ieee-usa in action - fall 2011 - (Page 18)
focus on public policy The State of the Union: Mid-Year Report on IEEE-USA’s Priorities on the Hill We are just past the halfway mark of the 2011 legislative session, making this a good time to see how the IEEE-USA legislative agenda, which helps all U.S. IEEE members, is doing on Capitol Hill. As expected, 2011 has been challenging. The political situation in Congress has made progress on almost every issue (not just IEEE issues) difficult, as Congress focuses on the budget and debt limit, to the exclusion of almost every other issue. This intense scrutiny has left little political room for many of IEEE-USA’s legislative initiatives. Still, we have been successful at positioning some of our priorities, so that they can move forward later this year, as opportunities arise. 2011 Budget The year began with a protracted debate over the 2011 fiscal year budget, which actually began on 1 Oct. 2010. A continuing resolution (CR)1 was finally passed in mid-April 2011, containing funding for the rest of FY 2011, including a number of important amendments. Overall, the bill reduced federal spending by $38.5 billion compared to 2010 levels. This reduction continued on next page ©iStockphoto.com/rabbit75_ist By russell T. Harrison Ú contents inventors electric vehicles congress s-pac
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