Congressional M&S Caucus
NTSA works industry issues in conjunction with the Congressional Modeling & Simulation Caucus, which has been active since 2005.
The Congressional M&S Caucus currently has four co-chairs, from Virginia, Florida, Michigan and Illinois. These co-chairs represent strong support for the modeling and simulation industry and several of the primary hubs for Modeling & Simulation:
- Bobby Scott (VA-03)
- John Rutherford (FL-04)
- Jack Bergman (MI-01)
- Eric Sorensen (IL-17)
History of the M&S Caucus
In 2005, U.S. Representative Randy Forbes (Virginia-04) founded and chaired the Congressional Modeling & Simulation Caucus to advocate for its use in analysis, design, testing, and training. U.S. Representative Bobby Scott (Virginia-01) Co-Chaired the Caucus, and remains as the current Co-Chair and longest standing member. Caucus members advocate for the use of M&S technologies to save time, money, and even lives. Members support:
- A leadership summit held once a year to identify issues that can be addressed through Congress to increase the use of M&S for training.
- An expo held each July on Capitol Hill to provide staff and members with the opportunity to see demonstrations of the use of M&S across defense and other Government agencies.
- A Congressional special event each year in November at the I/ITSEC conference to provide members an opportunity to meet and hold a dialogue with the community.
Primer on Modeling and Simulation
NTSA developed and has updated (2024) A “Primer on Modeling and Simulation”. This document, developed on behalf of the Modeling and Simulation Congressional Caucus, describes the basic tenets of modeling and simulation, along with its applications to every day life. It is intended as an educational tool for Congressional Members and others on the benefits and applications of modeling and simulation to support national security, infrastructure, and defense.