Congress currently has a litany of issues on its docket that are intimately
connected to the geosciences, including energy, environment, and climate. In
response, Capitol Hill was recently bombarded by geoscientists offering their
expertise during the second annual Geosciences Congressional Visits Day (Geo-
CVD) on 15-16 September 2009. AGU joined forces with nine other geoscience
societies, bringing in nearly 60 geoscientists from across the country. Twenty-two AGU members from twelve states participated in this year's event.
All Geo-CVD participants were invited to attend the US Geological Survey
(USGS) Coalition's annual reception on Capitol Hill on Monday, 14 September,
which was organized by AGU and the Seismological Society of America. At the
reception, Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
received the Coalition's annual Leadership Award in honor of their continuing
commitment to the USGS. Senator Feinstein is the Chairwoman of the Senate
Appropriations' Subcommittee on Interior and Environment, which is tasked with
allocating funds to the USGS. Senator Murkowski is the Ranking Member on the
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. AGU also hosted a
workshop on 15 September for all scientists partaking in Geo-CVD. The
workshop addressed how to communicate with legislators, an overview of the
Federal budget, and a panel session with representatives from NOAA, NSF,
USGS, and DOE.
Finally, after much preparation, the geoscientists met with their state delegations
as well as various House and Senate committees. Among the participants were
Dr. Eric Betterton, from the University of Arizona and Chair of AGU's
Committee on Public Affairs (COPA), who met with Congresswoman Gabrielle
Giffords (D-AZ), a member of the House Committee on Science and Technology.
Several hurricane researchers, including Dr. Bill Dewar from Florida State
University, Dr. Hilary Stockdon from the USGS, and Dr. Sytske Kimball from the
University of South Alabama met with the Senate Commerce Committee to
discuss a current and relevant bill, S. 1485, the National Hurricane Research
Initiative Act of 2009. And Dr. Chris Konrad from the Nature Conservancy had a
day jam-packed with eight Congressional visits and met in-person with three
Members of Congress: Congressman Jim McDermott (D-WA), Congressman
Norm Dicks (D-WA), and Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA).
Throughout the year, AGU scientists participate in several Congressional events,
including exhibitions, briefings, and CVD. AGU's next CVD is the Science-
Engineering-Technology CVD (SET-CVD) on 28-29 April 2010. If you are
interested in participating in any Congressional events with AGU, please contact
Kaitlin Chell at kchell@agu.org.
Be sure to check out AGU's new Science Policy website and sign up for an
RSS feed so you can keep up to date with the latest Science Policy News!
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Please contact Kaitlin Chell (kchell@agu.org) if you have questions or
comments about ASLA or need to change your e-mail address.
To read previous ASLAs, please visit: http://www.agu.org/cgi-bin/asla/asla-list
Policy makers look to us, the Earth and space science community, for
unbiased advice. Bringing experts from across the nation to the Capitol is
expensive! Please give to AGU's Capitol Cause and support these efforts.
Make your gift today at:
http://www.agu.org/givingtoagu/making_your_gift.php. Click on "Special
Initiatives" when you designate your gift, and select "Capitol Cause."
10/1/2009
ASLA 09-17
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