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"
Unless we maintain our edge in innovation through a strong
science and technology enterprise, the best jobs may soon be
found overseas, instead of in our communities."
-
Bart Gordon (D-TN)
House Science & Technology Committee Chairman
At the dawn
of the 21st Century, America desperately needs a new national
competitiveness strategy that reflects the realities of the
post-Cold War world. Today we face a new, more rough and
tumble form of global economic competition, especially in the
science, engineering and technology based sectors that have
fueled U.S. prosperity since World War II. Competing
successfully in this new global environment is essential for our
national and economic security and to ensure that the U.S. is
able to create high-value jobs and maintain a vital national
engineering capability. For those reasons, IEEE-USA is
actively urging Congress and the Administration to pass laws
that will strengthen U.S. competitiveness and innovation as part
of our overall
Innovation Initiative.
IEEE-USA Policy &
Press Communications
- Letter to
the House Science Committee urging Congress to enact full funding for
America Competes Act's S&T
authorization. (13 Feb. 2008)
- Coalition
statement expressing concern at
failure to fund FY2008 S&T programs at levels authorized in the American
Competes Act. (18 Dec. 2007)
- Joint IEEE-USA and ASME letter to President Bush and to Congressional Leaders urging timely completion of appropriations bills and preservation of
science and technology research and development funding (12 Dec. 2007)
- Task Force on the Future of American Innovation coalition letter to the President and Congressional Leaders urging them to complete the
outstanding appropriations bills and retain science and technology funding (13 Nov. 2007)
- Letter to
the House and Senate urging support for final passage of the Conference
Report on the "America Competes Act"
(H.R.2272)." (2 Aug. 2007)
- Letter to
House and Senate conferees urging prompt action to reconcile and report the
America Competes Act (S. 761/H.R.
2272). (1 Aug. 2007)
- Letter to
House and Senate conferees urging inclusion of the high-performance
provisions (Title V of H.R. 2272) in the final conference report on the
America Competes Act (S. 761/H.R. 2272). (1 Aug. 2007)
- Coalition
letter by Task Force on Future of American Innovation to House and Senate
leaders urging FY'08 funding increases for
research at NSF, NIST and the
DOE-Office of Science. (24 April 2007)
- Letter to
Senate urging passage of the "America
Competes Act" (S.761). (20 April 2007)
- Statement
on Competitiveness and Basic Research
for the hearing of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Science, Technology,
Innovation and Competitiveness. (19 April 2007)
- Letter to House leaders endorsing
S&T funding allocations in the FY2008 budget resolution (H.Con.Res.99).
(27 Mar 2007)
- Signatory to
American Innovation Proclamationwhich was delivered to all
Members of Congress. (13 Mar 2007)
- Article in Today's
Engineer "IEEE-USA Works to Sustain Federal Investments in Research &
Development" (7 Mar 2007)
- Letter commending
Congressional Leaders for including increased investments in
innovation and competitiveness in the FY 2007 Continuing
Budget Resolution. (31 Jan 2007)
- Letter to Rep. Bart
Gordon endorsing the
"10,000 Teachers, 10 Million Minds" Science and Math Scholarship
Act (H.R. 362) and the Sowing the Seeds Through Science and
Engineering Research Act (H.R. 363). (29 Jan 2007)
- IEEE-USA President John
W. Meredith column on
Bolstering U.S. Competitiveness to Preserve Engineering Jobs,
Maintain America's High Standard of Living (29 Jan 2007)
- Letter to House
Democratic leaders urging continued support of previously
approved FY 2007
appropriations for the National Science
Foundation, the National Institute of Standards and Technology,
and the Department of Energy Office of Science in the FY 2007
Continuing Resolution. (19 Jan2007)
- Coalition letter (Task
Force on the Future of American Innovation) urging continued
support of previously approved
FY 2007 appropriations
for the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of
Standards and Technology, and the Department of Energy Office of
Science in the FY 2007 Continuing Resolution. (18 Jan 2007)
- Coalition letter to House
Democratic leaders urging continued support of previously
approved FY 2007
appropriations for the National Science Foundation, the
National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the
Department of Energy Office of Science in the FY 2007 Continuing
Resolution (12 Jan 2007)
- Letter to Senate leaders
expressing support and appreciation for the
National Competitiveness Investment Act (S.3936). (18
Oct 2006)
- Innovation &
Competitiveness Coalition letters to House and Senate
Appropriations leaders expressing support for proposed
FY 2007 agency R&D appropriations at levels recommended in
the President's American Competitiveness Initiative. (18 Oct
2006)
- STEM Coalition Letter to
Senate leaders supporting education provisions in the
National Competitiveness Investment Act (S. 3936). (10
Oct 2006)
- Letter to William
Hoagland (Senate Majority Leader's office) endorsing the
National Competitiveness Investment Act (S. 3936) (27 Sept
2006)
- R&D Tax Credit Coalition
letter to House and Senate leaders urging a seamless extension
of a strengthened Research and Development (R&D) tax credit. (26 June 2006)
- ASTRA Coalition letter
to House leadership endorsing measures reported by the House
Committee on Science (H.R. 5356, H.R. 5357 and H.R. 5358) as well as the
President’s American Competitiveness Initiative. (20 June 2006)
- Coalition letter was sent
to Senator Bill Frist urging his support of moving expeditiously
to bring both bills, the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act of 2006
(S.2802) and Protecting America’s Competitive Edge Through
Energy Act of 205 (S.2197), before the full Senate. (19
June 2006)
- Letter to Rep. Dennis
Hastert asking for support in bringing the
Science and Mathematics Education for Competitiveness Act (H.R.
5358) and the Early Career Research Act (H.R. 5356)
to the House floor as expeditiously as possible. (14 June 2006).
A Coalition letter was
also sent to Representative(s) Hastert and John Boehner on the
same issue. (16 June 2006)
- STEM Coalition Letter to
House Science Committee endorsing the
Science and Mathematics Education for Competitiveness Act
(H.R. 5358) (5 June 2006)
- Letter to House Science
Committee members urging committee passage of three
education and
competitiveness bills: Early Career Research Act (HR
5356); the Research for Competitiveness Act (HR 5357); and the
Science and Mathematics Education for Competitiveness Act (HR
5358). (26 May 2006)
- Letter to House Science
Chairman Sherwood Boehlert expressing support support for a
series of bills introduced to strengthen U.S. economic
competitiveness by improving
math and science
education and research - the Early Career Research
Act (H.R. 5356), the Research for Competitiveness Act (H.R.
5357), and the Science and Mathematics Education for
Competitiveness Act (H.R. 5358). (11 May 2006)
- Letter to Senate Finance
Committee supporting the
Protecting America's
Competitive Edge (PACE) Finance Act (S.2199). (10 May 2006)
- Letter with Innovation
and Competitiveness Coalition to President Bush requesting
support to secure full funding of the President's
American Competitiveness Initiative by Congress. (5 May
2006)
- R&D Tax Credit Coalition
letter to House and Senate tax conferees supporting a seamless
extension of the federal
research and experimentation tax credit. (27 April 2006)
- Letter to all members of
the U.S. House of Representatives urging support for full
funding for
Budget Function 250 which funds many of the programs in the
President's American Competitive Initiative. (13 April 2006)
- Statement to the Senate
Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee for a hearing on
Innovation and
Competitiveness legislation.
- Letter to Sen. Michael B.
Enzi, chair of the Senate Committee on Health, Education,
Labor and Pensions
urging passage of S.2198
(PACE-Education). (24 Feb. 2006)
- IEEE-USA Position Statement on
U.S.
Competitiveness and Innovation Policy (Feb. 2006)
- Letter to Senators
Domenici and Bingaman endorsing the
PACE-Energy Act (S. 2198).
- Letter to House and
Senate leaders urging them to take advantage of exceptional
bipartisan consensus to pass legislation during this session of
Congress to
preserve America's technological leadership role in the
global arena. (14 February 2006)
-
Administration, Congress Get Behind Innovation (IEEE-USA
Today's Engineer Online, Feb 2006)
-
Press Release - (1 February 2006) IEEE-USA Applauds
President's Competitiveness Initiative
IEEE-USA Participation in Coalitions
IEEE-USA participates in the following organizations and
coalitions in support of innovation and competitiveness policy
goals:
IEEE-USA Supported
Events
6
MAY 2008: Engineering R&D Symposium
Leaders from the engineering community joined with policy-makers in the
6th annual symposium to
review the President's proposed Federal R&D priorities and explore
critical impact of federal R&D funding on the economy, technology jobs,
and national security.
4-5 MARCH 2008
Congressional Visits Day
19-20 OCT. 2007
Atlanta Conference
on Science, Techology and Innovation Policy
18 SEPT. 2007: First National Summit on American
Competitiveness
2
MAY 2007:
Congressional Visits Day
12 SEPT. 2006: Rising Above the Gathering Storm:
Energizing and Employing Regions, States, and Cities
- IEEE-USA co-sponsored this convocation as a follow-on
to the National Academy's Gathering Storm report, organized by
the National Academies Committee on Science, Engineering and
Public Policy.
17-18 MAY
2006: Engineering R&D Symposium -
6 DECEMBER 2005: National Summit on S&T, Innovation, and
Manufacturing – In May 2005, Congressmen. Frank Wolf
(R-VA), Sherwood Boehlert (R-NY), and Vern Ehlers (R-MI),
announced that they were taking a proactive stance in dealing
with possible U.S. decline in our ability to compete in the
global marketplace. The legislators requested that the
Department of Commerce plan an innovation/ science summit.
Working with the Department of Commerce in planning the summit
are four lead business organizations: the Council on
Competitiveness; the Business Roundtable; AeA; and the National
Association of Manufacturers (NAM), is planning the summit.
Additional information forthcoming.
19-21
OCTOBER 2005: "Acceleration
Innovation 2005" A National Conference Hosted by The Accelerating Innovation
Foundation- IEEE-USA's
Technology Policy Council (TPC) is co-sponsoring this event that promises
to, "Take innovation from a global perspective down to a regional level."
Research &
Development Highlights
President Bush Releases FY2009 S&T Budget Proposal
Proposes $1.6
billion, or 15 percent increase in S&T funding to support
American Competitiveness Initiative. Highlights of the S&T
budget and agency requests:
See also
analysis by the AAAS' R&D
Budget and Policy Program.
Electrotechnology-Related Research in the FY 2007 Budget an
analysys by IEEE-USA staff for the AAAS report
Research and Development FY 2007. |
Innovation Policy
News
National Summit on American Competitiveness
The
2008 Summit has been set for 22 May 2008 in Chicago, Illinois.
more
China Rivals U.S. in Technology Competitiveness
According to a newly released report from researchers at Georgia Tech, a
long term study of high-tech indicators suggests China may soon supplant
the United States as the principal driver of the world's economy.
more
New Innovation Metrics Proposed to Measure U.S. Economic Impacts
On Jan. 18, Commerce Secretary Gutierrez called on federal agencies, the
private sector and academia to employ a new set of national innovation
metrics to better quantify the role that innovation plays in driving the
U.S. economy.
more
ASTRA Releases 14-Point Innovation Agenda
The Alliance for Science and Technology Research in America has released
a 14-point action agenda for our innovation future, entitled "A 21st
Century Strategy for U.S. Competitiveness and Prosperity." IEEE-USA is
an ASTRA member.
more
Augustine Report Asks: Is America Falling Off the Flat Earth?
Follow-up to Gathering Storm report looks at education, workforce
and R&D challenges facing the U.S.
more
Congress Looks at Offshoring
of R&D Facilities
At an Oct. 4 hearing before the House Subcommittee on Technology and
Innovation, witnesses unanimously said that in order for the U.S. to
succeed in the changing global economy and attract research and
development (R&D) facilities, the U.S. must continue to develop its
high-tech workforce and provide appropriate incentives to attract and
sustain entrepreneurial ventures.
more
President
Bush Signs Landmark Innovation Legislation
IEEE-USA-backed America COMPETES Act aims to strengthen federal
investments in
research and innovation. Today's Engineer Online: Congress Passes Landmark Legislation, America COMPETES Act
 more
National Academy "Gathering Storm" Report
The report, Rising
Above the Gathering Storm: Employing America for a Brighter Future, is a call to
arms about the state of America’s innovation economy. The report notes that
America still maintains a global lead in science and technology fields, but also
contends that this leadership is rapidly eroding. The report includes a series
of recommendations to stop this slide. This bold blueprint has gained a lot of
attention in the media, and on Capitol Hill. See National Academy of
Sciences report, Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Employing America for a
Brighter Future (www.nap.edu/books/0309100399/html)
Council on Competitiveness, National
Innovation Initiative (NII)
"The National Innovation Initiative kicked off in November of
2003, as members of the Council on Competitiveness felt the need to
address a range of new challenges to America's innovation
leadership...In December of 2004 at a National Innovation Summit in
Washington, DC, the Principals Committee released Innovate America,
an innovation policy agenda for the United States."
Innovate America Report (December 2004)
www.compete.org
Task Force on the Future of American Innovation
"Formed
in 2004, the Task Force urges strong, sustained increases for
research budgets at the National Science Foundation, Department of
Energy Office of Science, National Institute of Standards and
Technology, and Department of Defense."The
Knowledge Economy: Is the United States Losing Its Competitive Edge?
(February 2005)
www.futureofinnovation.org
Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA)'s
Innovation Report
"The current
debate over offshore outsourcing has been reduced by many to a
binary argument: U.S. jobs vs. worldwide trade," EIA President Dave
McCurdy said. "These are important issues, but for the sake of the
nation and the U.S. economy, we should be focusing our energy on the
much larger long-term issue of the future of U.S. innovation."
The Technology Industry at an Innovation Crossroads,
May 2004
AeA's
Innovation Report
Losing the Competitive Advantage?: The Challenge for Science and
Technology in the United States
February 2005
National Bureau of Economic Research
Report
Does Globalization of the Scientific/Engineering Workforce Threaten
U.S. Economic Leadership? by Richard Freeman (Working Paper
11457)
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