Speaker Pelosi’s office just released a fact sheet on the conference agreement for the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act and, wow, it looks good for science agencies in the bill. Here’s the relevant bit:
Transform our Economy with Science and Technology: To secure Americas role as a world leader in a competitive global economy, we are renewing Americas investments in basic research and development, in training students for an innovation economy, and in deploying new technologies into the marketplace. This will help businesses in every community succeed in a global economy.
Investing in Scientific Research (More than $15 Billion)
Provides $3 billion for the National Science Foundation, for basic research in fundamental science and engineering which spurs discovery and innovation.
Provides $1.6 billion for the Department of Energys Office of Science, which funds research in such areas as climate science, biofuels, high-energy physics, nuclear physics and fusion energy sciences areas crucial to our energy future.
Provides $400 million for the Advanced Research Project Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to support high-risk, high-payoff research into energy sources and energy efficiency in collaboration with industry.
Provides $580 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, including the Technology Innovation Program and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership.
Provides $8.5 billion for NIH, including expanding good jobs in biomedical research to study diseases such as Alzheimers, Parkinsons, cancer, and heart disease.
Provides $1 billion for NASA, including $400 million to put more scientists to work doing climate change research.
Provides $1.5 billion for NIH to renovate university research facilities and help them compete for biomedical research grants.
Extending Broadband Services
Provides $7 billion for extending broadband services to underserved communities across the country, so that rural and inner-city businesses can compete with any company in the world.
For every dollar invested in broadband, the economy sees a ten-fold return on that investment.
It’s essentially everything we asked for. The entire fact sheet (pdf) doesn’t seem to be online yet, but we’ve got it here.
We’ll have more on the details as soon as we get them, but this is appears to be great news for the science community and great news for those who care about the long-term health of America’s innovation ecosystem!
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!
Dr. Tony Tether, the longest-tenured Director in DARPA’s 50+ year history and a targetoffrequentcriticismfromthecomputingcommunityandtheuniversitycommunity for the direction the agency has taken under his leadership, is apparently out as of February 20, 2009. Tether made the announcement in an email to DARPA staffers:
The Time to Go has Been Settled
As you know, I had said that I was asked to stay on at DARPA until replaced.
It turns out that that was not the case.
I was informed last week that the Administration had decided that I was to leave now with February 20th as a two week notice.
So it’s over.
But it has been a good ride and we have many, perhaps thousands, of technology developments most of which are yet to come, but also many which are out being used saving our Soldiers lives yet making them far more effective than the adversaries they face.
I want you to know that I am proud of all of you, current and past, and will never forget what you have done.
Once I know what I am doing, I will let you know.
God bless all of you, and most of all, God Bless America.
Tony
It’s not yet known who will replace Tether. A number of folks from the computing community have done some thinking about what a “re-envisioned” DARPA might look like. CMU CS Department Chair and CRA’s Government Affairs Committee Chair Peter Lee and Berkeley’s Randy Katz put together those thoughts in a piece for the CCC in December called Re-envisioning DARPA (pdf) that certainly seems worth reading again.
As we learn more about this change in leadership at this critical agency, we’ll post it here!
Late last night, the Senate leadership and a coalition of moderate Senators led by Sens. Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Susan Collins (R-ME) reached an agreement on a package of reductions to the increases proposed in the Senate version of the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act (otherwise known as the “stimulus bill”). The agreement would preserve $1.2 billion of the Senate’s proposed $1.4 billion increase for the National Science Foundation.
The agreement does reduce the increase in the Department of Energy’s Office of Science by $100 million (so, +$330 million instead of +$430 million), and NIST’s increase would be reduced by $100 million (so +$495 million instead of +$595 million). But given the reports we were receiving as recently as yesterday evening about the possibility of no increase for the science agencies in the bill, this is a remarkable turn of events.
The increase for NSF in the Senate bill will still be far less than the $3 billion called for in the House version of the bill, but NSF will be in far better shape in the conference between the two chambers coming in with $1.2 billion from the Senate instead of zero.
The Senate expects to vote on the bill on Tuesday and then the bill will move to a conference with the House to negotiate the differences. Given Congress’ desire to wrap this up by President’s Day, which starts a week-long district work period, the conference is expected to move quickly.
We’ll have all the details on the conference and the final bill as we get them. But for now, an encouraging result for advocates of greater federal investment in the physical sciences!
Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer spoke today at the House Democratic Caucus Retreat in Williamsburg, Virginia, and urged the Members present to support investments in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and increase federal support for basic research. The STEM ed investments are really the government’s investments in human capital, he said, which are necessary because in “today’s knowledge-driven world, innovation will depend on people who are actually technologically sophisticated, have strong critical thinking skills, and have expertise in math and science and engineering.”
He also called for greater investment in the nation’s science and technology infrastructure — in the basic research that powers innovation.
I came in, flew in red eye, was a little groggy this morning when I got here. I sat down with the speaker at 8:00 AM, and she woke me right up. She said there are four things I want you to make sure you understand are a priority: science, science, science, and science. I was awake by the end of the fourth science for sure, and I couldn’t agree more wholeheartedly.
Science and technology is the backbone for productivity and innovation; has been, not always information technology, but science and technology has been a driver of economic success. Government investment in science and engineering as a percentage of GDP is half, in this country, what it was in 1970, and it would be growing rapidly, particularly in countries in Asia, off a small base albeit, but in places like India and China and Korea the trend is the other direction.
We need to pursue breakthroughs over the coming years in green technology, alternative energy, bioengineering, parallel computing, quantum computing. Without greater government investment in the basic research, there is a danger that important advances will happen in other countries. This is truly I think not only an issue of competitiveness, but also in a sense of national security. Companies like ours and others can do our fair share in terms of funding of basic research, but government needs to take the lead.
The whole speech is worth reading. It’s great. I only wish that it could have been heard by members of the Senate who are still debating whether science funding — including a $1.4 billion increase for NSF — ought to be included in the Senate version of the stimulus package.
Basic research is the most powerful engine for innovation in the U.S. economy. Allowing it fall out of a stimulus bill designed to jumpstart our short and long-term economic recovery is just shortsightedness of the worst kind. Update: (2/7/09) — Maybe the Senate was listening.
The need for all science researchers to respond to CRAs call to contact Congress regarding the stimulus has become even more urgent today. The New York Times is reporting that Senators Ben Nelson (NE) and Susan Collins (ME) are seeking to cut the stimulus by $200 billion, and $1 billion for NSF is apparently on the hit list (though it’s not clear if that comes from Collins and Nelson or other sources). The full story is here but action is needed immediately on the part of the research community. CRAs call to action tells you how to help. Update: (2/7/09) — Thanks to all who weighed in! The majority of the NSF increase in the bill has been preserved.
The folks at the Alliance for Science and Technology Research in America (ASTRA) have done a fantastic job ferreting out every federal research-related account in either the House or Senate version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and comparing the funding levels between the two bills. The comparison shows that, overall, the House version has more generous numbers, especially in some accounts important to the computing community at NSF and DOE Science (though both versions contain $100 million increase to Advanced Scientific Computing Research in DOE Sc). Check out the chart and explanatory notes here.
Kei Koizumi of AAAS has another good comparison here.
Both make it clear that there are real differences of opinion in the two chambers on how science should be supported in the stimulus. That’s why it’s important to weigh in with your Members of Congress to make sure science remains a priority in the bill!
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 stimulusbill 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.
We’ve seen the House version of the 2009 stimulus bill. Now we’ve gotten our first glimpse of the highlights (though no full text) for the Senate version. As expected, the numbers in the Senate version are not as generous as the House numbers. Here is the breakdown: The Department of Energy: The Senate highlights show $40 billion for development of clean, efficient, American energy but no breakdown on how that will be spent or how much might go to basic research. The National Science Foundation: $1.4 billion for grants and infrastructure at NSF which is less than the $3 billion in the House version.
Additionally, NASA and NIH each get $1.5 billion and $3.5 billion, respectively, but NIST would not receive any additional funds in the Senate bill. A handy comparison chart is available at Inside Higher Education. We will have more here as the full text of the Senate bill is released and we can do a more thorough breakdown and comparison. Update: More detail about the final Senate bill
Forgive the CRA-centric content, but we’re looking to fill a new position here at CRA World Headquarters. Here’s the official announcement:
The Computing Research Association works to strengthen research and advanced education in the computing fields, expand opportunities for women and minorities, and improve public and policy maker understanding of the importance of computing and computing research in our society. CRA is a non-profit association of over 250 members.
CRA is seeking an Executive Assistant to perform a wide variety of administrative support duties from routine to complex. While the Executive Assistant will work with all other staff members, the employee will report directly to the Executive Director. Major duties include: monitoring grants to ensure timely processing of invoices and submission of reports; monitoring websites to ensure full and accurate information; processing and monitoring reimbursements for a wide range of activities; processing membership invoices and payments; organizing, scheduling and coordinating program activities, meetings and travel arrangements; serving as a point of contact for program participants and volunteers; gathering and maintaining program data and budget information; assisting with advertising/promotion of the various activities of the organization; monitoring staff benefits such as health care.
Job Requirements: progressive experience in an administrative position (non-profit/academic experience is a plus); excellent written and verbal communication skills and ability to communicate effectively with individuals from diverse backgrounds and cultures; excellent organization skills with attention to detail; excellent computer skills with experience using MS Office applications; ability to function as a team player; well organized and able to meet deadlines and work well under pressure; ability to work without direct supervision while performing at a high level.
The position requires someone with a proven track record in:
1) assuming responsibility;
2) taking the initiative;
3) following up on outstanding tasks;
4) demonstrating reliability;
5) performing tasks in a timely manner;and
6) taking ownership of responsibilities.
For further information about CRA, see our website www.cra.org.
To apply, send your resume to employment@cra.org. The position will fill when a suitable candidate is found.
CRA’s a great place to work with a friendly staff, a highly-engaged and prominent board, and an increasing presence in Washington. So, if you think this position sounds like a perfect fit for you or someone you know, please take a few minutes to respond or pass it along.
Please use the Category and Archive Filters below, to find older posts. Or you may also use the search bar.
House Numbers for Science Prevail in Stimulus Conference
/In: Economic Stimulus and Recovery /by Peter HarshaSpeaker Pelosi’s office just released a fact sheet on the conference agreement for the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act and, wow, it looks good for science agencies in the bill. Here’s the relevant bit:
It’s essentially everything we asked for. The entire fact sheet (pdf) doesn’t seem to be online yet, but we’ve got it here.
We’ll have more on the details as soon as we get them, but this is appears to be great news for the science community and great news for those who care about the long-term health of America’s innovation ecosystem!
Action Alert!: Stimulus Headed to Conference!
/In: Action Alerts, Economic Stimulus and Recovery, Funding, FY09 Appropriations /by Peter HarshaCOMPUTING 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:
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!
Tether Era at DARPA Coming to an End
/In: People /by Peter HarshaDr. Tony Tether, the longest-tenured Director in DARPA’s 50+ year history and a target of frequent criticism from the computing community and the university community for the direction the agency has taken under his leadership, is apparently out as of February 20, 2009. Tether made the announcement in an email to DARPA staffers:
It’s not yet known who will replace Tether. A number of folks from the computing community have done some thinking about what a “re-envisioned” DARPA might look like. CMU CS Department Chair and CRA’s Government Affairs Committee Chair Peter Lee and Berkeley’s Randy Katz put together those thoughts in a piece for the CCC in December called Re-envisioning DARPA (pdf) that certainly seems worth reading again.
As we learn more about this change in leadership at this critical agency, we’ll post it here!
Senate Deal Protects Much of NSF Increase in Stimulus
/In: Economic Stimulus and Recovery /by Peter HarshaLate last night, the Senate leadership and a coalition of moderate Senators led by Sens. Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Susan Collins (R-ME) reached an agreement on a package of reductions to the increases proposed in the Senate version of the American Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act (otherwise known as the “stimulus bill”). The agreement would preserve $1.2 billion of the Senate’s proposed $1.4 billion increase for the National Science Foundation.
The agreement does reduce the increase in the Department of Energy’s Office of Science by $100 million (so, +$330 million instead of +$430 million), and NIST’s increase would be reduced by $100 million (so +$495 million instead of +$595 million). But given the reports we were receiving as recently as yesterday evening about the possibility of no increase for the science agencies in the bill, this is a remarkable turn of events.
The increase for NSF in the Senate bill will still be far less than the $3 billion called for in the House version of the bill, but NSF will be in far better shape in the conference between the two chambers coming in with $1.2 billion from the Senate instead of zero.
The Senate expects to vote on the bill on Tuesday and then the bill will move to a conference with the House to negotiate the differences. Given Congress’ desire to wrap this up by President’s Day, which starts a week-long district work period, the conference is expected to move quickly.
We’ll have all the details on the conference and the final bill as we get them. But for now, an encouraging result for advocates of greater federal investment in the physical sciences!
Microsoft’s Ballmer Tells House Dems We Need STEM Ed, Research Investments
/In: Economic Stimulus and Recovery, Funding, FY09 Appropriations, People /by Peter HarshaMicrosoft CEO Steve Ballmer spoke today at the House Democratic Caucus Retreat in Williamsburg, Virginia, and urged the Members present to support investments in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education and increase federal support for basic research. The STEM ed investments are really the government’s investments in human capital, he said, which are necessary because in “today’s knowledge-driven world, innovation will depend on people who are actually technologically sophisticated, have strong critical thinking skills, and have expertise in math and science and engineering.”
He also called for greater investment in the nation’s science and technology infrastructure — in the basic research that powers innovation.
The whole speech is worth reading. It’s great. I only wish that it could have been heard by members of the Senate who are still debating whether science funding — including a $1.4 billion increase for NSF — ought to be included in the Senate version of the stimulus package.
Basic research is the most powerful engine for innovation in the U.S. economy. Allowing it fall out of a stimulus bill designed to jumpstart our short and long-term economic recovery is just shortsightedness of the worst kind.
Update: (2/7/09) — Maybe the Senate was listening.
URGENT: Contact Congress to Keep Science in the Stimulus
/In: Economic Stimulus and Recovery /by MelissaNorrThe need for all science researchers to respond to CRAs call to contact Congress regarding the stimulus has become even more urgent today. The New York Times is reporting that Senators Ben Nelson (NE) and Susan Collins (ME) are seeking to cut the stimulus by $200 billion, and $1 billion for NSF is apparently on the hit list (though it’s not clear if that comes from Collins and Nelson or other sources). The full story is here but action is needed immediately on the part of the research community. CRAs call to action tells you how to help.
Update: (2/7/09) — Thanks to all who weighed in! The majority of the NSF increase in the bill has been preserved.
Good Comparison of R&D Funding in Stimulus
/In: Economic Stimulus and Recovery /by Peter HarshaThe folks at the Alliance for Science and Technology Research in America (ASTRA) have done a fantastic job ferreting out every federal research-related account in either the House or Senate version of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and comparing the funding levels between the two bills. The comparison shows that, overall, the House version has more generous numbers, especially in some accounts important to the computing community at NSF and DOE Science (though both versions contain $100 million increase to Advanced Scientific Computing Research in DOE Sc). Check out the chart and explanatory notes here.
Kei Koizumi of AAAS has another good comparison here.
Both make it clear that there are real differences of opinion in the two chambers on how science should be supported in the stimulus. That’s why it’s important to weigh in with your Members of Congress to make sure science remains a priority in the bill!
Action Alert!: Urge Your Representatives to Support Science in the Stimulus!
/In: Action Alerts, Economic Stimulus and Recovery, Funding, FY09 Appropriations /by Peter HarshaToday 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:
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.
Senate Stimulus Highlights Released
/In: Economic Stimulus and Recovery, FY09 Appropriations, Policy /by MelissaNorrWe’ve seen the House version of the 2009 stimulus bill. Now we’ve gotten our first glimpse of the highlights (though no full text) for the Senate version. As expected, the numbers in the Senate version are not as generous as the House numbers. Here is the breakdown:
The Department of Energy: The Senate highlights show $40 billion for development of clean, efficient, American energy but no breakdown on how that will be spent or how much might go to basic research.
The National Science Foundation: $1.4 billion for grants and infrastructure at NSF which is less than the $3 billion in the House version.
Additionally, NASA and NIH each get $1.5 billion and $3.5 billion, respectively, but NIST would not receive any additional funds in the Senate bill. A handy comparison chart is available at Inside Higher Education. We will have more here as the full text of the Senate bill is released and we can do a more thorough breakdown and comparison.
Update: More detail about the final Senate bill
CRA Wants You!
/In: CRA, Misc. /by MelissaNorrForgive the CRA-centric content, but we’re looking to fill a new position here at CRA World Headquarters. Here’s the official announcement:
CRA’s a great place to work with a friendly staff, a highly-engaged and prominent board, and an increasing presence in Washington. So, if you think this position sounds like a perfect fit for you or someone you know, please take a few minutes to respond or pass it along.