Letter from ASTRA: "10 Points for America's Future"

October 2008

Dear Concerned American:

Please consider signing our "10 Points for America's Future," a virtual petition to our next President, today!

Our community needs to show our new President that we will support the bold moves he must take in order for the U.S. to deal with changing global innovation and competitiveness frameworks. And we should make sure the new Administration takes advantage of the intellectual and policy research needed to help the new team move forward quickly, since the world will not wait for our own domestic political cycles.

As former Undersecretaries for Technology at the U.S. Department of Commerce, we believe that the immediate need for increased federal support for scientific R&D investments and the adoption of effective national innovation and competitiveness policies are issues that transcend partisan goals. Our concerns are "about the economy" — we cannot afford stagnation and incoherence in our future policies or we will certainly pay a very steep price as a society.
We actively support the "10 Points for America's Future" petition, attached. It has been developed by numerous scientific, engineering, educational and technology organizations and individuals over the past few years. Its contents are nonpartisan, forward looking, and a represent a fair consensus as to what our nation's top innovation priorities and strategies should be.

We now ask that you, your associates, and any organizations to which you may belong consider signing this unique "virtual" petition. Individuals, companies, executives, universities, teachers, researchers, schools, students, businesses, entrepreneurs, unions, associations, Chambers of Commerce, civic, cultural and fraternal organizations are all welcome to sign on to the petition, which will be delivered in early 2009 to our new President.

Please share this message. Just forward this email to friends and associates. Feel free to direct questions to rboege@comcast.net for more details. We can even prepare a similar "10 Points Petition" for your own organization if you wish. Simply contact rboege@comcast.net for more details.

If you agree with us, please sign this Petition electronically. All you need do is simply "click through" to http://app.expressemailmarketing.com/get.link?linkid=1002121&subscriberid=81037014&campaignid=288115&linkurl=http://www.usinnovation.org/petition/petition.asp. It will receive the information you are being asked to provide.

Whether you choose to disclose your affiliation(s) is a personal matter, although we would like to know your place of residence to demonstrate the truly national — and global — scope of our community.

Thank you for joining us in this important initiative.

Phillip J. Bond

President and CEO

Information Technology

Association of America

Arlington, VA

Former Undersecretary of Commerce for Technology 2001 - 2005

Dr. Mary L. Good

Dean, Donaghey College of

Engineering and Information Technology

University of Arkansas

Little Rock, AR

Former Undersecretary of Commerce

for Technology 1993 - 1996

This Petition Project is a joint effort of ASTRA, The Alliance for Science & Technology Research in America, and theInformation Technology Association of America. For more information about ASTRA, see www.aboutastra.org andwww.usinnovation.org for ITAA, see www.itaa.org

© 2008 ASTRA, The Alliance for Science & Technology Research in America