Tag Archive: Policy and Government Affairs
Articles relevant to Government Affairs.
What a difference a budget deal makes…
The President’s budget request for FY 2019, released yesterday, includes some modest gains and some big losses for Federal science agencies — details below, but on the whole a rather mixed bag for those who believe in the importance of the Federal investment in fundamental research. But it could have been much worse.
On a day when President Donald J. Trump was expected to use his State of the Union address to unveil his administration’s plans for nationwide infrastructure investment, a panel representing computing researchers in academia and industry told a group of congressional staffers and other stakeholders that while those infrastructure needs are critical, it would be shortsighted to simply replicate more of what we have. Instead, they urged, now we have an opportunity to invest in the research and make progress on the policies that would allow for an “intelligent infrastructure” that would provide a foundation for increased safety and resilience, improved efficiencies and civic services, and broader economic opportunities and job growth.
On September 13, 14 computing researchers from across the country visited Washington, D.C. to make the case for federally funded computing research. In all, they participated in nearly 40 House and Senate meetings. Their message to Congress was very simple: Federally supported computing research is vital to the nation’s future. Using their own research and individual stories as support, and helped with additional information from CRA, they made the “federal case” for computing to Members of Congress and their staff.
Social science is instrumental to computing not just to help answer the question of “what can we do?”, but also “what should we do?” As algorithms and autonomous agents become increasingly part of daily life, the issue of algorithm bias, for example, requires much input from both social sciences and humanities. And as the world becomes ever more awash in digital data and as our technology becomes ever more adept at wading through it, social scientists are helping us understand the implications for privacy and offering ways to preserve it.
On Tuesday, July 11, the CRA Government Affairs Office welcomed the 2017 class of Eben Tisdale Fellows to the CRA Washington, DC office. These fellows, all of whom are undergraduates at universities and colleges across the United States, spent the summer at high-tech companies, firms, or trade associations in Washington, learning the intricacies of technology policy. Additionally, they took two class credits at George Mason University, and attended briefings at the U.S. Capitol, Department of State, World Bank, Federal Reserve, and other institutions. The fellows visited the office to attend a presentation by Brian Mosley, CRA’s Office of Government Affairs policy analyst, that covered the policy concerns and issues the association works on and influences at the federal level.
CRA announces the fourth offering of the workshop intended to educate computing researchers on how science policy in the U.S. is formulated and how our government works.
On May 16, the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF), an alliance of over 140 professional organizations, universities, and businesses, held their 23rd Annual Capitol Hill Exhibition.
CRA issued a statement opposing the President’s first order, and while CRA has the same concerns about the new order, certain exceptions could alleviate the immediate impacts on current researchers and students. In addition to exempting travelers who already have visas permanent residency status, the order adds exceptions to be considered under a case-by-case waiver system. There are nine such exceptions, but the first four seem most relevant to the computing research community.
On September 14, 21 computing researchers from across the country visited Washington, D.C. to make the case before Congress for federally funded computing research. The volunteers, traveling from as near as Maryland and Pennsylvania, and as far away as Utah and California, participated in nearly 50 House and Senate meetings. Their message to Congress was very simple: Federally supported computing research is vital to the nation’s future. Using their own research and individual stories as support, and reinforced with additional information from CRA, they made the “Federal case” for computing to members of Congress and their staff. And they’ve hopefully started a lasting dialogue on both sides.
On Tuesday, July 5, the CRA Government Affairs Office welcomed the 2016 class of Eben Tisdale Public Policy Fellows to the CRA Washington, D.C. office. These fellows, who are undergraduate students, spent the summer at high-tech companies, firms, or trade associations in Washington, learning the intricacies of technology policy. Additionally, they took two classes worth six credits at George Mason University, and attended briefings at institutions such as the U.S. Capitol, U.S. Department of State, World Bank, and Federal Reserve. The fellows visited the office to attend a presentation by Brian Mosley, policy analyst in the CRA Office of Government Affairs, that covered the policy concerns and issues the association works on and attempts to influence at the federal level.
On April 26th, the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF), an alliance of over 140 professional organizations, universities, and businesses, held their 22nd Annual Capitol Hill Exhibition. CNSF supports the goal of increasing the federal investment in the National Science Foundation’s research and education programs, and the exhibition itself is a great way to show members of Congress and their staff what research the American people have funded.
