Dear Colleagues of the ALCPG,
We urge our US colleagues to interact
with their elected representatives, by
1.) writing your representatives now regarding the
negative impact of the FY08 omnibus appropriations
bill on HEP and the ILC, if you have not already done so;
2.) planning to visit your Congressmen during the February
recess to urge them to support increased funding in
the FY09 appropriations process.
You have likely received a message from the APS asking
you to join the letter writing campaign.
(See http://www.aps.org/policy/tools/alerts)
We urge you to participate in that campaign, if you have not
already done so. Please emphasize the impact this has
directly on your work, since representatives are more
inclined to react when they know you are directly impacted.
Some suggestions on things to mention in your letter:
1. be as factual as possible;
2. don't whine;
3. thank your Congressman for past support, if appropriate;
4. start with the bigger picture of bad budgets for the Office of
Science and NSF and work down to the HEP impact;
5. stress the importance of international partnerships in HEP,
and its role in facilitating international cooperation;
6. mention the impacts of the field to broader values to society;
7. say you have been encouraged by the expressions of bipartisan
support, and urge Congress to translate those expressions into
legislation;
8. express the impact of the omnibus appropriations bill, emphasizing
local impact.
We hope you will find some time to help with this effort.
Best regards,
Jim and Mark
-------------------------------------
James E. Brau
Knight Professor of Natural Science
Physics Department
and Center for High Energy Physics
1274 University of Oregon
Eugene, OR 97403-1274
(541) 346-4766
