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30 June 2003

Subject: FYI THIS MONTH: JUNE 2003

FYI THIS MONTH: JUNE 2003
HIGHLIGHTS OF DEVELOPMENTS IN WASHINGTON IMPACTING THE PHYSICS
COMMUNITY FROM FYI, THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS BULLETIN OF
SCIENCE POLICY NEWS
Richard M. Jones, Audrey T. Leath           fyithismonth{at}aip.org
                                                                           
                
To read the cited FYIs, see the FYI archive at:
http://www.aip.org/enews/fyi/2003

HYDROGEN ENERGY: Within Congress and the Administration, a consensus
is growing that the U.S. should support R&D on the use of hydrogen
as an energy carrier.  At recent hearings, witnesses from the auto
industry and environmental groups agreed on hydrogen's potential
(FYI #69).  In its energy bill, the Senate has included targets for
hydrogen-powered vehicles and a hydrogen fuel infrastructure, and at
a European Union conference, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham called
for international collaboration on hydrogen energy research and
development (FYI #80).

OFFICE OF SCIENCE STRATEGIC PLAN: At a recent advisory committee
meeting, the Director of DOE's Office of Science, Ray Orbach,
announced that his office's soon-to-be-released 20-year strategic
plan would include 29 major facilities projects.  He said the plan,
which is premised on authorizing legislation currently under
consideration in Congress, would fully support the office's base
programs and provide a prioritized list of new construction projects
(FYI #71).  Funding for the Office of Science was also addressed by
a key House Science Committee staffer, who indicated that the office
has not always been widely recognized as "a major funder of
science," and that Orbach's efforts to raise the profile of his
office may have a significant impact on future budgets (FYI #72).

K-12 SCIENCE EDUCATION: The arrival in Washington of the U.S.
Physics Olympiad Team was the occasion for the American Association
of Physics Teachers and the American Institute of Physics to send a
policy statement to Congress, calling on Members to support K-12
science education by providing strong funding for the Math and
Science Partnership programs.  The Team members were honored at a
Capitol Hill ceremony co-hosted by Reps. Vern Ehlers (R-MI) and Rush
Holt (D-NJ) (FYI #73).  As appropriators work on the appropriations
bills funding the Math and Science Partnerships, several other K-12
education bills have been introduced in the House that would attract
students to teaching careers and improve teacher preparation and
professional development (FYI #78).

DEFENSE DEPARTMENT LEGISLATION: Appropriations and authorization
bills for the Department of Defense are working their way through
Congress.  During debate over the National Defense Authorization
Act, both the House and Senate approved changes to provisions
regulating nuclear weapons R&D.  Among other provisions, each bill
would allow research (but not engineering development or fabrication
without congressional approval) on low-yield nuclear weapons (FYI
#74).  Quotes from the floor debates in the House (FYI #75) and
Senate (FYI #77) are provided.  Meanwhile, House appropriators would
increase DOD science and technology funding by 10.4 percent over the
current year in their FY 2004 Defense Appropriations bill (FYI #82).

PUBLIC COMMENT SOUGHT:  The National Science Board has issued, for
public comment, a draft report calling for a greater federal role in
preparing the nation's future science and engineering workforce. The
report states, "All stakeholders must mobilize and initiate efforts
that increase the number of US citizens pursuing science and
engineering studies and careers." (FYI #76).  The National Science
Foundation is also seeking public comment on its Strategic Plan.
The plan lays out three core strategies and describes how the
foundation establishes priorities and allocates resources (FYI #79).

APPROPRIATIONS BILLS: Congress is beginning to move on several FY
2004 appropriations bills, including those for the Department of
Homeland Security (FYI #81) and the National Institute of Biomedical
Imaging and Bioengineering (FYI #83), and the Education Department
Math and Science Partnerships (FYI #84).

Please visit the AIP Science Policy site at http://www.aip.org/gov
for previous issues of FYI, other science policy information, and
subscriber options.

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