ACTION ALERT: Urge Your Rep *NOW* to Support COMPETES

On May 19, 2010, In Action Alerts, CRA, Funding, Policy, By Peter Harsha

FINAL UPDATE: (5/28/10 3:05 pm) COMPETES passes, sans troublesome MTR language: 262 – 150 with 17 Republicans in support.

Now, on to the Senate!

UPDATE: (5/28/10) – It looks like Rep. Gordon got creative with a solution to the COMPETES Act logjam. In a surprise move, he’s brought the original bill back to the floor just now and asked that the Motion to Recommit language (which essentially gutted the original bill and added the anti-porn language as a trap to insure both sides voted for it) be considered as a “divided question” – a move that allows the House to consider each portion of the motion on its own. So, instead of one up or down vote, it’s nine different votes, then a move for final passage of the bill. So far (through seven sections) the Dems have killed all the attempts to gut COMPETES. I’m guessing at this point that the bill is a done deal, but we’ll know in about 30 mins.

UPDATE: (5/19/2010 1:13 pm ET) The bill did not receive enough votes to pass under suspension. There’s a lot to unpack here and try to understand, but for now we’ll just link to Gordon’s press release, which was clearly written before the vote (it appeared a few minutes after the vote was finalized).

COMPUTING RESEARCH ADVOCACY NETWORK ACTION ALERT!

***ACTION NEEDED NOW: Please contact your representative in Congress *NOW* to urge his or her support for the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act when it comes up for a vote this afternoon!***

The ‘WHAT TO DO’ section below gives specific suggestions and a ready-to-use sample letter for how to quickly contact your representative.

THE SITUATION:

An attempt to pass the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act, which would authorize significant increases for several key science agencies and include provisions related to the National Information Technology R&D program, was derailed last week by a procedural vote that sent the bill back to the House Science and Technology committee with instructions to strike the increases and eliminate a number of new programs. Rather than comply with the instructions and, in essence, neuter the bill, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Bart Gordon, Chair of the House S&T Committee, pulled the bill from consideration in the hope of bringing it back to the floor at a later date. It appears that bill is coming back to the floor this week.

Members of Congress need to be urged to support the bill because federal investment in research remains a key part of the vibrant innovation ecosystem that helps preserve U.S. leadership in an increasingly competitive world. They need to be reminded that the investments in NSF, DOE and NIST will help ensure the U.S. continues the produce the ideas and talent that drive American science and industry, creating new technologies, new industry sectors, and new high value jobs.

BACKGROUND:

The America COMPETES Act of 2007 marked the culmination of a several-years long effort to achieve increased funding for the federal agencies responsible for investments in the “physical sciences” (which, in DC parlance, includes computing research). COMPETES authorized several years of budget increases for the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and Department of Energy’s Office of Science – increases that put the agencies on a path towards doubling their budgets over the next 7 to 10 years. The  authorizations contained in the 2007 version of the COMPETES Act are expiring, so Chairman Gordon introduced H.R. 5116, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 to continue the authorizations for the science agencies on roughly the same trajectory as the original bill. In addition, Gordon’s bill includes authorizations for a number of programs designed to increase the participation of U.S. students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, includes two free-standing bills already passed by the full House – the National Nanotechnology Initiative Reauthorization bill and the National Information Technology Research and Development Act – and a number of other programs designed to improve the climate of innovation for U.S. companies.

Given the election-year climate and a Republican minority that sees a chance to pick up dozens of seats in the House in November, it was unlikely from the start that the bill would receive wide bipartisan support. However, the Republican leadership, figuring it would lose a straight party-line vote, utilized a procedural gambit to imperil the bill’s passage and potentially deny the Democrats a legislative “victory.” They seized on last year’s revelations that NSF had disciplined a number of employees, including at least one in senior leadership, for using their government-issued computers to view pornographic material. Republican House S&T Committee Ranking Member Ralph Hall (R-TX) used a “Motion to Recommit With Instructions” that would send the bill back to the House S&T Committee with instructions to add language to fire anyone at a federal agency disciplined for viewing pornography, along with a provision that would freeze funding in the bill in any year in which the government ran a deficit (which is essentially every year for the foreseeable future) and cut a number of new programs the bill would have created, mostly designed to spur industrial innovation.

Not wishing to be seen as “pro-pornography,” 121 Democrats broke rank and joined Republicans in supporting the motion. (The only Republican voting against the motion was Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-MI), a former physicist who has already announced his retirement.) Rather than accede to the motion, Gordon pulled the COMPETES reauthorization from the floor.

The Democratic leadership has announced that the bill will return to the floor TODAY. We need to urge support for the funding authorizations including in the COMPETES Act reauthorization bill because those investments are critical in keeping U.S. innovation moving forward. The research supported by the funds in this act create the ideas and develop the talent that will keep the U.S. in a leadership role in an increasingly competitive world.

WHAT TO DO:

The most important thing you can do now is call or fax your representative **NOW** and urge them to support the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act. A sample letter you can use can be found at COMPETES_ActionAlert_Sample_letter. Please complete it using your own information and FAX it to your Representative’s office NOW. Please also send a copy of your fax to Melissa Norr at 202.667.1066. Having copies of letters from our community is incredibly helpful in our advocacy activities in Washington.

To identify your Representative visit Write Your Rep.

If you have any trouble figuring out your Member of Congress or his or her contact information, please don’t hesitate to contact Melissa (mnorr@cra.org) for help.

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Action Alert!: Stimulus Headed to Conference!

On February 10, 2009, In Action Alerts, Economic Stimulus and Recovery, Funding, FY09 Appropriations, By Peter Harsha

COMPUTING RESEARCH ADVOCACY NETWORK
**ACTION ALERT**
THE SITUATION:
Now that the Senate has narrowly passed its version of the economic stimulus, the bill will head to conference with the House to work out some of the significant differences between the two versions — including significant differences in how the science investments in the bill are handled. The conference represents our last chance to influence the level of science funding contained in the stimulus. We are asking for your help urging your representatives in Congress to support the levels of funding for science contained in the House version of the bill. Please call or fax your representatives today to express your support for research and research infrastructure funding in the bill.
BACKGROUND:
Both the Senate and the House have now passed their own versions of the “American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act” (H.R. 1), but each version contains substantially different levels of funding for key science agencies.The version passed by the House contains significantly more funding for research and research infrastructure than the Senate-passed version. It provides “catch-up” funding for NSF, DOE Office of Science, NIH, and NIST that would put those agencies back on a trajectory that would double their budgets over the next 7 years — a budget trajectory that was authorized by the 2007 “America COMPETES Act” but never funded. The House version of this stimulus bill includes:

  • $2 billion in science funding at DOE’s Office of Science, including $100 million for Advanced Scientific Computing Research;
  • $3 billion for NSF, of which $2.0 billion would go into core research programs, $300 million to the Major Research Instrumentation program and an additional $200 million to academic research facilities modernization;
  • $100 million for NIST’s core research programs, $300 million for facilities, and another $70 million for the Technology Innovation Program and $30 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership;
  • $1.5 billion to NIH for grants to improve university research facilities and another $1.5 billion in new research funding.

In contrast, the Senate version provides no funding for DOE’s Office of Science and just $330 million for DOE Labs (and no additional funding for Advanced Scientific Computing Research); $1.0 billion less than the House for NSF core research, $250 million less for Major Research Equipment and Construction, and $50 million less for Education and Human Resources; and $25 million less for NIST.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
The most important thing you can do now is call or fax your representatives in the House and Senate and urge them to support the House funding levels for science in the conference. A sample letter you can use can be found here (rtf).
Please complete it using your own information and FAX it to your Representative and Senators offices as soon as possible. Please also fax a copy of your letter to CRA’S Melissa Norr at 202.667.1066 — having copies of letters from our community is incredibly helpful in our advocacy activities on the Hill.
To identify your Representative and Senators visit Write Your Rep and the Senate Directory.
If you have any trouble figuring out your Members of Congress or their contact information, please don’t hesitate to contact Melissa (mnorr@cra.org) for help.
WHAT NOT TO DO:
Now is not the time for contacting the agencies involved with proposals for spending these potential increases. If and when these increases are realized, the agencies will put in place processes to accept proposals for funding — and CRA will keep you informed. But, until then, the agencies are sharply limited in the advice and help they can provide. Please instead focus your efforts on ensuring that your representatives in Congress have heard from you on the importance of supporting research and research infrastructure!

 
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Action Alert!: Urge Your Representatives to Support Science in the Stimulus!

On February 2, 2009, In Action Alerts, Economic Stimulus and Recovery, Funding, FY09 Appropriations, By Peter Harsha

Today we’re asking members of our Computing Research Advocacy Network (CRAN) — and anyone else with an interest in seeing fundamental research and research infrastructure budgets reflect their critical importance to the long-term health of U.S. economy and quality of life — to contact their representatives in Congress and urge their support for science funding in the nearly $900 billion stimulus bill now making its way through Congress. Here’s the full text of the Action Alert we’ve sent our CRAN members:

COMPUTING RESEARCH ADVOCACY NETWORK
**ACTION ALERT**
THE SITUATION:
Congress is preparing to pass economic stimulus legislation that contains significant funding increases for scientific research (including computing) and research infrastructure. It is critical to urge your Members of Congress to support the scientific investments in the bill. (This is not the time to contact the agencies with proposals for spending these increases. There is no additional money right now. And there won’t be if we as a community fail to make our voices heard in Congress.)
BACKGROUND:
The American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by the House of Representatives last week provides “catch-up” funding for NSF, DOE Office of Science, NIH, and NIST that would put those agencies back on a trajectory that would double their budgets over the next 7 years — a budget trajectory that was authorized by the 2007 “America COMPETES Act” but never funded. The House version of this stimulus bill includes:
  • $2 billion in science funding at DOE’s Office of Science, including $100 million for the Advanced Scientific Computing;
  • $3 billion for NSF, of which $2.0 billion would go into core research programs, $300 million to the Major Research Instrumentation program and an additional $200 million to academic research facilities modernization;
  • $100 million for NIST’s core research programs, $300 million for facilities, and another $70 million for the Technology Innovation Program and $30 million for the Manufacturing Extension Partnership;
  • $1.5 billion to NIH for grants to improve university research facilities and another $1.5 billion in new research funding.

These numbers are incredibly good for the research community and we need your help to make sure that this funding makes it through the rest of the process. The Senate version of the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act does NOT include all of this funding so your assistance in contacting Capitol Hill will be critical to maintaining this level of funding in the conference process.
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
The most important thing you can do now is call or write your representatives in the House and Senate and urge them to support the House funding levels for science. A sample letter you can use can be found here (rich text file) — please complete it using your own information and FAX it to your Representative and Senators’ offices as soon as possible. Please also fax a copy of your letter to CRA’S Melissa Norr at 202.667.1066 — having copies of letters from our community is incredibly helpful in our advocacy activities on the Hill.
To identify your Representative and Senators visit Write Your Rep (House) and the Senate Directory
If you have any trouble figuring out your Members of Congress or their contact information, please don’t hesitate to contact Melissa (mnorr@cra.org) for help.
WHAT NOT TO DO:
Now is not the time for contacting the agencies involved with proposals for spending these potential increases. If and when these increases are realized, the agencies will put in place processes to accept proposals for funding — and CRA will keep you informed. But, until then, the agencies are sharply limited in the advice and help they can provide. Please instead focus your efforts on ensuring that your representatives in Congress have heard from you on the importance of supporting research and research infrastructure!

It is important that we generate letters from as many institutions as possible. Because the Senate has come out with sharply reduced numbers in their version of the bill, there will be temptation in the conference process to reduce or trade away big science increases for gains elsewhere in the bill. Significant participation rates in this effort will help keep the pressure on Members to continue to support science in the bill.
If you’re not currently a member of the Computing Research Advocacy Network, joining is easy!
We’ll have more updates as the process moves forward. But the community needs your support now!
Update: (2/7/09) — Thanks to all who have participated so far — here are the details on the final Senate bill.

 
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