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WASHINGTON NEWS LAME-DUCK CONGRESSIONAL SESSION SHORT AND SWEET The unusual post-election session, necessitated by Congress’ failure to reach agreement on all appropriations bills before the targeted adjournment back in October, focuses on the remaining spending bills and a few other non-controversial items. The leadership of both parties in the respective houses will be set by early December, but the make-up of House and Senate committees will not be finalized until the 109th Congress convenes in January. S&T EMPHASIZED IN FINAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION Just before the election, President Bush signed the FY 2005 Defense Authorization Act. It calls for an additional $640 million for defense science and technology programs above the Administration’s request for $10.6 billion. The add-on includes $70 million for basic research programs, and the House-Senate conference report states that “The conferees expect to see an increased commitment by the Department to robustly fund S&T in the fiscal year 2006 budget, along with an appropriate balance within the accounts that acknowledges the importance of long-term research in an era of immediate and pressing needs.” The bill also includes $2.5 million for a new program called the Science Mathematics and Research Transformation Defense Scholarship Demonstration Program (SMART). This would provide scholarships to students seeking a bachelor’s or advanced degree in science and engineering disciplines critical to national security in exchange for a period of employment with the Department of Defense. SCIENCE COMMITTEE FOCUSES ON CYBER ISSUES In the final days of the 108th Congress, high-performance computing legislation makes its way to the President’s desk for an expected signature. H.R. 4516, the Department of Energy High-End Computing Revitalization Act of 2004, would establish a research and development program within DOE to develop more advanced computers. The bill also would authorize DOE to establish supercomputer user facilities that would be available for use to U.S. researchers on a competitive, peer-reviewed basis. On another front, the House version of comprehensive intelligence reform legislation would elevate the status of cyber security in the Department of Homeland Security by establishing an Assistant Secretary for Cyber Security in the Information Analysis and Infrastructure Protection directorate. At our press time, the intelligence bill was still tied up in House-Senate conference committee deliberations. INSTRUMENTATION FOR MATERIALS RESEARCH The National Science Foundation is soliciting proposals for its Instrumentation for Materials Research – Major Instrumentation Projects. NSF intends to support the design and construction of a variety of mid-scale instruments, including but not limited to beamlines, high-field magnets, detectors, and preparation environments at major US facilities. Some of these instruments may be developed in partnership with other federal agencies. Priority will be given to those proposals which involve students in the design and construction of the instruments. According to NSF, the program will:
The solicitation is published at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2005/nsf05513/ MATH AND SCIENCE PARTNERSHIPS TO FOCUS ON TEACHERS The National Science Foundation has announced that seven new Institute Partnerships: Teacher Institutes for the 21st Century will be formed as a result of five-year grants made to universities in the third year of competition for NSF’s Math and Science Partnership (MSP) program. The new institutes represent an investment of more than $31 million over five years. The awards will be directed to disciplinary faculty of higher learning institutions to work with experienced teachers of math and the sciences. NSF also announced five large Targeted Partnerships with grants amounting to a combined $60 million over five years, aimed at improving math and science performance in nationwide classrooms. Details are available at http://www.nsf.gov.od/lpa/
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