On March 19, NSPE participated in the 2015 Society of Women Engineers Capitol Hill Day to discuss issues of importance to professional engineers, such as the Educating Tomorrow’s Engineers Act (H.R. 823) and the looming deadline for federal infrastructure funding. NSPE Legislative and Government Affairs Vice Chair Karen Moran, P.E., F.NSPE, met with Senators and Representatives to express the importance of these issues and to convey NSPE’s strong commitment to promote the value of the professional engineer at all levels of government, including federal. In meetings with Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) offices, NSPE advocated for support of a Senate companion bill to H.R. 823, the Educating Tomorrow’s Engineers Act. Discussions were very productive and also delved into the variety and breadth of services PEs provide. Hill visits with three champions of engineering in the House of Representatives were similarly encouraging. Meeting with Representative Donna Edwards’ office, there was substantial discussion about the necessity of long-term planning for professional engineering projects and the negative impact of stopgap funding. NSPE met with staff from our very own P.E. in Congress, Representative David McKinley, P.E. (R-WV). Representative McKinley has been the leading voice on professional engineers in Congress. In addition to serving on the very important House Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative McKinley has taken a lead role in promoting engineering education and the National Science Foundation. NSPE member Karen Moran and NSPE staff also had the opportunity to have a long, meaningful discussion with Representative Paul Tonko (D-NY) who is the driving force behind the Educating Tomorrow’s Engineers Act, about the importance of restoring the E in STEM. NSPE looks forward to building upon this positive momentum.
KAREN MORAN, P.E., F.NSPE AND REPRESENTATIVE PAUL TONKO (D-NY-20)