass. A bipartisan struggle is ongoing in Washington over pending tax increases for small businesses.
To read the entire letter from ASME's Innovation Committee, please visit
ASME
Position Statements.
Paul Fakes handles public policy-related research and development (R&D) issues for ASME. He can be reached at fakesp@asme.org
DOE COMMITS $1 BILLION TO FUTUREGEN 2.0
The Department of Energy (DOE) has signed the final cooperative agreements with the FutureGen Industrial Alliance and Ameren Energy Resources committing $1 billion in Recovery Act funding to build FutureGen 2.0, a project that will help to position the United States as a leader in innovative technologies for reducing carbon emissions from existing coal-fired power plants. As part of this new initiative, DOE will partner with the FutureGen Industrial Alliance to select an Illinois host community for the carbon storage site, as well as a geologic sequestration research complex and a craft labor training center.
"Today's milestone will help ensure the U.S. remains competitive in a carbon constrained economy, creating jobs while reducing greenhouse gas pollution," said Secretary Chu on September 28th. "Developing innovative, cost effective carbon capture and storage technologies is critical to the country's transition to a clean energy future."
As reported in the February 1st, 2008 Edition of Capitol Update, the DOE originally committed to funding 74 percent of the project's cost, which was $950 million when it was first announced to go online in 2015. However project estimates rose to $2 billion and, due to cost concerns, the DOE abandoned the project in favor of smaller sequestration demonstrations at existing power plants. The original site for the 275-MegaWatt Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) power plant was for Mattoon, Ill. FutureGen is a public-private partnership between the U.S. Energy Department and the FutureGen Industrial Alliance, Inc., a non-profit consortium of 12 American and international energy companies.
The FutureGen Industrial Alliance, working with the State of Illinois, will develop a permanent CO2 sequestration facility, research and visitors' facilities, and a labor training center at the site. The Alliance will also build a CO2 pipeline network from Meredosia to the sequestration site. The pipeline and storage site will transport and store more than 1 million tons of captured CO2 per year. The project partners estimate the new pipeline network is expected to create additional construction and permanent jobs. The pipeline network, along with the storage site to be selected in early 2011, will help to lay the foundation for a regional CO2 network. The Illinois storage site will be used to conduct research on site characterization, injection and storage, and CO2 monitoring and measurement.
Additional information can be found at: http://www.energy.gov/news/9584.htm
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.