Region 3 PACE Report

1. PACE training will be conducted during the Region 3 meeting,
   Oct. 16-17. 

2. A two-hour PACE introduction and orientation is available to areas
   and councils.  It will be presented to the Florida Council on
   Aug. 14.  Others desireing to schedule it can contact me (below).

3. A membership survey has shown a strong need and desire for
   continuing education opportunities.  A New Initiative from
   Education Activities, called Xplore-Enabled Learning Library (XELL)
   is currently in development;  It will have some distance-learning
   modules available by year-end, with new ones added at a rate of
   40-60 per year.  The modules are being developed by the same group
   that did the 100+ Computer Society modules.  The subject material
   will be taken from tutorials held at IEEE technical society
   conferences and will be presented by subject matter experts (SMEs).

4. The corporate tax reduction bill that passed both houses (with some
   differences) did include an extension of the Research and
   Experimentation Tax Credit.  IEEE-USA supports making this credit
   permanent, for work done in the U.S.  Each spring, the
   Congressional Visits Day draws the attention of congressmen to the
   need for better support of research and engineering in the physical
   sciences.  Over the past five years, the amount of federal funds
   devoted to life sciences R&D has doubled, but investment in the
   physical sciences has lagged far behind.  This year, a second push
   is being made in July.

July 5 ­ 11 is National Research, Development and Innovation Week

ISSUE: The U.S. House of Representatives has designated the week 
of July 5th as National Research, Development and Innovation Week.
  
NEEDED ACTION: Contact your Representatives and ask them to give 
a floor speech on the importance of basic research and the National 
Science Foundation (NSF).

BACKGROUND: The U.S. House of Representatives has designated the week 
of July 5th as National Research, Development and Innovation Week. 
This designation offers scientists, technologists, and engineers an 
opportunity to influence technology policies at the national level. 
Federal funding to conduct the basic research is at risk, and is vital 
for our nation s innovation and technological competitiveness. Scientists 
and engineers can use this week to remind their Representatives of 
the important role federal R&D programs play in your professional lives.
Each morning that the House is in session, any Member can give a one-minute 
speech on anything they wish. Ask your Representatives to use their minute 
on Wednesday or Thursday of this week to recognize the NSF and the role that 
federally-funded research plays in your local community. Here are some 
talking points you can pass on to your Member of Congress office:

 * The National Science Foundation is a major contributor to basic
   science, mathematics, and engineering research in the U.S.
 * In 2002, Congress passed the NSF Authorization Act authorizing
   budget increases of 15% through FY 2007. The FY 2005 budget request
   has only a 3% NSF budget increase for a total of $5.7 billion.
 * NSF is the major federal agency devoted to supporting basic
   research and education across all scientific fields.
 * NSF supports close to 50% of all basic research at universities and
   colleges, providing funding to more than 2,000 institutions of
   higher education.
 * According to NSF's 2004 Science and Technology Indicators, in 2002
   universities and colleges performed 53.8 percent of all basic
   research.  The intellectual freedom and diversity of these
   institutions make them ideally suited to carry out basic research
   and they are excellent training grounds for future scientists and
   high-tech workers.  If you know of local institutions have
   benefited from federal research and development funds, tell your
   Congressional office so that this information can be included in
   the speech.

The House just recently made the designation, so we didn't have much
notice and now have little time. Therefore, it would be best if you
called your Congressional office with your request. Contacts should be
made by July 7th, but can be made at any time and still be acted upon.

The phone number for the Capitol Hill switch board is (202) 224-3121. 
Call this number and ask for your Representative's office. You can use 
IEEE-USA's Legislative Action Center to determine who your Representative
is. Finally, remember to contact IEEE-USA and tell us who you've contacted, 
so that we can follow-up on your behalf.

RESOURCES:

IEEE-USA Legislative Action Center: https://capwiz.com/ieeeusa/home/ 

IEEE-USA Policy Page: https://www.ieeeusa.org/forum/issues/R&D 

MORE INFORMATION: Contact IEEE-USA staffer Bill Williams at (202)
785-0017 or bill.Williams@ieee.org for more information on the NSF and
advocacy efforts on its behalf. Contact Russ Harrison at (202)
785-0017 or r.t.Harrison@ieee.org with questions on communicating with
elected officials or the Legislative Action Center.


George F McClure
g.mcclure@ieee.org