Exploring the landscape of the Economic Recovery & Reinvestment Act is an enormous task.  I know the Act was just signed by the President, but I am eager to find out the areas of recovery and reinvestment that pertain to science & technology and science education.  In the U.S. House of Representatives, there are 24 committees, (and most committees have 30 – 50 members) while the U.S. Senate has 22 committees.

To start, I looked at the committees in the House of Representatives that play a role in science & technology and science education, and had a major part to play in the budgetary requests pertaining to science in the Economic Recovery & Reinvestment Act.  If you visit their websites (just follow the links), you will find information pertaining to how the committee is involved in budgetary items pertaining to science.

• Committee on Science and Technology. Formed in 1958 (after Sputnik), and initially focused on space exploration, but now deals with a vast area of science & technology, including environmental research, marine research, NIST, NASA, NSF, National Weather Service, outer space exploration, science education, and scientific research.
• Committee on Energy and Commerce. Focuses on such topics as national energy policy, health, consumer affairs, energy resources, conservation, power, management of the Department of Energy, public health, nuclear energy, communications.
• The Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. Established in 2007 to address the challenges of oil dependence and global warming.
• Committee on Natural Resources. Deals with climate change, endangered species act, Indian Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, Energy and materials, national parks and forests, & water and power.

It is not a simple matter of finding out how the Economic Recovery & Reinvestment funds will be used in science.  You have really dig into this to find answers to your questions.  I followed the link to actual bill which was signed by President Obama, and according to hearsay, most members of Congress never read—I now know why.  It is not easy to navigate the bill online, and its extremely long—>1000 pages!

But here are a few things I learned, and I’m providing links so you can follow up and read for yourself.

1. According to the Committee on Science and Technology, the Act “will strengthen American competitiveness, create high-quality jobs, and improve access to clean, affordable energy. ”   The committee reports that:
2. The COMPETES bill will be fully funded—via improvements to math and science education
3. NSF to receive $3 billion to fund immediatly, projects reviewed and approved, as well as expand current programs.
4. Funding ($400 million) of the Advanced Research Project Agency – Energy (ARPA-E)
5. Creation of Reliable, Efficient Electricity Grid ($11 billion).  Pilot projects for development of the Smart Grid Investment Program.  Go to the Department of Energy website to find out more.  Secretary Chu is one of the most able members of Obama’s cabinet, and when you explore the Department of Energy site I think you will be confident of the future of energy.  It is a crucial area for economic recovery and the future development of energy useage and distribution.

These are just a few of the areas in science and technology that you might want to investigate. I’ll return later this week with more.