INTERNET POLICY

The Problems of Policing Internet Privacy

Federal Trade Commissioner Julie Brill and other experts gathered to discuss online privacy issues and legislation before Congress at a recent CAP event.

Congressional Recess Confronted By Climate Reality

Fresh off a vote in the House of Representatives to substitute ideology for climate science, members of Congress returned home to Texas and the Southwest to find the most severe drought in more than 100 years.  Humans are overloading the [...]

CLIMATE SCIENCE

House Energy and Commerce Committee Votes for Science Denial

The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a bill this week that would to overturn the findings of the EPA, the National Academies, and the Supreme Court. Their reason? An online poll told them to.

PATENT REFORM

Patent Reform and the Progress of Innovation

Our patent system is in need of reform. Could the stars be aligned for a bipartisan triumph in this Congress?

A Little Less Talk, A Lot More Action

Support grows in Congress for a reprise of the 1973 National Water Commission. Studies are useful, but must lead to real change.

Make the R&D Tax Credit Permanent

Yesterday, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles B. Rangel (D-NY) introduced H.R. 6049, the Energy and Tax Extenders Act of 2008. Among other extensions, the bill would renew the Research and Development Tax Credit for the 13th time since its inception in 1981. But extending the R&D tax credit for one more year is insufficient; it should be made permanent.

How Much Science Could $135.4 Billion Buy?

President Bush’s latest request for Iraq war funding totals approximately $135.4 billion. What if we spent that money on domestic scientific research and development? Boosting R&D by the numbers.

Revisiting the RFS, Part 3: Biofuels and Food Prices

Part 3 of coverage of Tuesday’s House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the Renewable Fuel Standard, with the perspectives of witnesses on biofuel production and rising food prices.

Revisiting the RFS, Part 2: Land Use and Gas Prices

Part 2 of a break down of Tuesday’s House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on the Renewable Fuel Standards, with a look at what witnesses had to say about the economic and environmental concerns.

GINA Passes House and is Ready for Signing

The Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (H.R. 493) moved another step closer to becoming law yesterday. Although the House passed the bill last year, a reconciled version had go through again, as the Senate added an amendment when it passed the bill last week.

Reauthorizing the NNI: Do We Know What We Need to Know?

The environmental, health, and safety (EHS) implications of nanotechnology and potential regulation were the only points of contention at an otherwise congratulatory Senate hearing held to discuss the reauthorization of the $1.5 billion National Nanotechnology Initiative last Thursday.

GINA Passes!

The Senate just passed the Genetic Information Non-discrimination Act (H.R. 493) by a vote of 95-0 after two hours of debate consisting of mostly well-deserved self-congratulations. Senator Enzi (R-WY), a cosponsor of the bill, raised a very good point, saying about GINA that “If the publicity doesn’t go out on it, the people don’t know about it….we are interested in people knowing what this bill does that will help them and that will encourage them to use the genome.”

Streamlining and Codifying the R&D Tax Credit

“In a weak economy, we should be doing everything we can to spur on innovation and the type of family-wage jobs that increased research and development will create,” said Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-CA) when he introduced legislation that would streamline the R&D tax credit and make it permanent.

Chronicle: New Rule Allows Foriegn Students to Stay in the U.S. Longer After Graduation

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has quietly extended the amount of time foreign students in science, engineering, technology, and mathematics are allowed to remain in the U.S. without a work visa after their graduation.

New Bill to Bring Benefits of Broadband to Rural America

House Representative Tom Allen (D-ME) today introduced H.R. 5682, the Rural America Communication Expansion (RACE) for the Future Act, a push to bring broadband and its economic and social benefits to rural areas across the country.

Subcommittee Questions Funding Cuts for Two NIST Programs

The President’s plan to slash two highly successful National Institute of Standards and Technology programs drew the ire of Subcommittee members during a hearing on NIST’s FY 2009 budget request yesterday.

Recent Energy Initiatives in California

The LA Times has several recent stories on the latest Los Angeles green energy initiatives and contention over a proposed cap-and-trade system for California emissions.

Science, Delayed

The quest to restore dedicated science advice for Congress through a reborn Office of Technology Assessment has proven more difficult than one might have supposed.

A Tale of Two Bills

The America COMPETES Act is open-ended legislation, paving the way for future innovation to flourish. In contrast, life sciences and information technology firms are lobbying to shape pending patent reform that will benefit their particular industry. Where are the groups thinking about innovation in the public interest?

Science and Technology on Capitol Hill This Week

This week boasts a slew of congressional hearings on science and technology policy issues including: renewable energy, gene patenting, aviation safety, nanotechnology safety, and drug-resistant TB.