From: owner-r3-pace@listserv.ieee.org on behalf of George F McClure
[galaxies@cfl.rr.com]
Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2004 4:18
PM
To: r3-pace@IEEE.ORG
Cc: r3-excom2004@IEEE.ORG;
r3-paoc@IEEE.ORG; r3-sections@IEEE.ORG; sec.r03@IEEE.ORG;
adeeb_Hamzey@dom.com
Subject: PACE Report and Action Alert
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
1730 Shiloh Ln
Winter
Park FL 32789
Tel 407-647-5092
Fax 407-644-4076