This press release has been developed for the use of societies participating in the 1999 Science-Engineering-Technology Congressional Visits Day event. Please adapt for your own use. You can also download a version in Word for Windows format.

FOURTH ANNUAL CONGRESSIONAL VISITS DAY
April 21 & 22, 1999

Scientists, engineers, and industry representatives to underscore importance of federal R&D

Support the nation's investment in science and technology, and join over 250 representatives from academia and industry who will head up to Capitol Hill for the 4th annual Congressional Visits Day on Thursday, April 22, 1999. Teams made up of science and business leaders will pay visits to some 200 congressional offices. The event will kick off on April 21st when key members of the Administration and of Congress will give briefings to the group of scientists, engineers, and industry representatives.

Congressional Visits Day is organized by the Science-Engineering-Technology Work Group, an information network of 35 professional scientific societies, and the Coalition for Technology Partnerships, a group of over 100 businesses, trade associations, and technical societies.

In particular, scientists, engineers, and technical industry representatives will underscore the importance of federally funded science and technology as well as the partnerships between government, universities, and industries.

More than 50 percent of all industrial innovation and growth in the United States since World War II can be attributed to advances pioneered through scientific research, with publicly funded science at the core of society's progress. Achievements are too numerous to list completely, but include global environmental monitoring, lasers, liquid crystal displays, and the Internet. Part of the federal R&D system's strength derives from its diversity across many agencies with a wide variety of missions that rely on science and technology. This diversity reflects the interdependence of scientific disciplines and the growing interdisciplinary nature of meeting scientific and technological challenges.

The importance of federally funded research and development has recently been emphasized both in legislation and in a new report on the future of the nation's science enterprise. The 1998 Senate-passed Federal Research Investment Act authorized a doubling of civilian research over twelve years. "Unlocking our Future: Toward a New National Science Policy" prepared for Congress by Representative Vernon Ehlers (R-MI), recognizes the ever-increasing importance of science and technology as the underpinning of the nation's economy and quality of life.

For more information and to participate, contact your association's Washington representative or visit http://www.agiweb.org/cvd.

Posted: January 21, 1999

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