In the current House, only 16 members—out of 435—list science or engineering as their primary profession prior to running for Congress. Three of those members have degrees in mechanical engineering, and one—John E. Sununu (R-N.H.)—is an ASME member. In the Senate, only one member—John Warner (R-Va.)—lists "engineer" or "scientist" as a primary profession. Of the nation's 50 governors, two (Wyoming's Jim Geringer and Kentucky's Paul Patton) have engineering backgrounds—both in mechanical engineering.

What this means for ASME and other engineering societies is that our members have a responsibility to contribute their knowledge and expertise on issues ranging from national defense to the environment, to those representing them in the state houses and on Capitol Hill.

It is no accident that ASME and most other engineering societies maintain offices in Washington. Having a presence in the capital is becoming vital for engineering and scientific societies, and today's high-tech industries. Issues such as electronic commerce, Internet privacy, intellectual property improvement, and reform of K-12 engineering education demand active involvement from the engineering community.

As Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) put it in a recent interview: "There is a big disconnect. Most political types don't get high-tech types, and most high-tech types don't get political types. There's a big education process under way." Because of the widespread belief on Capitol Hill and in the states that the robust economy is fueled by a burgeoning technology industry, ASME members have a unique opportunity to contribute information in the next few years.

ASME's Council on Public Affairs and its Board on Government Relations offer myriad ways for members to become involved in the political process. One easy way is for ASME members to voice their opinions about which issues the Society should concentrate on during a Congress. Every two years, ASME issues its Public Policy Agenda, a compendium of federal and state issue priorities on which the Society intends to focus. The next agenda will be issued in time for the new Congress that will convene in January 2001.

ASME's priority issue areas are determined by a survey of a broad cross section of the membership, comprising the Board of Governors, members of Councils and Boards, and a random sample of members.

Another way to participate in the public policy process is through position statements. Each year, ASME issues more than 25 position statements aimed at contributing the expertise of engineers for the public good on issues ranging from federal funding for research and development to pre-college science, math, engineering, and technology education. These position statements are designed to assist policy makers who are confronted with decisions on a wide variety of technical issues.

While ASME's position statements communicate to Capitol Hill and to the state houses the views of various segments of the Society—or the Society as a whole—it is imperative that lawmakers and agency officials hear directly from engineers as often as possible. To accomplish that, ASME's Washington Center arranges for Society members to participate in the annual multisociety Congressional Visits Day in April and also coordinates a meeting of the Society's Inter-council Committee on Federal Research and Development in February each year to review the President's budget request and to meet with members of Congress and agency officials.

Every two years, ASME holds its Public Affairs Leadership Conference, at which members get in-depth briefings on issues of the day, participate in round-table discussions with key Washington leaders, and visit with their congressional representatives. ASME staff also routinely schedules congressional and agency visits for individual members and small groups of members when they visit Washington for other purposes.

More often than not, ASME members who participate in these events find that congressional representatives genuinely care about what their constituents have to say, and they value the many things they can learn from members of professions—such as engineering—that they may know little about.

Ongoing dialogues between constituents and lawmakers are the most valuable tool an engineering society such as ASME can have to communicate its legislative agenda.

This month, as part of its continuing effort to involve members in public policy, ASME will host an Engineers in Public Policy Forum in San Diego. Designed as an off-year complement to PALC, the forum will provide an opportunity for members to examine and learn about such cutting-edge public policy issues as nanotechnology, biotechnology, pre-college engineering education improvement, and intellectual property protection.

Francis Dietz works in ASME Government Relations in Washington, D.C.

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