March
- April 2002
Latest
IEEE-USA Policy Positions
Members of Congress
are grappling with a growing list of complex policy issues that affect
engineers or that require technical expertise to understand. In an
effort to assist these and other policymakers — and help IEEE-USA
members and others stay better informed, IEEE-USA takes stands on
various issues and communicates related background and action
information in two ways: Position Statements,
which explain the issue and generally recommend a course of action or
remedy; and Legislative Alerts,
which explain the issue, but also urge IEEE-USA members to take immediate
action in the policymaking process by communicating with members of
Congress or others.
At its 14 February
meeting, the IEEE-USA Board of Directors approved three new positions on
issues currently before Congress:
- U.S. Government
Advisory Entities Concerned With Health-Related Issues
- Department of
Energy University Nuclear Science and Engineering Act
These positions,
carefully considered and crafted, express the sentiments of many members
and present the views of IEEE-USA. Ultimately, they will ensure that
U.S. IEEE members' voices are heard on Capitol Hill.
U.S. Government
Advisory Entities Concerned With Health-Related Issues
With the
recommendation of IEEE-USA's Medical Technology Policy Committee,
IEEE-USA urges the government to consider engineers with biomedical,
telecommunications or health care backgrounds for positions on
commissions, committees and advisory panels, as they can provide the
expertise in technology that is required to make sound decisions and
promote a consistent strategy for healthcare issues.
The U.S. Congress has
enacted legislation that places responsibilities related to promoting
safety, efficacy and reasonable cost of health care on the executive
branch of government. These responsibilities include guidance of
healthcare-related programs that range from supporting basic life
science research to healthcare facility justification and planning, in
addition to creating programs for cost control. The issues and
associated challenges are technically complex, and would be well served by having engineers involved to give expert advice.
Engineering
achievements in the past few decades have led to the development of
technologies that improve healthcare system delivery. However,
incorporating these technologies into a national strategy has been slow
and inconsistent. By nature, engineering education often involves a
multidisciplinary program of study, and many professional practitioners
have combined education and experience in the life sciences as well as
engineering and the physical and computer sciences. This
cross-discipline expertise would serve advisory committees, commissions
and panels well.
Encryption Policy
On the recommendation
of IEEE-USA's Committee on Communication and Information Policy,
IEEE-USA opposes legislation that restricts the creation, availability
or legitimate use of encryption — including strong encryption — in
the United States or by U.S. firms and organizations. IEEE-USA urges
policymakers to avoid placing restrictions on the creation, availability
or use of cryptography in the United States by U.S. firms.
Cryptography is
essential for governmental, financial, medical and industrial
operations, both here and abroad, and continued economic growth and
leadership of several key U.S. industries depends on it. In addition,
encryption can be a defense. Strong encryption is often the best
defense against what has come to be recognized as "cyber
terrorism."
The United States is currently a leader in most aspects of encryption-creation and use,
but it does not have a monopoly on the technology or on the ability to
enhance it. If U.S. laws force non-U.S. firms to undertake the future development of strong encryption
technologies, the technical know how, innovation and jobs that go hand-in-hand with them will take place only
within non-U.S. organizations.
Proposed legislation
to date is likely to have a negative impact on the U.S. economy, its
infrastructure and national security; will make institutions more
vulnerable to attack by criminals and terrorists; have a negative effect
on the encryption capability of U.S. firms, causing that capability to gradually decline or even atrophy; and have a negative effect on U.S.
firms currently active in world markets.
Department of
Energy University Nuclear Science and Engineering Act
On the recommendation
of the IEEE-USA Research and Development Policy Committee, IEEE-USA
supports S.242/H.R.2126, The Department of Energy University Science and
Engineering Act, introduced to help maintain tomorrow's human
resources and training investment in the nuclear sciences. The bill will
increase funding to DOE's Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and
Technology over the next five years, from $12M in FY01 to $64M in FY06.
Among other provisions
of the bill, IEEE-USA supports those that would develop a robust
graduate and undergraduate fellowship program to attract talented
students; assist universities in recruiting and retaining new faculty in
the nuclear sciences and engineering; maintain a robust investment in
fundamental nuclear science and engineering; and encourage collaborative
nuclear research between industry, national laboratories and
universities.
IEEE-USA recommends
that the program be constructed and geared toward supporting and
developing American nuclear-related activities and that care should be
taken to ensure that the integrity of the nation's nuclear scientific
capabilities is not compromised.
IEEE-USA considers
positions and issues formal position statements only after careful
deliberation and board approval. To review all current IEEE-USA
positions, go to www.ieeeusa.org/forum/POSITIONS/index.html.
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