In recent meetings with legislators in Washington, D.C., representatives of the American Society for Quality offered quality expertise in support of President Bush’s American Competitiveness Initiative and health care issues that are currently before Congress. The meetings have focused on two hot topics in the quality community: innovation and health care. The ACI proposes increased federal funding for research and development on U.S. math and science education, including the development of new workforce training systems and standards for assessing program effectiveness and efficiency. Daniel Byers, deputy chief of staff to Office of Science and Technology policy director John H. Marburger, said that the ASQ could play an important role in creating new measurement and metric systems and statistical reports to ensure that taxpayer dollars supporting the program are well spent.

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