OIDA Washington News - April 2008

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OIDA News - April 2008

OIDA and OSA Representatives Join in Congressional Visits Day

On March 5th, OIDA and OSA representatives were among 250 scientists and engineers from about 30 societies and associations who visited offices on Capitol Hill as advocates for increased investments of research in the physical sciences. Prior to the visits, participants had the opportunity to hear briefings from hill staff and policy professionals on the current legislative and budget situation. Former House Science and Technology Chairman Sherwood Boehlert of New York spoke at a breakfast meeting of the full group and Congressman Bart Gordon of Tennessee, the current Chairman, spoke to and answered questions from the OIDA/OSA Group in the Committee’s hearing room. Participants worked in teams and generally visited the offices of Congressmen and Senators from their home districts and states. OSA and OIDA had prepared briefing materials on the importance of optics and photonics and Federal research for their teams to leave behind. These materials, and additional pictures from the day, can be found on the OSA web site.

 

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Funding For Research

As has been noted previously in this column, FY2008 was not a good appropriations year for Federal R&D agencies. Most received increases of 1% or less in their base programs. Several congressional offices are still working to obtain supplemental funding for this year, though the odds of success now in the second half of the year are not great. Nonetheless, OIDA has been working with several interest groups as an advocate for supplemental funding.

Meanwhile, this is the time of year when discussions about funding for the following fiscal year, in this case FY2009 which begins October 1, are in full force. OIDA is also working this front, both directly and in collaboration with other groups, again promoting R&D investments.

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Patent Legislation

The fate of patent reform legislation in the present (110th) Congress remains uncertain. Last year the House passed a broad patent reform bill. The Senate counterpart has not yet reached the floor because of controversies over apportionment of damages, a switch to first-to-file priority, and post-grant review. It is likely that Senate leadership will schedule a vote only when they have a draft that 60 Senators support.

Earlier this year, OIDA attempted to develop a position statement on patents, but found that there is not a consensus on reform among its board members.

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High-Tech Immigration

April 1 is that first day each year that applications for H-1B visas can be submitted. This year, as in the recent past, the number of applications quickly exceeded the quota for the year. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates used the opportunity of his March 12 testimony before the House Science and Technology Committee to call for increasing the present cap on H-1B visas, to allow high-tech companies to meet their recruiting needs. On the other side, a recent article in Business Week argues that the H-1B system holds down American wages. Perhaps more importantly, in a subsequent article, the magazine points out that eight of the ten top recipients of H-1B visas in 2007 (companies own H-1Bs, not the employees) are either headquartered in India or have most of their operations there. This raises a concern that the H-1B program strengthens foreign competition. Some H-1B critics argue that the right answer is therefore to expand permanent immigration of high tech workers by making it easier for them to obtain Green Cards.