COMPETES Reauthorization on Floor Today; CRA Endorses Bill

On May 12, 2010, In CRA, Funding, Policy, By Peter Harsha

Two weeks after the House Science and Technology Committee approved it, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 will get consideration from the whole House today. The bill, which we’ve discussed previously, would extend funding authorizations through 2015 for a few key science agencies at levels that would double their budgets over ten years, in addition to reauthorizing a number of programs designed to increase the participation of U.S. students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines, and creating or modifying a few programs designed to assist U.S. businesses commercialize new technologies.

The bill, introduced by Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN), Chair of the House S&T Committee, hits the floor with 101 co-sponsors – all but two (by my count) Democrats. Reps. Vern Ehlers (R-MI) and Judy Biggert (D-IL) are the only GOP Members of Congress to lend their name to the effort. While this is markedly less bipartisan than the original bill (which, though it had fewer overall co-sponsors, had a much higher percentage of GOP endorsers), it’s not terribly surprising given the current election-year politics.

In fact, the House Republican Conference is opposing the bill, and they cite three bases: it expands government spending at a time of large federal deficits; it creates new government (they cite six new programs they feel are duplicative or not related to the original research focus of the bill), and it changes the original focus of COMPETES from the laudable goal of buttressing basic research to a more “technology commercialization” focus, “which many members may consider to be corporate welfare.”

Though it would be nice if the bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, like the original version of COMPETES, in this election-year climate, where the GOP has visions of picking up as many as 100 seats, it’s not terribly surprising that a large number (perhaps a large majority) of Republicans will likely vote against it. It should pass, regardless.

CRA has expressed its support for the bill. In a letter to Rep. Gordon, the bill’s sponsor, we wrote:

We believe this bill continues the strong commitment to U.S. innovation and competitiveness set out in the original America COMPETES Act of 2007 by strengthening the federal investment in basic research – including a particular focus on federal government’s investment in information technology research and development – by bolstering programs designed to increase participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields, and by fostering a environment conducive to innovation for American business.

We are particularly pleased that H.R. 5116 includes the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD) Act of 2009, which we supported last year when it passed the house as H.R. 2020. We believe the NITRD Act makes the NITRD program stronger by enacting several of the recommendations of the President’s Council of Advisors for Science and Technology (PCAST) review of the NITRD program in 2007. In particular, we are pleased that the NITRD Act includes a requirement that the NITRD program undergo periodic review and assessment of the program contents and funding, as well as develop and periodically update a strategic plan – both key recommendations of the PCAST and necessary in helping ensure the significant federal investment in IT R&D is used as effectively as possible.

Overall, H.R. 5116 sends a strong signal that Congress remains committed to the belief that federal investment in research remains a key part of the vibrant innovation ecosystem that helps preserve U.S. leadership in an increasingly competitive world – a belief CRA shares. The investments outlined in COMPETES will help ensure we continue to produce the ideas and the talent that drive American science and industry, creating new technologies, new industry sectors, and new high value jobs.

The debate could be long. Quite a large number of amendments were submitted to the Rules Committee, though its likely not all of those will be ruled “in order” or will be offered by the original sponsors. I’d guess that most of the most-worrisome ones – those that freeze authorization levels or eliminate whole titles of the bill – will fail with at least a party-line vote. But we’ll keep an eye on the action and have a final wrap-up here when all is said and done.

UPDATE: (5/13/2010) – The bill has just been derailed.

Tagged with: • • • • • •
 
0 Comments
Leave A Response

House S&T Marks up COMPETES Act Reauthorization Today

On April 28, 2010, In Funding, Policy, By Peter Harsha

The House Science and Technology Committee is marking up today its version of a reauthorization (pdf) of the America COMPETES Act – the act that, when passed back in August 2007, marked the culmination of several years of effort to convince Congress and the Administration of the importance of buttressing support for federal investments in the physical sciences and STEM education. COMPETES provided authorizations for three key federal science agencies – the National Science Foundation, National Institute for Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy’s Office of Science – setting targets that would help put those agencies on a path that could see their budgets double over 10 years.

NSF's appropriations have never really reached the levels authorized in COMPETES, but the trend is at least in the right general direction.

While appropriations haven’t quite kept pace with the COMPETES authorized levels, the COMPETES authorizations sent an important signal to congressional appropriators that Congress thought these programs were worthy of increased support. In addition, COMPETES authorized a number of important STEM education programs including the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program and a number of other teacher training and fellowship programs designed to increase the participation of U.S. students in STEM fields.

The new bill reauthorizes the same key agencies as in the original COMPETES and adds an authorization for ARPA-E, the DARPA-like advanced research agency located in the Department of Energy that was originally enacted by COMPETES. In addition, the bill incorporates the Networking and Information Technology Research and Development Act of 2009, which we supported when it was originally passed as H.R. 2020 back in June 2009. That bill would require the agencies participating in the federal government’s NITRD program to develop a strategic plan and review progress against the plan annually; encourage coordination between the participating agencies; require the program to support R&D in cyber-physical systems, HCI, visualization and information management; and call on NSF to improve IT education to encourage the participation of women and underrepresented minorities.

The COMPETES Authorization also includes a reauthorization of the the National Nanotechnology Initiative, it establishes postdoctoral fellowships for STEM graduates to pursue STEM education research, it halts a planned consolidation of all NSF undergraduate broadening participation programs until the agency can provide a plan clarifying the objectives and rationale for the decision, it creates an advisory committee on STEM education, and a host of other provisions relating to programs at DOE, NIST and NSF. You can check out the full 225 page bill here.

The markup appears to be headed for a marathon session. The committee has before it at least 54 planned amendments, with the minority suggesting more are coming. It’s not likely that the bill will change substantially when all is said and done, but if it does, we’ll have the details here. We’ll also have a complete breakdown of the final authorization levels in the marked up bill as well as an outlook for its eventual vote in the House (House S&T Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN) hopes to have the bill on the floor before the House takes its Memorial Day break.)

The Senate has also begun work on its version of the COMPETES Act, though progress there lags the House considerably. With some luck, staffers on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hope to have a bill ready for markup by Memorial Day, with consideration in the full Senate sometime later this summer. The hope in both chambers is to have COMPETES wrapped up well before Congress turns all of its attention to appropriations in September and the upcoming mid-term elections. We’ll follow all the progress here….

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • •
 
0 Comments
Leave A Response

Cybersecurity Research on House Floor Today

On February 3, 2010, In Funding, Research, By Peter Harsha

The House of Representatives will consider H.R. 4061, the Cyber Security Enhancement Act, today. The bill, which originated in the House Science and Technology Committee, is designed to “improve the security of cyberspace by ensuring federal investments in cybersecurity are better focused, more effective, and that research into innovative, transformative technologies is supported.” It’s actually a combination of two separate S&T committee bills, the Cybersecurity Research and Development Amendments Act of 2009, which deals mainly with cybersecurity research issues and authorizes funding at NSF, and the Cybersecurity Coordination and Awareness Act of 2009, which is primarily focused on cybersecurity activities at NIST. The committee has detailed information on the bill on its website.

Most relevantly for the computing research community, the bill:

  • Requires a federal cybersecurity R&D strategic plan (though this is already underway);
  • Requires social and behavioral research in cybersecurity at NSF and calls out “identity management to be one of the areas NSF supports as part of its cybersecurity R&D;
  • Requires NSF to establish a postdoctoral fellowship program in cybersecurity;
  • Requires OSTP to assess the current and future cybersecurity wrokforce needs to the federal government, including comparison of the skills needed by each federal agency, the supply of talent, and any barriers to recruitment.
  • Establishes a university-industry task force to examine public-private research partnerships in cybersecurity.
  • Directs NIST’s intramural research activity to conduct research into unifying and standardized identity, privilege and access controll management frameworks for the execution of a wide variety of resource protection policies; research into improving the security of systems and networks; improving the testing, measurement, usability and assurance of systems and networks; and research associated with improving the security of industrial control systems;
  • Directs NIST to develop a cybersecurity awareness and education program.

All told, the bill would authorize about $395 million in research funding at NSF over the next five years. It would then be up to congressional appropriators to actually provide NSF with that funding.

CRA joined with ACM’s U.S. Public Policy Committee in November to endorse the bill during its consideration by the committee. Here’s what we said:

Chairman Gordon and Ranking Member Hall:

As representatives of two leading organizations in the computing community — the Computing Research Association (CRA) and the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) — we are pleased to support your efforts to bolster federal cyber security research through H.R. 4061, the Cyber Security Enhancement Act of 2009.

Information technology constitutes the “control loop” of essentially every aspect of our critical national infrastructure — the electric power grid, the financial grid, the telecommunications grid, the food distribution network — making the computers and communications systems of the nation critical infrastructure themselves. Our organizations, along with the National Research Council and the President’s Information Technology Advisory Committee, have all agreed that the most significant long-term step the Federal government can take to protect this information infrastructure is a sustained commitment to IT research and development, specifically in the areas of information and network security.

We are pleased that your legislation endorses this recommendation by providing new authorizations for a number of federal cyber security research programs. Our organizations have also, in the past, raised concerns about the balance in the federal program between short and long-term efforts, and about the level of coordination between federal agencies. Your legislation’s requirement that the participating agencies, with the assistance of the National Coordination Office, develop a strategic plan for federal cyber security research is a major step in addressing this concern.

We thank you for your work on this legislation and for your long-standing leadership of federal cyber security research efforts. We look forward to working with you and your colleagues as you endeavor to move this legislation this session.

Sincerely,

Dr. Eric Grimson
Chair, Computing Research Association

Dr. Eugene H. Spafford
Chair, USACM

The bill is expected to pass, though it faces 25 amendments today. We’ll have details if the bill gets substantially modified in any way.

Update: (Feb 4, 2010) — The bill passed by an overwhelming majority — 422 to 5 — and will head now to the Senate, where its prospects are somewhat murky. Here’s the S&T committee’s press release.

Tagged with: •
 
0 Comments
Leave A Response
Next Entries »
Go To Top »