TO: UCGIS Winter Meeting Participants
FROM: Jack Sanders, Executive Director, UCGIS
DATE: January 30, 2006
SUBJECT: Congressional Contact

There are two opportunities for contact with congressional staff during our Winter Meeting. You should invite staff from the offices of your Representative and Senators to the morning session in the Library of Congress, Members Room ( http://www.loc.gov/jefftour/cm/)  , at 9 am on February 9, and also arrange an appointment to meet with them personally in their offices on Friday morning, February 10. If your university has a federal relations director, you should inform that office of your plans. FYI: This year the congressional session on Thursday morning will not include a breakfast – a complimentary breakfast is served for guests by the Capitol Hill Suites from 6-9 am.

  1. Call your members of Congress through these numbers:
    House of Representatives – 202-224-3131 (often busy) or select a Representative at http://clerk.house.gov/members
    Senate – 202-224-3091 (also often busy) or select a Senator at http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
  2. Ask to speak to staff members who have responsibility for homeland security/emergency management and science issues. This may be more than one person.
  3. Explain who you are and that UCGIS is sponsoring several presentations on current GIS research related to disaster preparedness, mitigation and recovery in the Members Room of the Library of Congress, Jefferson Building, from 9-10:30 am on Thursday, February 9.
  4. Invite them to attend the session, and make a separate appointment to come by their office the next morning. Our meeting provides time for congressional appointments Friday morning until the 11:30 am lunch at the hotel. See the final schedule on our web site at http://www.ucgis.org/winter2006/schedule.htm.
  5. Our purpose in these meetings is to inform congressional leaders and staff about the importance of scientific research, and GIS in particular, to national welfare and security, and in particular the contributions to disaster preparedness, mitigation and recovery. The invitation being distributed to congressional offices is reproduced below in 10 point type for your information.

     

Invitation
Annual Congressional Day
University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS)
Thursday, February 9, 2005 ● 9:00-10:30 a.m.
Members Room ● Library of Congress, Jefferson Building

Please join us again this year for the annual UCGIS presentation of some of the latest geographic information science research. In previous years, we have heard from university-based researchers on topics such as the following:

The continuing interest in issues related to unexpected events has led us to focus this year on the contributions of geospatial information science and technology to disaster preparedness, mitigation, and recovery. The following research has been selected for presentation at the morning session on Thursday, February 9, in the historic Members Room of the Library of Congress:

GIS-based Decision Support for Hurricane Disaster Relief
Mark W. Horner, Florida State University

Anticipating and Responding to Unexpected Events: Supporting Real-World Geo-Information Exploration
Alan M. MacEachren, Pennsylvania State University

Setting Wildfire Evacuation Trigger-Points using GIS
Thomas J. Cova, University of Utah

Integrated Research and Implementation in GIScience and Extreme Events: Developing Tools for Mitigation and Response
Chris S. Renschler, NCGIA, University at Buffalo (SUNY)

Congressional staff with interests in emergency management, health, scientific research, homeland security, and related issues are welcome