In this issue:
SENATE COMMITTEE CLEARS SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING FUNDING MEASURE
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved late last week their version of the fiscal year (FY) 2012 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. The legislation totals $52.701 billion in discretionary budget authority, a reduction of $626 million below the fiscal year 2011 enacted level.
In explaining the cuts for various agencies included in the bill, Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), chair of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science noted, “In a spending bill that has less to spend, we naturally focus on the cuts and the things we can’t do. But I’d like to focus on what we can do. The bill invests more than $12 billion in scientific research and high impact research and technology development, to create new products and new jobs for the future.” Highlights for key science and engineering agencies included in the Senate bill are summarized below.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
- NASA is funded at $17.9 billion, a reduction of $509 million or 2.8 percent from the FY2011 enacted level, but $1.09 billion more than the House Appropriations Committee recommended level.
- The bill preserves NASA’s research portfolio, balanced among its science, aeronautics, technology and human space flight investments, and includes the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle, the heavy lift Space Launch System, and commercial crew development.
- The bill provides $530 million in funds to enable a 2018 launch of the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST). House appropriators included no funding for the JWST in their bill.
National Science Foundation (NSF)
- The NSF is funded at $6.7 billion, a reduction of $162 million or 2.4 percent below the FY2011 enacted level. House appropriators recommended flat funding for NSF in FY 2012, matching FY2011 levels of $6.85 billion.
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
- NIST is funded at $680 million, which is $70 million or 9.3 percent below the FY 2011 enacted level and $21 million below the House Appropriations Committee recommended level.
- The bill does not include funding for new grants under NIST’s competitive construction program and eliminates funding for the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) and the Baldrige Performance Excellence Program, matching recommendations from House appropriators.
A full summary of the FY12 Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bill is available at: http://appropriations.senate.gov/news.cfm?method=news.view&id=d396ebde-ec78-470d-b46b-b4d49c8e565e
Paul Fakes handles public policy-related R&D issues for ASME. He can be reached at:
fakesp@asme.org
HOUSE APPROVES THE PIPELINE SAFETY, REGULATORY CERTAINTY, AND JOB CREATION ACT OF 2011
Following the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s approval of H.R. 2845, the “Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011” by unanimous vote on September 8th, the bill was passed by the full House of Representatives on September 13th. The measure reauthorizes and strengthens pipeline safety programs and ensures greater regulatory certainty in the pipeline transportation industry. The bill was introduced by Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Subcommittee Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA) and co-sponsored by Chairman John Mica (R-FL).
Among the bill’s provisions are the following:
- Authorizes federal pipeline safety programs through fiscal year 2015;
- Renews the federal commitment to improving safety while ensuring a reasonable regulatory process that does not ignore the need for regulatory certainty to provide job growth;
- Continues to improve pipeline transportation and safety by providing tougher penalties for pipeline operators that violate pipeline safety laws;
- Improves pipeline damage prevention measures and cracks down on third party pipeline damage;
- Allows the Secretary to require automatic and remote-controlled shut-off valves on new pipelines;
- Requires the Secretary to evaluate the effectiveness of expanding pipeline Integrity Management and Leak Detection requirements;
- Improves the way DOT and pipeline operators provide information to the public and emergency responders; and
- Reforms the process by which pipeline operators notify federal, state and local officials of pipeline accidents.
As reported in the May 9, 2011 Edition of Capitol Update, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation marked up S. 275, the “Pipeline Transportation Safety Improvement Act of 2011 (PTSI Act),” on May 5th. PTSI Act would reauthorize the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) within the Department of Transportation (DOT) for fiscal years (FYs) 2011 through 2014.
H.R. 2845 does not reauthorize PHMSA, but rather it addresses safety concerns. The House version of the PHMSA reauthorization is still being developed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for passage sometime later this fall.
To read H.R. 2845, go to http://thomas.loc.gov, and search by bill number.
Robert Rains handles public policy-related standards issues for ASME. He can be reached at:
rainsr@asme.org
SENATE ENERGY CHAIR OPPOSES PROPOSAL TO GRANT FERC MORE AUTHORITY TO APPROVE NEW POWER LINES
The Department of Energy (DOE) recently asked for comments on a proposal to transfer to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) DOE’s authority to study grid congestion and designate national interest transmission corridors. DOE received these authorities as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPACT 05).
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairman Jeff Bingaman (D-NM) has sent a letter recommending that the Secretary not delegate that authority. As one of the principal authors of EPACT 05, Senator Bingaman recalls that Congressional intent was for DOE to take the lead in identifying grid congestion and proposing transmission corridors to identified problems. While Senator Bingaman supports giving FERC more transmission siting authority and has advanced proposals in the past to establish an open process to integrate local and regional transmission siting plans as a basis for that enhanced authority, he believes that changes to the current law providing for siting are for Congress to make.
In a letter to DOE Secretary Steven Chu dated September 9, Senator Bingaman lays out the following concerns: “Earlier this week, the Department asked for public comment on two papers prepared by the staff of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which together lay out a ‘theoretical framework’ for implementing section 216 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. As enacted by Congress, section 216 requires you, as Secretary of Energy, to conduct triennial studies of electric transmission congestion, and authorizes you, in your discretion, to designate any area experiencing congestion that adversely affects consumers as a ’national interest electric transmission corridor.’ It then permits the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to authorize construction of electric transmission facilities within such corridors in certain limited circumstances. . .
“I still believe that Congress needs to amend section 216 to give the Commission greater siting authority. But the decision to rewrite section 216 is for Congress to make. Rewriting section 216 under the guise of reinterpreting it, as the Commission proposes, is extremely ill-advised. It would do serious harm to our efforts to strengthen the federal siting role through legislation.”
To review Senator Bingaman’s complete letter, please visit: http://energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=6ef6a6ad-19f6-4cfe-a9c3-cd1335388335&Month=9&Year=2011&Party=0
Robert Rains handles public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at:
rainsr@asme.org
HOUSE SUBCOMMITTEE HOLDS HEARING ON "EMPOWERING CONSUMERS AND PROMOTING INNOVATION THROUGH THE SMART GRID"
On Thursday, September 8, 2011, the Subcommittee on Technology and Innovation of the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing to examine the status of efforts to develop open standards for smart grid technologies and drive innovation within smart grid development. The hearing provided the Subcommittee with an update on current standards development accomplishments, as well as the actions needed to empower and protect consumer interests while promoting innovation through the growth of the smart grid.
The hearing examined efforts, led by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), to coordinate the development of a common framework and standards necessary to ensure a secure and interoperable nationwide smart grid. The smart grid is a planned nationwide network that uses information technology to deliver electricity efficiently, reliably, and securely. The smart grid is designed to improve the transmission of electricity from power plants to consumers, provide grid operators with information about conditions of the electricity system, integrate new technologies into the grid, and allow consumers to receive more information about electricity prices and availability from the electricity system. This represents a leap from a one-way, analog system of disconnected power suppliers to a two-way, digital, interoperable national network. As envisioned, the smart grid is a more efficient way to distribute and diversify power sources, creating capabilities to make the grid more efficient by reducing demand peaks and increasing capacity utilization while providing consumers with innovative tools to reduce energy usage, potentially saving them money.
Subcommittee Chairman Ben Quayle (R-AZ) noted that NIST has a long history of collaborating with industry to develop voluntary consensus standards. “We should not underestimate the value of standards,” he said. “Open, consensus-based standards help facilitate the development of new innovative technologies by promoting plug-and-play operability for smart grid devices in both the national and international markets.” However, he cautioned against the prospect of mandating standards and the effect such mandates could potentially have on innovation.
Chairman Quayle’s entire statement may be read at: http://science.house.gov/sites/republicans.science.house.gov/files/documents/hearings/090811_quayle.pdf
The hearing charter, along with the written statements of the witnesses, may be viewed at: http://science.house.gov/hearing/technology-and-innovation-subcommittee-hearing-smart-grid
The official Committee press release is also available at: http://science.house.gov/press-release/subcommittee-examines-standards-support-electric-smart-grid
Robert Rains handles public policy-related standards issues for ASME. He can be reached at: rainsr@asme.org
BUSINESS LEADERS CALL FOR DRAMATIC INCREASE IN FEDERAL R&D FUNDING
The Bipartisan Policy Center's American Energy Innovation Council, a group of high-profile private-sector executives, including Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates and Norm Augustine, former chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin Corp. and former undersecretary of the Army, has released a report calling for expanded government investment in energy research. This team of leading CEOs is pushing for tripling the country's annual clean-energy investment.
The group proposes a number of reforms to promote more investment in energy technology and potential funding sources, including:
- A call for a comprehensive, government-wide Quadrennial Energy Review;
- Increased support for the Energy Department's "innovation hubs" and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, or ARPA-E;
- Reorganizing DOE's program structure to be more like ARPA-E; and,
- Creating a new government-backed financing institution, or Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA).
The group says a consistent funding stream is crucial to supporting such reforms, and it suggests several -- potentially controversial -- revenue streams, such as diverting royalties from domestic energy production, reforming and redirecting energy technology subsidies, collecting a wires charge on electricity sales, levying fees on other energy or pollution sources and streamlining DOE.
"Understandably, especially in this period of tight budgets, people ask why the private sector can't fund the necessary R&D into energy alternatives," Microsoft Corp. founder Bill Gates said in a statement. "No matter how well intentioned, utility companies and other private investors simply are not going to invest deeply in the kind of R&D needed to create scalable, low-cost, low-carbon energy innovations. They have little or no economic incentive to do so. This is a unique but critical role for government, one central to our long-term economic competitiveness."
The 44-page “Catalyzing American Ingenuity: The Role of Government in Energy Innovation” may be viewed at: http://www.americanenergyinnovation.org/2011-executive-summary
Robert Rains handles public policy-related energy issues for ASME. He can be reached at:
rainsr@asme.org
HOUSE COMMITTEE HOLDS HEARING ABOUT PUBLIC/ PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN STEM EDUCATION
On Tuesday, September 13, 2011, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held the second in a series of hearings to highlight Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education activities across the nation, their role in inspiring and educating future generations, and their contribution to our future economic prosperity. The purpose of the hearing, “STEM Education in Action: Inspiring the Science and Engineering Workforce of Tomorrow,” was to showcase a variety of public/private partnerships and initiatives that are successfully inspiring the future STEM workforce.
In the U.S., student mastery of STEM subjects is essential for 21st century jobs. A growing number of partnerships between industry, foundations, non-profits, and local and regional governments recognize the importance of having an educated and skilled STEM workforce and are creatively motivating and inspiring future generations of scientists and engineers with little or no federal funding. Such partnerships can provide alternative options for education activities outside the scope of public financing and delivery. When designed, implemented and run effectively, a successful partnership can increase efficiency and choice and expand access to educational activities not necessarily found in the classroom. Oftentimes, public-private partnerships allow state and local governments to leverage the specialized skills offered by certain private organizations. Likewise, industry seeks a substantial return on its investment with a highly skilled, highly motivated workforce.
At the hearing, Mr. Tony Norman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Innovation First International, discussed his work in promoting VEX student robotics competitions in schools. He said that “VEX Robotics integrates education and technology, and gets entire classrooms of students to have a hands-on experience and understanding for what engineering can really be like… We need to engage, inspire and prepare students to pursue science, engineering and technology in higher education and as a profession – and robotics serves as the perfect catalyst. Robotics makes STEM relevant to students, and relevancy drives engagement, inspiration and action.”
Ms. Nancy Conrad, Chairman of the Conrad Foundation, the outlined her Foundation’s successful Spirit of Innovation Awards (SOIA) completion, citing her goal to “ignite America’s interest and passion for STEM education” As part of the SOIA, students create an innovative product that can be used to address a real-world problem and ultimately be viable in the commercial marketplace, including possibly securing patents and exploring commercialization for their products.
Finally, Mr. Michael D. Gallagher, President and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), brought a more unique perspective to the panel, highlighting the potential for interactive video games to teach students about the STEM fields. “ESA and the video game industry have undertaken several initiatives in an attempt to play a catalytic positive role in engaging children in core STEM subjects,” Gallagher said.
Additional information on the hearing, including an archived webcast, is available at: http://science.house.gov/hearing/full-committee-hearing-stem-action
Melissa Carl handles public policy-related science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education for ASME. She can be reached at: carlm@asme.org
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