- Congress and Administration Begin Preparing “Phase Four” COVID-19 Bill
- Associations Urge Governors to Provide Licensing Reciprocity for Healthcare Providers
- Higher Education Community Requests Education Department Expedite Essential Aid
- EPA Announces Extended Comment Deadline for Science Transparency Rule SNPRM
- OSTP Director Kelvin Droegemeier Named Acting Director of NSF
- AAU Joins Organizations to Request Future Study of COVID-19 Response
- AAU, Organizations Urge Robust Investment in Agriculture FY21 302(b) Allocation
CONGRESS AND ADMINISTRATION BEGIN PREPARING “PHASE FOUR” COVID-19 BILL
Congress and the administration are preparing elements of a fourth COVID-19 bill to provide additional relief and economic stimulus, according to Politico. Congress is expected to consider a package as soon as it reconvenes later this month or in May. AAU is working with ACE, APLU, AAMC, and other higher education and research organizations to revise and update the research, higher education, and tax relief proposals in light of the CARES Act and remaining and new needs caused by the continuing pandemic.
ASSOCIATIONS URGE GOVERNORS TO PROVIDE LICENSING RECIPROCITY FOR HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS
Yesterday, AAU joined ACE and 62 other higher education associations on a letter to all state governors, urging them to temporarily suspend or modify state healthcare licensing restrictions and to allow reciprocity of healthcare licenses across state lines. Healthcare providers often must maintain licenses in each state where they render services to patients, and the organizations say that allowing reciprocity would “ensure that sufficient healthcare and mental health services are available to meet the needs of individuals in their state.” HHS Secretary Alex Azar sent a letter on March 24 to governors asking them to ease licensing strictures, but HHS does not itself have the authority to waive such state licensing rules.
HIGHER EDUCATION COMMUNITY REQUESTS EDUCATION DEPARTMENT EXPEDITE ESSENTIAL AID
AAU yesterday joined ACE and 39 other higher education organizations on a letter to Secretary Betsy DeVos to urge that the Education Department provide emergency relief quickly and with maximum flexibility to students and universities included in the CARES Act. The associations note that while the funding is “is far below what is essential to respond to the financial disasters confronting” students, it is important for the department to act quickly to make the funds available and provide the necessary guidance for their use on campus.
EPA ANNOUNCES EXTENDED COMMENT DEADLINE FOR SCIENCE TRANSPARENCY RULE SNPRM
The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday announced it would extend to the deadline for comment on the supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking for its “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” rule to May 18. Originally published April 30, 2018, the rule would restrict the scientific research EPA considers in rulemaking to research for which the underlying data is publicly available for independent validation. The SNPRM expands the scope of the rule to include “influential scientific information” in addition to research underlying regulatory actions.
RESOURCE AVAILABLE: AAU, Associations Request Extension for EPA SNPRM for Science Transparency Rule
OSTP DIRECTOR KELVIN DROEGEMEIER NAMED ACTING DIRECTOR OF NSF
Following the departure of Dr. France Córdova, the National Science Foundation on Wednesday announced that Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier will serve as NSF’s acting director, effective March 31, 2020. Droegemeier will continue to serve as the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and as the president’s science advisor. He previously served on the National Science Board.
AAU JOINS ORGANIZATIONS TO REQUEST FUTURE STUDY OF COVID-19 RESPONSE
On Monday, AAU joined 38 other organizations on a pair of letters to House and Senate Labor, HHS, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee leaders to request that they fund a comprehensive, science-based, and nonpartisan review of the COVID-19 response once the immediate public health emergency has passed. The organizations say a nonpartisan review would recommend best practices to ensure coordination and collaboration across local, state, and federal entities; facilitate clear, consistent communication of information; create increased public health capacity; ensure that laboratories can scale capacity to meet needs; and more.
AAU, ORGANIZATIONS URGE ROBUST INVESTMENT IN AGRICULTURE FY21 302(B) ALLOCATION
AAU, along with 49 other organizations, on Tuesday sent a letter to congressional appropriations leaders urging them to provide the highest possible FY21 funding for the Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittees to support the Department of Agriculture’s newly announced goal of stimulating “innovation to substantially increase production while simultaneously cutting the environmental footprint of U.S. agriculture.” The letter went on to say: “Strong funding for the Agriculture appropriations bill, including in particular its research, education, extension, and economics programs, is a critical step toward meeting the Innovation Agenda goal and the United States reclaiming its global lead in food and agricultural science and technology.”