Remember how I went to DC and asked Congress to support HEP? And remember how one of the things we were asking them to do was to support the reauthorization of COMPETES? We knew the funding was probably going to be hard to get in this economic climate, but that COMPETES was a shoe-in because it got broad bipartisan support in the past and Congress likes bipartisan shows of cooperation when there is no money involved (it was only an authorization, not an allocation). Well, the door got slammed shut on COMPETES earlier this week, with broad bipartisan support behind the slamming, and there is only a little crack in the door that will bring it back to the table. The about-face had something to do with pornography--read below and you'll see why. It got sent back to the committee so I (we, science, the country, etc...ok, a bit of hyperbole but forgive me) need you to contact your congresspeople and tell them to support the reauthorization of competes!!
Send them a letter along the lines of: "I was dismayed to see the America COMPETES act be recommitted and I strongly urge you to support its swift passage of the 5 year authorization. Funding of science and technology is vital to both the economic and intellectual viability of our country"...or something like that. You can find your congress person at http://www.house.gov
Here is a letter from APS about what went down:
The Issue: On Thursday, May 13, the reauthorization of the America
COMPETES Act, a bill that had previously received bipartisan support,
fell victim to election-year politics. The framers of the
reauthorization bill had assumed both parties would support the final
product, having worked closely with the Republican Minority to create
a bill they hoped would be acceptable to most Members. In fact, 5
Republicans voted for passage of the bill during Committee
consideration.
The America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 provides a 5-year
authorization for the DOE Office of Science, NSF and NIST that would
keep those agencies on their doubling track, a plan that most
economists believe is essential to maintaining economic growth.
Unfortunately, the vote did not remain bipartisan when it reached the
House floor for consideration. Following all debate and consideration
of amendments from both parties, Republicans introduced a "Motion to
Recommit" that stripped out all the increased authorizations for
science. This was done in order to freeze all spending accounts for
the next three years at 2010 levels. To ensure that the motion would
pass, the motion also included a "poison pill" provision requiring
that all NSF personnel who had been identified as using office
computers to watch pornography be fired. This unexpected, 11th hour
move forced nearly 100 Democratic members to switch their vote in
support of the motion to recommit, sensing that a vote against the
motion would have been portrayed as a vote for pornography. In the
end the motion passed 292 to 126 returning the bill to the House
Science and Technology Committee for further action. The Committee
is expected to bring the bill back to the House floor within a matter
of days with the Committee-approved funding levels.
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