ALERT: FIRST Legislation Needs Your Help

[Bill Gold]

Hello fellow FIRST Robotics Competition participants,

As some of you know, U.S. Representative Zoe Lofgren visited the 2003 Silicon Valley Regional and pledged to help FIRST gain federal money to support the FIRST Robotics Competition. Working hand in hand with a small group of FIRST veterans known as Legislation for FIRST Students (LFFS), she has requested the House Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD to provide limited federal support for FIRST to the tune of $2,000,000 over two years. At this time, that $2 million would largely be used by FIRST to cut entry fee costs for FIRST teams. Getting this appropriation will not be “a walk in the park.” In order for FIRST to get this appropriation, teams in and near select congressional districts of the country will need to send letters and/or meet with their congressperson’s local staff and talk to them about supporting this request. Attached is a link to documents that include: a memo from the LFFS co-chairs (Ken Krieger & Norma Hammes) to all teams in and near congressional districts of the members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD, a list of teams in and near congressional districts of the members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD as well as their phone/fax numbers, a sample letter to your congressperson, and a brief description of the FIRST Robotics Competition that you should attach to your letter to your congressperson. Although the sample letter implies that you should only send in one letter per team from a “main contact,” it would be more effective if you sent in one letter per person (Teachers, Engineers, Parents, College Students, and Students) on the team, if at all possible. These documents should adequately prepare you to contact your congressperson, but should any problem arise, refer to the bottom of the memo and contact either Ken Krieger or Norma Hammes.

The LFFS is also committed to getting more pro-FIRST legislation passed. Although we cannot come forward with the details of these proposals yet, keep an eye out for another request of grass-roots support in other areas of the country. FIRST, being a 501c3 organization, cannot directly lobby congress, so it’s up to all of us to help FIRST expand their horizons. Thank you for your time.

http://www.seadawgs.com/LFFS/

-Bill Gold