ALERT: FIRST Legislation Needs Your Help

FIRST General Forum
1

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

2

It is very important that all the teams included in the “TEAMS_REPRESENTATIVES” help with this effort that will benefit all FIRST teams. This is the chance when you say to yourself “I can make a difference” and do something that could help out your team and others, because EVERY letter sent to the representatives counts.

Take a look at “Teams by Representative” to see which teams we are asking help from, and who is the congress member you are writing to, and their contact info.

The $2,000,000 will mean a discount for all teams’ first event. This is by far one of the easiest fund raising activities you can do to get your team some money for registration. Although “Memo to teams” mentioned that you can send one letter per team, it is encouraged (and necessary) that EVERYONE in your team each write one letter, and send them all out together as a group of letters. The more people the better. Just imagine the representatives when they see all those letters thinking, “Wow, there are a lot of people wanting this. I better do something or they are not going to support me.”

So, that means, every student, teacher, parent, engineer, and anyone else involved in your team each writing one letter to the representative in your district. Take a look at the “Sample Letter to Representatives” to see how to write one of those letters.

As the memo said, Timing is crucial . It is very important that your team get this done as soon as possible.

Also, it is very important that teams arrange meetings with the representatives, because in-person meetings are far more effective than a letter. Advices for in-person and telephone meetings can be seen in the “Memo to teams”. This is not one of the times when you say “I am too lazy to do this…” because whatever effort you aren’t putting forth, will come back when you have to work 10 times harder trying to get money out of sponsors.

So, I urge that all of you out there pay serious attention to this. If you are a student on your team, inform your team leader about this. If you are a team leader, talk to your team about it. This isn’t something casual you just skim through and ignore. We need the help of EVERYONE to make this work. So, get as many people as possible on your team to write a letter to the representative, and figure out who you want to bring to the in-person meeting with the representatives.

If this legislation is passed, you will be sure FIRST will make use of every penny from the $2,000,000.

Thanks for your time!

-Ken Leung

P.S. Just so it is easier for you, here is a list of teams we are asking to help with this.

1
33
47
65
68
73
92
94
111
128
174
191
201
211
226
300
304
308
321
340
382
386
401
405
406
414
416
422
435
444
451
469
554
561
563
573
578
587
600
618
619
638
642
648
665
677
762
801
837
859
872
891
892
900
926
945
963
975
977
979
1008
1030
1037
1065
1068
1083
1093
1113
1188
1218
1236

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As a side note to MI teams that aren’t listed in the district under Knollenburg, his is probably the district with a larger amount of FIRST teams than most:

Auburn Hills, Berkley, Beverly Hills, Bingham Farms, Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Bloomfield Township, Clawson, Farmington Hills, Farmington, Franklin, Keego Harbor, Lake Angelus, Oakland Township, Orchard Lake, Orion Township, Pontiac, Rochester Hills, Rochester, Royal Oak, Sylvan Lake, Troy, Waterford, and West Bloomfield Township.

This makes the team list:
1, 33, 47, 65, 68, 94, 201, 226, 247, 302, 308, 406, 469, 448, 573, 835, 1037, 1188, 1213

4

Hey people. Let’s think about this for a second.

I love FIRST and all it stands for with all my heart, but we can’t let our hearts cloud our judgement here. Do we really want the government funding private industry? For me, the answer is a resounding “No!”

This goes against everything that capitalism is. FIRST is a private organization and should rely on private funding. If FIRST fails miserably because it runs out of corporate support, then that must happen. It’s our job as members of this organization to lobby companies for the support we need.

The federal government should spend our taxes on protecting our Constitutional rights and defending us from foreign attack, not on FIRST.

5

I love FIRST and all it stands for with all my heart, but we can’t let our hearts cloud our judgement here. Do we really want the government funding private industry?

Yes. It is the only way that some things will get done. It makes it profitable for companies to research helpful things that will not usually be high on their list to do. I forgot what Bush said he wanted to be developed. I believe it had to do with fuel cells. Besides I want the government funding money to get new technologies.

6

The government is not “buying” FIRST, just funding it. I don’t know who wouldn’t jump at the chance of $2 mil if anyone gave it to them. If the government has money to burn, let them spend it on FIRST. You really didn’t back up your statments with what is so wrong with the gov. funding FIRST. FIRST is a private organization but that doesn’t mean it can’t obtain federal funding. What makes FIRST anyway, our nation’s schools right?

Why does it only take only a few posts for someone to make a wonderful thread go bad?

7

This legislation (in a nutshell) says that the $2 million would be added to NASA’s budget for the sole purpose of sponsoring teams. It doesn’t come out of NASA’s current budget, this is new money. NASA’s already sponsoring teams, I don’t see any reason why they shouldn’t be able to sponsor more if given the proper funding.

-Bill Gold

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I’m interested in helping (hopefully so will be team 294 when they see this) but we aren’t on the list. How can we contribute?

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Anyone not on the list of targeted teams who would like to show their support is encouraged to do so. You can do this by contacting your own congressperson, as well as other nearby congress members and follow the same instructions that are in the memo I linked to earlier. The reason we’re targeting those specific teams is that the first step in passing this appropriation is to move it out of that specific subcommittee in the House of Representatives, and those teams are located in and/or near the districts of the members of that subcommittee. Please feel free to talk to any congressperson you can and let them know that they should support this appropriation and that they should contact Zoe Lofgren and offer to sign onto a “Letter of Support” for this appropriation, or get in touch with the members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on VA, HUD and express their support for this appropriation. Thanks for your interest Daniel.

-Bill Gold

10

*Originally posted by George1083 *
**Hey people. Let’s think about this for a second.

…

The federal government should spend our taxes on protecting our Constitutional rights and defending us from foreign attack, not on FIRST. **

I could complain that the cost of FIRST sponsorship by the private sector is ultimately passed on to me, the consumer. But that would make as little sense as complaining that my taxes were being spent that way. Either way, it’s not a cost, but an investment.

The battlefield of the very near future will include a mix of RC and autonomous vehicles. At least that’s way our side has it planned. Is it not worth the investment to provide that it’s American bots rather than American boots that hit the ground in our defense? Can we afford to loose those engagements simply because our brightest minds decided that protecting our way of life was someone else’s job?

Think long and hard about that!

11

*Originally posted by Bill Gold *
…$2 million…added to NASA’s budget for…sponsoring teams.

Budget: $2,000,000
Robot Cost: $4,000 (Including replacement parts)

2,000,000 / 4,000 = 500.

500 teams could have their bot fully financed by NASA over the next to years. Or 1,000 teams could get 1/2 of their bot financed by NASA. If the government should pull all FIRST funding, there would be a large deficit. Including regionals dropping and teams dropping.

I would like to see $2m come into FIRST’s hands, even if $1 is never to reach me directly, regardless of source.

12

*Originally posted by sanddrag *
**The government is not “buying” FIRST, just funding it. I don’t know who wouldn’t jump at the chance of $2 mil if anyone gave it to them. If the government has money to burn, let them spend it on FIRST. You really didn’t back up your statments with what is so wrong with the gov. funding FIRST. FIRST is a private organization but that doesn’t mean it can’t obtain federal funding. What makes FIRST anyway, our nation’s schools right?

Why does it only take only a few posts for someone to make a wonderful thread go bad? **

The government really doesnt have money to burn… we have a debt that is somewhere around/over 30 trillion dollars I believe. And although I dont agree with George, I do understand his reasoning, and technically he is correct. The system of Capitalism is supposed to be run by the people for the people, not by the government. Thatd be Socialism/communism/totalitarianism.

And why do you say a wonderful thread went bad? I havent seen any problem so far…

Cory

13

2 points.
1st. do you know where “your” taxes really go? Do you have any idea how many special interest groups get money for nothing? Do some research on federal grants some time, you won’t mind FIRST getting a little bit more of the pie. This is a good cause that will benifit the US eventually.

2nd. It would be nice if that money went directly to FIRST that way all teams benefit. If the cost of registration was $1000 less per event or even for the first event that could really make a difference to many teams. Not everybody gets the NASA grant.

14

The government really doesnt have money to burn… we have a debt that is somewhere around/over 30 trillion dollars I believe. And although I dont agree with George, I do understand his reasoning, and technically he is correct. The system of Capitalism is supposed to be run by the people for the people, not by the government. Thatd be Socialism/communism/totalitarianism.

And yet America has been in debt since it’s creation. There have been times where we had surplus but that usually was quickly spent.

15

I just sent my letter to Rep. Knollenberg. Even though my team is not in his district, I was careful to mention that I am a voter in his district.

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I wanted to thank so many of you for your interest and support. I received many emails, IMs, and a PM regarding this matter yesterday afternoon and evening. I also wanted to say that every letter to your congressperson or conversation with their staff counts. It’s not everyday that these people deal with such a huge grassroots movement. FIRST teams, facilitated by the ChiefDelphi forums and email addresses on teams’ sites, have the ability to heavily influence our government. Make no mistake about it. We can be a huge lobbying group if we choose to do so. Our potential combined with a few legislators’ willingness to help us makes for a powerful combination to help change the culture of our country, which is the purpose of FIRST. This $2,000,000 over two years is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of pro-FIRST legislation that the LFFS has in the works at this time. The sky is the limit for all of us if we take our lobbying ability seriously. Everyone counts.

-Bill Gold

PS-
I just wanted to add that if you’re going to write a letter, you shouldn’t snail mail it to Washington D.C. Apparently, because of anthrax scares, everything mailed to Washington D.C. is delayed by a week or a few weeks. So if you’re going to write letters you should fax them to the congressperson’s office. But actually meeting with the congressperson’s local staff in person and hand delivering the letter is most effective, especially if you ask to be informed as to the position the congressperson takes on the appropriation. That way they can see your enthusiasm and interest in person, and then relay that onto the congressperson :).

17

In addition to Bill’s suggestions above, you can contact your Rep. electronically at the following web page:

http://www.house.gov/writerep/

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*Originally posted by Jack Jones *
**http://www.house.gov/writerep/ **

Thanks Jack - just sent in my team’s letter via this method.

It would be nice to see our representative James Walsh get off his butt and do something good for Central New York…

Aaron Knight
Webmaster and Videographer
Team 891: Neverending Chaos…
http://first891.topcities.com

19

I agree that on a moral basis, the govenrment should not give $2,000,000 (I just love the zeros) to FIRST or to NASA to give to FIRST because there are better things that it could be given to. I am even more strongly opposed to the logic that FIRST should get the money because other less worthy groups are getting it (honestly, to apply that to a more shocking situation, that"s almost like saying that stealing parts to use on your robot is alright because people steal for much worse reasons). Even though I don"t like the idea of the government giving FIRST $2,000,000 because it feels it should do something, but I believe it would give FIRST much needed publicity and would gain respect from greedy, selfish buggers because money would get the attention of profitable benefactors (if you saw that the government gave $2,000,000 to someone, you might also believe that they would be a good non-profit group to give some too as well). So I"m all for it, and I"ll get the teams in my state (there are few enough of us for me to do that) to help with this, and I"ll try and get my teamate"s father who works as the head of some part of Homeland Security to put in a good word for us (“FIRST is neccesary for the defense of freedom and democracy around the world”).

…ugh…how unstructured…and such transient logic and opinion too…

20

*Originally posted by pauluffel *
I agree that on a moral basis, the govenrment should not give $2,000,000 (I just love the zeros) to FIRST … Even though I don"t like the idea of the government giving FIRST $2,000,000 because it feels it should do something, but I believe it would give FIRST much needed publicity and would gain respect from greedy, selfish buggers because money would get the attention of profitable benefactors … So I"m all for it

So you don’t think it’s right for the government to give money to FIRST, but because it would end out allright in the end, you are for it anyway?

Anyway, I hate to divert the topic of this thread, but I’ll see if I can add anything to this debate. The government’s purpose, stated in the preamble to the constitution, is “to form a more perfect union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” Now, my first point: government-provided education promotes the general welfare. I doubt many people would argue against public education (well, the basic precept of it, that is–I know some argue against its current implementation). Funding FIRST is just a way to further educate our nation’s youth. Now, onto my second point: funding FIRST is an investment in the future. As Dean Kamen said at a meeting on Capitol Hill, we shouldn’t be begging congress for money and grants, or paying homage to buisnessmen … they should be coming to us and wanting to give us money, and to invest in science and technology because they see that it does them good. Now, this won’t happen until our culture changes, and that is a big part of what FIRST is trying to do–spread enthusiasm for science and technology. I personally think it’s great that the government wants to increase their already tremendous support for FIRST.

I hope that made at least some sense. On another note, our team was not listed. In short … is there any way to help, even though my team was not listed?

Stephen

PS.

Constitution to the United States of America. Article I, Section II.
**To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries; **

I know this is about patents and copyrights, but it at least shows that the framers saw promoting the progress of science as a legitimate function of the federal governmet.