The House Committee on Science and Technology has announced its membership and subcommittee chairs for the 110th Congress. The committee membership includes 24 Democrats and 20 Republicans with one vacancy on the minority membership. The subcommittee structure is slightly different with this Congress in that the some subcommittee names have been changed to more accurately reflect their jurisdictions and a Subcommittee on Investigation and Oversight has been added. The complete list of committee members as well as the subcommittees memberships is available here. Subcommittee on Energy & Environment
Chairman Nick Lampson (D-TX)
Ranking Member Bob Inglis (R-SC) Subcommittee on Technology & Innovation
Chairman David Wu (D-OR)
Ranking Member Phil Gingrey (R-GA) Subcommittee on Research & Science Education
Chairman Brian Baird (D-WA)
Ranking Member Vern Ehlers (R-MI) Subcommittee on Space & Aeronautics
Chairman Mark Udall (D-CO)
Ranking Member Ken Calvert (R-CA) Subcommittee on Investigations & Oversight
Chairman Brad Miller (D-NC)
Ranking Member F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI)
Essential to our children’s future is the economic security of their families now. Preparing for the 21st century means bolstering our commitment to keep our nation number one. In our Innovation Agenda, unveiled more than a year ago here at the Press Club, House Democrats made a commitment to competitiveness. We will provide our nation with the tools necessary to unleash the next generation of growth and jobs.
In his State of the Union address last year, President Bush spoke of keeping America competitive. With Democrats in the majority, we must work together with our Republican colleagues to do so – nothing less than America’s economic leadership and our national security is at stake.
Innovation and economic growth begins in America’s classrooms. To create a new generation of innovators, we must fund No Child Left Behind so that we can encourage science and math education, taught by the most qualified and effective teachers.
…
Innovation also requires federal grants to our universities, which have long been the spark for great breakthroughs: from the Internet, to biosciences, to fiber optics, to nanotechnology.
We must commit to doubling federal funding for basic research and development in the physical sciences and modernize and expand the research and development tax credit. And we will bring broadband access to every American within five years, creating millions of jobs.
These investments, and initiatives to support a thriving small business environment, will allow us to pursue the long-term, trailblazing research that gives rise to new advances, spawns new industries, and creates good jobs here at home.
We hope this means that basic science research agencies like NSF will receive the President’s proposed increases for the FY07 budget in the forthcoming CR and further increases in future budgets.
The full text of the speech can be found here.
NSF has released some data on the impact of a “continuing resolution” on the agency for FY 2007, something we have discussedpreviouslyin this space. It confirms essentially what we expected: programs will have reduced funding for FY 2007 or be put on hold and award rates and award size will decline signficantly. Some examples:
Overall budget would be $4.175 billion, $400 million below the Adminstration’s request and $168 million below the FY 2004 budget in constant dollars ($4.343 billion);
Will reduce the number of new grants by 10% and the funding rate by 20%
Reductions in programs will include: International Polar Year, Petascale Supercomputer Acquisitions ($50 million for the Office of Cyber Infrastructure’s Petascale Computing system), Explosives and Related Threats, Science of Science and Innovation Policy, and Engineering Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation
New starts that would potentially be on hold are the Alaska Region Research Vessel, National Ecological Observatory Network, and Ocean Observatories Initiative
Administrative costs have risen by $8 million from FY06 to FY07 and offsets in services and infrastructure will be required
The outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year remains highly uncertain, with one possibility being an extension of funding at the current level. While we are acutely aware of the tight constraints on the available budgetary resources, NSF is continuing to issue program announcements and solicitations as previously planned.
It is likely, however, that NSF may be unable to fund a number of activities planned for this fiscal year. We believe it is important for NSFs grantee community to be aware of this uncertainty, as a number of activities may be affected later in the fiscal year.
Stay tuned and we will update you on the CR status and impacts to agencies as we learn more.
Aswe’vepreviouslynoted, the potential adoption of a “continuing resolution” to freeze funding at federal agencies at FY 2006 (or lower) levels through FY 2007 has the potential to cause major disruptions at federal science agencies and imperil the increases for science called for in the American Competitiveness Initiative.
In response, the leading organizations of the computing community have joined together to call on the Democratic leadership to preserve in any continuing resolution the hard-won increases for science already approved by the full House and the Senate Appropriations committee:
January 12, 2007
The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
Speaker
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Madam Speaker:
As leaders and supporters of the computing research community responsible for providing the research base that has propelled the new economy and enabled our nation’s dominant position in information technology, we are greatly concerned to learn that difficulties in the appropriations process might endanger proposed increases to three key federal science agencies in FY 2007. We urge you to protect the increases for FY 2007 already approved by the full House and the Senate Appropriations Committee for the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy Office of Science in the FY 2007 appropriations Continuing Resolution or final appropriations.
As you know, NSF, NIST and DOE Office of Science are key participants in the federal Networking and Information Technology R&D initiative, the multi-agency effort that comprises the federal role in supporting long-term, fundamental IT research. The importance of this research in enabling the new economy is well documented. Nearly every aspect of information technology research upon which we rely today traces its roots to federally sponsored university-based research. The resulting advances in information technology have led to significant improvements in product design, development and distribution for American industry, provided instant communications for people worldwide, and enabled new scientific disciplines like bioinformatics and nanotechnology that show great promise in improving a whole range of health, security, and communications technologies. Leaving basic federal science funding at FY 2006 (or lower) levels threatens to disrupt that chain of innovation, placing our nation at risk of not having the necessary resources – the people, the ideas and the infrastructure – we need to maintain our global economic leadership and ensure our continued security.
You and your colleagues in the Democratic Caucus earned high praise from our community in recognizing in your Innovation Agenda the need to increase support for fundamental research in the physical sciences, mathematics, computing and engineering in order to ensure the Nation’s continued leadership in an increasingly competitive world. The President’s American Competitiveness Initiative shared that commitment and the full House and the members of the Senate Appropriations Committee endorsed the need for those increases on a bipartisan basis in the appropriations bills they approved.
We commend you for your continued leadership in helping ensure the U.S. has the resources it needs to remain innovative and competitive, especially in information technology. Preserving the proposed increases for NSF, NIST and DOE Office of Science in a limited adjustment to the FY 2007 Continuing Resolution would be a simple and necessary step to ensure U.S. competitiveness. While the payoffs of past research have been dramatic, the field of information technology remains in relative infancy. Tremendous opportunities remain – far more can happen in the next ten years than has happened in the last thirty, and it is crucial that America lead the way.
Sincerely, American Association for Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Computing Research Association (CRA) Coaltion for Academic Scientific Computation (CASC) EDUCAUSE Insitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE-USA) Internet2 Microsoft Corporation Society of Industrial and Applied Mathematics (SIAM) TechNet
As an aside, regardless of the success of this effort (we understand there’s not a whole lot of wiggle-room in the CR for anything beyond providing increases in veteran’s benefits), the fact that the wide-breadth of the computing community — from the research side, to the practitioner side, to the corporate community — joined together with one voice is worthy of note and certainly bodes well for future efforts.
Keep an eye here for all the details of the CR as they emerge….
Today’s Washington Times features an OpEd from two champions of science from opposite sides of the aisle: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the new Chair of the House Committee on Science and Technology, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN). The piece was motivated by the recent Task Force on the Future of American Innovationreport, (covered previously) which calls for a strong federal investment in fundamental research in order to help preserve the Nation’s economic leadership and ensure our continued security. Gingrich participated in the roll-out event for the Benchmarks report and was quite eloquent on the national security implications of basic research, themes he and Gordon return to in this OpEd:
Throughout history, national security has been dependent on economic prosperity, and visa versa. An economically strong America is better able to defend itself. Likewise, the nation’s ability to defend itself is a prerequisite to maintaining the infrastructure and other elements of a strong national economy.
Unfortunately, the nation has forgotten one of the most important ways our economic prosperity and national security are linked investment in fundamental scientific research. Investments made in fundamental scientific research after World War II and during the Cold War have been essential to making our fighting men and women today the best equipped in the world. These previous investments and the new knowledge they generated also made enormous contributions to our economic vitality.
But our commitment to that defense-oriented fundamental research the kind of research that pays off not in a year or two but in the long run, sometimes decades in the future has eroded. If we do not renew this commitment, it will harm our global economic competitiveness as well as the effectiveness and safety of our troops.
The piece is very well-timed, given the currentdeliberationsonthe stalled FY 2007 Appropriations process and the President’s forthcoming State of the Union Address. Its bipartisan authorship highlights the bipartisan support for fundamental research in Congress. With a flood of new Members of Congress in Washington, and “old” Members with new positions of responsibility, this is a drum that will need continuous beating in the coming months…as we try to make up for the painful stumbles late after a year of fantastic progress.
Read the whole piece.
Rep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN), and Rep. Rush Holt (R-NJ) are the impetus behind a Dear Colleague letter to Chairman David Obey (D-WI) and Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) of the Appropriations Committee regarding NSF funding in the FY2007 CR that will be delivered tomorrow. It currently has 14 co-signers. The letter makes all the points about NSF funding that CRA and the rest of the science research community have been making since the first CR for FY2007. Some highlights:
Specifically, we ask that you fund NSF at the House-passed, Presidents requested level of $6.02 billion in fiscal year 2007. This is essential, because the flat funding for this agency under the Continuing Resolution will directly inhibit our national competitiveness and jeopardize American innovation.
The NSF is the major source of funding in many fields such as the basic sciences, mathematics, computer science, and the social sciences, and it funds approximately 20 percent of all federally-supported basic research conducted by Americas colleges and universities. If Congress only flat funding, peer-reviewed basic science research will suffer across the country. NSF-funded researchers have won more than 170 Nobel Prizes and pioneered innovations that have improved quality of life of all Americans.
CRA has sent letters to the leadership in both chambers and to the chairmen of both Appropriations Committees supporting increased funding for NSF in the CR. There is still time for all of you to weigh in with your members regarding funding levels as we have suggested here previously. Update: As of January 16th, there are 78 signatures on the Congressional Dear Colleague. For the list of co-signers click the link at the bottom of the post. Update 2:Sen. Joseph Lieberman has begun a similar effort in the Senate with a letter to Sen. Barbara Mikulski and Sen. Richard Shelby, the chair and ranking member, respectively, of the Commerce, Justice, and Science subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. Highlights:
The NSF has suffered from budgetary constraints in recent years, and even saw its budget cut in fiscal year 2005. In 2007, the Presidents budget included a significant increase in NSF funding, particularly for physical sciences and engineering. This increased funding will support the development of innovative technologies, and will promote science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States. NSF funding is also critical to our nations continued investment in higher education, providing 20 percent of all federally-funded research in Americas universities and colleges. In their respective 2007 appropriations bills, both the House and the Senate concurred with the Presidents increased funding request for the NSF.
The NSF is a sensible investment of our federal dollars. The agency earns exemplary budgetary performance scores, and all grants are awarded through a peer-review process. The NSF is unique in that a small federal investment in research has the potential to yield immeasurable results in both the short and long term.
As of this morning, the Senate letter had 8 co-signers.
The failure of Congress to pass new budgets for the current fiscal year has produced a crisis in science financing that threatens to close major facilities, delay new projects and leave thousands of government scientists out of work, federal and private officials say.
It touches on a number of agencies, programs, and labs that are hurting and facing possible discontinuation. Regarding NSF it states:
The National Science Foundation, which supports basic research at universities, had expected a $400 million increase over the $5.7 billion budget it received in 2006. Now, the freeze is prompting program cuts, delays and slowdowns.
“It’s rather devastating,” said Jeff Nesbit, the foundation’s head of legislative and public affairs. “While $400 million in the grand scheme of things might seem like decimal dust, it’s hugely important for universities that rely on N.S.F. funding.”
The threatened programs include a $50 million plan to build a supercomputer that universities would use to push back frontiers in science and engineering; a $310 million observatory meant to study the ocean environment from the seabed to the surface; a $62 million contribution to a global program of polar research involving 10 other nations; and a $98 million ship to explore the Arctic, including the thinning of its sheath of floating sea ice.
A number of quotes are included but one that sums up the thoughts of most of the community is from Mike Lubell at the American Physical Society, a fellow member of the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation.
“The consequences for American science will be disastrous. The message to young scientists and industry leaders, alike, will be, Look outside the U.S. if you want to succeed. “
This action alert was sent to the Computing Research Advocacy Network (CRAN). To join CRAN, visit CRAN.
The chairs of the 110th Congressional Appropriations Committees have announced their intention to pass a continuing resolution (CR) for all of FY07, rather than complete appropriations under regular order or in an omnibus bill. This will effectively freeze funding for all science agencies at FY2006 levels, endangering significant increases in federal science funding planned for FY 2007! It is important that we do not lose the progress we have made on R&D funding so far this year.
Please contact your Representative and both Senators as soon as possible to urge them to protect the increases for FY 2007 already approved by the full House and the Senate Appropriations Committee for the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy Office of Science in the FY 2007 CR. All House and Senate actions to date have provided increased funding for the sciences in FY07 up until the CR.
Congress has returned to Washington and will shortly consider the CR so we must get the message to them quickly. Please consider calling or faxing your Senators and Representative’s offices with your support for including the increased funding in a CR. A phone call should take just a few minutes and is the best way to impact your Members of Congress. A faxed letter is the next best thing. Though e-mail is convenient, it’s not as effective as a call or fax to your representative, so please consider picking up the phone or firing off a fax.
Also, please send a copy of your letter (or any notes from your call) to Melissa Norr at mnorr@cra.org or fax to 202-667-1066. Having a portfolio of letters of support from our member institutions will aid us greatly in making the case for more support for IT R&D on the Hill.
For more information on this issue and sample letters, please visit: FY07 CR
A list of representative contact information is here: US House Members.
If you don’t know your representative, you can find out who it is here: US House of Representatives
For the U.S. Senate, you can find phone numbers and fax numbers via US Senate.
The new chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus (MT), introduced legislation on the first day of the 110th Congress to permanently extend the R&D tax credit an article in Congressional Quarterly stated (Sub Req’d).
The R&D tax credit has always been a priority of the high-tech community on Capitol Hill and there have been previous attempts to make it permanent rather than extending it each year. However, the cost of such a permanent tax credit has generally kept this from happening. After much wrangling (most not related to the merits of the R&D tax credit itself, but rather the other tax proposals it was packaged with), the 109th Congress passed the R&D tax credit for 2006 retroactively in the waning days of the session in December and included the extension through 2007.
The CQ article also states that competitiveness issues will be a priority for Baucus as the chair of the Finance Committee. We certainly hope that is true, not just for the Finance Committee, but for all of Congress.
On Friday we noted that the Republican Congressional leadership had effectively given up hope of resolving the 11 outstanding appropriations bills for FY 2007, including the bills that would provide the increases in science funding called for in the American Competitiveness Initiative we’ve talked about so frequently in this space. Instead, Congress passed a “continuing resolution” that would fund government at FY 2006 levels or lower through February 15, 2007, when the new Democratic leadership would be able to take its crack at passing the unfinished bills.
Now it appears the Democrats have decided against trying to complete the process. CQ.com (sub. req’d) reports today that Rep. David Obey (D-WI) and Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), the incoming chairs of the House and Senate appropriations committees, have given up hope of solving the FY 2007 impasse and elected to move a yearlong stopgap measure when the new Congress convenes next year:
“Unfortunately, there are no good options available to us to complete the unfinished work of the Republican Congress,” Obey and Byrd said. After discussions with our colleagues, we have decided to dispose of the Republican budget leftovers by passing a yearlong joint resolution.
“We will do our best to make whatever limited adjustments are possible within the confines of the Republican budget to address the nations most important policy concerns.”
This is obviously bad news for those of us in the science community who have worked hard to win increases contained in the ACI and in the House and Senate FY 07 appropriations bills. Unless ACI merits inclusion among “the nation’s most important policy concerns,” it’s likely that the increases that had been slated for NSF, NIST and the DOE Office of Science in FY 07 will be lost and the timetable for doubling the research funding for those agencies set back another year.
CRA, along with many members of the science and high-tech industry communities, will be working hard over the next few weeks to make just that case — that the increases called for in the ACI and the Democratic Innovation Agenda do merit inclusion among the nation’s most important policy concerns. There’s a chance the Democratic leadership will agree — though I’m not going to go out on a limb and try and assess that chance yet. The innovation agenda has been one of the top Democratic priorities and was something that incoming Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has indicated would be among the first issues considered under the new Congress.
We’ll bring you updates as we get further information and also detail ways in which you can help make the case for research. For now, if you haven’t become a member of CRA’s Computing Research Advocacy Network, this would be a great time to join. We’re going to need your help….
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House Science Subommittee Chairs Announced
/In: Misc., People, Policy /by MelissaNorrThe House Committee on Science and Technology has announced its membership and subcommittee chairs for the 110th Congress. The committee membership includes 24 Democrats and 20 Republicans with one vacancy on the minority membership. The subcommittee structure is slightly different with this Congress in that the some subcommittee names have been changed to more accurately reflect their jurisdictions and a Subcommittee on Investigation and Oversight has been added. The complete list of committee members as well as the subcommittees memberships is available here.
Subcommittee on Energy & Environment
Chairman Nick Lampson (D-TX)
Ranking Member Bob Inglis (R-SC)
Subcommittee on Technology & Innovation
Chairman David Wu (D-OR)
Ranking Member Phil Gingrey (R-GA)
Subcommittee on Research & Science Education
Chairman Brian Baird (D-WA)
Ranking Member Vern Ehlers (R-MI)
Subcommittee on Space & Aeronautics
Chairman Mark Udall (D-CO)
Ranking Member Ken Calvert (R-CA)
Subcommittee on Investigations & Oversight
Chairman Brad Miller (D-NC)
Ranking Member F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. (R-WI)
Speaker’s Speech Emphasizes Innovation
/In: American Competitiveness Initiative, Funding, FY07 Appropriations, Policy /by MelissaNorrSpeaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, along with Majority Leader Harry Reid, gave the State of Our Union speech last week at the National Press Club. Pelosi’s portion of the speech covered many topics including innovation. Highlights:
We hope this means that basic science research agencies like NSF will receive the President’s proposed increases for the FY07 budget in the forthcoming CR and further increases in future budgets.
The full text of the speech can be found here.
CR Impacts on NSF
/In: American Competitiveness Initiative, Funding, FY07 Appropriations /by MelissaNorrNSF has released some data on the impact of a “continuing resolution” on the agency for FY 2007, something we have discussed previously in this space. It confirms essentially what we expected: programs will have reduced funding for FY 2007 or be put on hold and award rates and award size will decline signficantly. Some examples:
Dr. Arden Bement, Director of NSF, posted a letter regarding the CR impacts online. The letter states:
Stay tuned and we will update you on the CR status and impacts to agencies as we learn more.
Computing Community Weighs in on Continuing Resolution
/In: American Competitiveness Initiative, CRA, Funding, FY07 Appropriations /by Peter HarshaAs we’ve previously noted, the potential adoption of a “continuing resolution” to freeze funding at federal agencies at FY 2006 (or lower) levels through FY 2007 has the potential to cause major disruptions at federal science agencies and imperil the increases for science called for in the American Competitiveness Initiative.
In response, the leading organizations of the computing community have joined together to call on the Democratic leadership to preserve in any continuing resolution the hard-won increases for science already approved by the full House and the Senate Appropriations committee:
As an aside, regardless of the success of this effort (we understand there’s not a whole lot of wiggle-room in the CR for anything beyond providing increases in veteran’s benefits), the fact that the wide-breadth of the computing community — from the research side, to the practitioner side, to the corporate community — joined together with one voice is worthy of note and certainly bodes well for future efforts.
Keep an eye here for all the details of the CR as they emerge….
Gingrich/Gordon OpEd on Basic Research, Security and Competitiveness
/In: American Competitiveness Initiative, Funding, FY07 Appropriations, FY08 Appropriations, R&D in the Press /by Peter HarshaToday’s Washington Times features an OpEd from two champions of science from opposite sides of the aisle: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and the new Chair of the House Committee on Science and Technology, Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN). The piece was motivated by the recent Task Force on the Future of American Innovation report, (covered previously) which calls for a strong federal investment in fundamental research in order to help preserve the Nation’s economic leadership and ensure our continued security. Gingrich participated in the roll-out event for the Benchmarks report and was quite eloquent on the national security implications of basic research, themes he and Gordon return to in this OpEd:
The piece is very well-timed, given the current deliberations on the stalled FY 2007 Appropriations process and the President’s forthcoming State of the Union Address. Its bipartisan authorship highlights the bipartisan support for fundamental research in Congress. With a flood of new Members of Congress in Washington, and “old” Members with new positions of responsibility, this is a drum that will need continuous beating in the coming months…as we try to make up for the painful stumbles late after a year of fantastic progress.
Read the whole piece.
Congressional Letter on CR and NSF Funding
/In: American Competitiveness Initiative, Funding, FY07 Appropriations, Research /by MelissaNorrRep. Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), Chairman Bart Gordon (D-TN), and Rep. Rush Holt (R-NJ) are the impetus behind a Dear Colleague letter to Chairman David Obey (D-WI) and Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) of the Appropriations Committee regarding NSF funding in the FY2007 CR that will be delivered tomorrow. It currently has 14 co-signers. The letter makes all the points about NSF funding that CRA and the rest of the science research community have been making since the first CR for FY2007. Some highlights:
CRA has sent letters to the leadership in both chambers and to the chairmen of both Appropriations Committees supporting increased funding for NSF in the CR. There is still time for all of you to weigh in with your members regarding funding levels as we have suggested here previously.
Update: As of January 16th, there are 78 signatures on the Congressional Dear Colleague. For the list of co-signers click the link at the bottom of the post.
Update 2: Sen. Joseph Lieberman has begun a similar effort in the Senate with a letter to Sen. Barbara Mikulski and Sen. Richard Shelby, the chair and ranking member, respectively, of the Commerce, Justice, and Science subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. Highlights:
As of this morning, the Senate letter had 8 co-signers.
Read more →
NYT Article on Impact of CR on Science
/In: American Competitiveness Initiative, Funding, FY07 Appropriations, R&D in the Press /by MelissaNorrThe Sunday New York Times featured an article on the impact of the continuing resolution on science research. The article starts:
It touches on a number of agencies, programs, and labs that are hurting and facing possible discontinuation. Regarding NSF it states:
A number of quotes are included but one that sums up the thoughts of most of the community is from Mike Lubell at the American Physical Society, a fellow member of the Task Force on the Future of American Innovation.
CR Action Needed
/In: American Competitiveness Initiative, Funding, FY07 Appropriations, Research /by MelissaNorrThis action alert was sent to the Computing Research Advocacy Network (CRAN). To join CRAN, visit CRAN.
The chairs of the 110th Congressional Appropriations Committees have announced their intention to pass a continuing resolution (CR) for all of FY07, rather than complete appropriations under regular order or in an omnibus bill. This will effectively freeze funding for all science agencies at FY2006 levels, endangering significant increases in federal science funding planned for FY 2007! It is important that we do not lose the progress we have made on R&D funding so far this year.
Please contact your Representative and both Senators as soon as possible to urge them to protect the increases for FY 2007 already approved by the full House and the Senate Appropriations Committee for the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy Office of Science in the FY 2007 CR. All House and Senate actions to date have provided increased funding for the sciences in FY07 up until the CR.
Congress has returned to Washington and will shortly consider the CR so we must get the message to them quickly. Please consider calling or faxing your Senators and Representative’s offices with your support for including the increased funding in a CR. A phone call should take just a few minutes and is the best way to impact your Members of Congress. A faxed letter is the next best thing. Though e-mail is convenient, it’s not as effective as a call or fax to your representative, so please consider picking up the phone or firing off a fax.
Also, please send a copy of your letter (or any notes from your call) to Melissa Norr at mnorr@cra.org or fax to 202-667-1066. Having a portfolio of letters of support from our member institutions will aid us greatly in making the case for more support for IT R&D on the Hill.
For more information on this issue and sample letters, please visit: FY07 CR
A list of representative contact information is here: US House Members.
If you don’t know your representative, you can find out who it is here:
US House of Representatives
For the U.S. Senate, you can find phone numbers and fax numbers via US Senate.
Permanent R&D Tax Credit Legislation Introduced
/In: American Competitiveness Initiative, Funding, Policy, R&D in the Press, Research /by MelissaNorrThe new chair of the Senate Finance Committee, Max Baucus (MT), introduced legislation on the first day of the 110th Congress to permanently extend the R&D tax credit an article in Congressional Quarterly stated (Sub Req’d).
The R&D tax credit has always been a priority of the high-tech community on Capitol Hill and there have been previous attempts to make it permanent rather than extending it each year. However, the cost of such a permanent tax credit has generally kept this from happening. After much wrangling (most not related to the merits of the R&D tax credit itself, but rather the other tax proposals it was packaged with), the 109th Congress passed the R&D tax credit for 2006 retroactively in the waning days of the session in December and included the extension through 2007.
The CQ article also states that competitiveness issues will be a priority for Baucus as the chair of the Finance Committee. We certainly hope that is true, not just for the Finance Committee, but for all of Congress.
Dems Elect to Punt FY 2007 Appropriations, Placing ACI Increases in Jeopardy
/In: American Competitiveness Initiative, Funding, FY07 Appropriations, Policy /by Peter HarshaOn Friday we noted that the Republican Congressional leadership had effectively given up hope of resolving the 11 outstanding appropriations bills for FY 2007, including the bills that would provide the increases in science funding called for in the American Competitiveness Initiative we’ve talked about so frequently in this space. Instead, Congress passed a “continuing resolution” that would fund government at FY 2006 levels or lower through February 15, 2007, when the new Democratic leadership would be able to take its crack at passing the unfinished bills.
Now it appears the Democrats have decided against trying to complete the process. CQ.com (sub. req’d) reports today that Rep. David Obey (D-WI) and Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), the incoming chairs of the House and Senate appropriations committees, have given up hope of solving the FY 2007 impasse and elected to move a yearlong stopgap measure when the new Congress convenes next year:
This is obviously bad news for those of us in the science community who have worked hard to win increases contained in the ACI and in the House and Senate FY 07 appropriations bills. Unless ACI merits inclusion among “the nation’s most important policy concerns,” it’s likely that the increases that had been slated for NSF, NIST and the DOE Office of Science in FY 07 will be lost and the timetable for doubling the research funding for those agencies set back another year.
CRA, along with many members of the science and high-tech industry communities, will be working hard over the next few weeks to make just that case — that the increases called for in the ACI and the Democratic Innovation Agenda do merit inclusion among the nation’s most important policy concerns. There’s a chance the Democratic leadership will agree — though I’m not going to go out on a limb and try and assess that chance yet. The innovation agenda has been one of the top Democratic priorities and was something that incoming Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has indicated would be among the first issues considered under the new Congress.
We’ll bring you updates as we get further information and also detail ways in which you can help make the case for research. For now, if you haven’t become a member of CRA’s Computing Research Advocacy Network, this would be a great time to join. We’re going to need your help….