- Budget and Appropriations Update
- President Trump Issues Executive Order on “Combating Anti-Semitism”
- House Advances FY20 NDAA Conference Report
- House Approves Amended FUTURE Act to Restore HBCU Funding, Simplify FAFSA
- AAU, Associations Urge Congress to Fix “Kiddie,” Parking, Endowment Taxes
- AAU, Associations Send Letter on Importance of OPT Program, Improving Visa Processing Times
- NSF Releases JASON “Fundamental Research Security” Report
- AAU, Associations Urge OSTP to Extend RFI Comment Period
- AAU and APLU Receive NSF Grant to Expand Access to Government-Funded Research
- Upcoming Events
BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE
Appropriators yesterday announced they had reached a deal “in principle” on $1.37 trillion in discretionary spending to fund the government until September 2020. The contents of this deal are forthcoming.
"I feel very good that we’ll have a good product that we can vote on, on Tuesday,” House Appropriations Chair Nita Lowey (D-NY) told the New York Times.
"It is my hope that we will consider those appropriations bills on the floor on Tuesday; perhaps a series of minibus packages to fund all of government for the remainder of the fiscal year," House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) told Roll Call yesterday.
The agreement addresses major sticking points in negotiations, including $1.375 billion for the White House’s border wall construction request, which is consistent with last year’s appropriations level. Senate Appropriations Chair Richard Shelby (R-AL) was optimistic that the president would support the lower figure, telling Roll Call “I think that we will be fine,” due to the administration’s involvement in the bipartisan discussions.
Lawmakers have one week to pass all 12 FY20 appropriations measures before the current continuing resolution runs out December 20.
PRESIDENT TRUMP ISSUES EXECUTIVE ORDER ON “COMBATING ANTI-SEMITISM”
The president today issued an executive order on “Combating Anti-Semitism.” The order states that "anti-Semitic incidents have increased since 2013 and students, in particular, continue to face anti-Semitic harassment in schools and on university and college campuses." The order goes on to say, “it shall be the policy of the executive branch to enforce Title VI against prohibited forms of discrimination rooted in anti-Semitism as vigorously as against all other forms of discrimination prohibited by Title VI.”
AAU will monitor the implementation of the order and its potential impact.
HOUSE ADVANCES FY20 NDAA CONFERENCE REPORT
The House Wednesday approved the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act conference report, which would advance the $735.2 billion measure to the president’s desk. Among its numerous Defense Department authorizations, the legislation would create a new Space Force within the Air Force and authorizes a 3.1 percent military pay raise. The measure also includes the AAU-endorsed Securing American Science and Technology Act, which directs the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to establish an interagency working group of federal science, intelligence, and security agencies and creates a National Academies Roundtable for the government and research communities to address threats.
The Senate is expected to vote on cloture as early as Monday.
RESOURCES AVAILABLE: AAU, Associations, and Universities Support the Securing American Science and Technology Act | AAU, APLU Send Letter to Lawmakers to Establish NDAA Conference Priorities
HOUSE APPROVES AMENDED FUTURE ACT TO RESTORE HBCU FUNDING, SIMPLIFY FAFSA
The House Tuesday advanced H.R. 2486, the “FUTURE Act,” legislation amended by the Senate to permanently reauthorize $255 million in annual funding to historically black colleges and universities and other minority-serving institutions. The measure would also streamline the FAFSA application process by allowing the IRS to share taxpayer information directly with the Education Department and would provide additional funding for the Pell Grant program. The measure now goes to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
AAU, together with ACE, APLU, and 39 other organizations, Monday sent a letter to House leaders to urge them to support this vital legislation.
RESOURCE AVAILABLE: AAU, Associations Urge Senate to Advance Amended Future Act to Restore HBCU Funding, Simplify FAFSA
AAU, ASSOCIATIONS URGE CONGRESS TO FIX “KIDDIE,” PARKING, ENDOWMENT TAXES
AAU on Monday joined 17 other higher education organizations on a letter to House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committee leaders to pass legislation to address issues in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, including the “kiddie,” parking, and endowment taxes, and to extend the above-the-line deduction for qualified tuition and related expenses. The letter says that these measures “inadvertently cause harm to many low- and middle-income students who rely on scholarship aid to pay for their college education,” take away valuable benefits to families that help them finance a college education, and damage the teaching and research missions of some institutions.
RESOURCE AVAILABLE: AAU, Associations Send Letter to the Senate Urging Action on Kiddie Tax Legislation
AAU, ASSOCIATIONS SEND LETTER ON IMPORTANCE OF OPT PROGRAM, IMPROVING VISA PROCESSING TIMES
AAU on Monday joined seven other higher education organizations to send a letter to State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Assistant Secretary Marie Royce to advocate for the future of the Optional Practical Training program and asking the bureau to improve visa processing times for students. The letter also calls on the State Department to convene a meeting with the Department of Homeland Security and other relevant agencies to affirm the OPT program will be maintained and to find ways to improve visa processing times for students. These efforts, the letter says, will help over 1 million “international students add to the United States’ intellectual and cultural vibrancy.”
NSF RELEASES JASON “FUNDAMENTAL RESEARCH SECURITY” REPORT
The National Science Foundation Wednesday released the JASON report on “Fundamental Research Security.” The NSF commissioned the JASON advisory group to conduct a study and make recommendations on ways to improve research integrity and maintain balance between openness and security of scientific research. The report affirms many principles that have guided past federal agency efforts to address research security.
The report calls on the NSF to expand “the umbrella of research integrity … to include full disclosure of commitments and actual or potential conflicts of interest” and recommends that failure to disclose such information be investigated and adjudicated by NSF and universities as presumptive violations of research integrity. The report includes a recommendation for expanded education and training in scientific ethics at universities to include information and examples covering conflicts of interest and commitment, especially as related to students or faculty who are receiving foreign research support or have relationships with foreign entities.
Importantly, the report recommends that NSF “support reaffirmation of the principles of NSDD-189," which make clear that fundamental research should remain unrestricted to the fullest extent possible, and should discourage the use of new Controlled Unclassified Information definitions as a mechanism to erect intermediate-level boundaries around fundamental research areas.
RESOURCES AVAILABLE: Fundamental Research Security Fact Sheet
AAU, ASSOCIATIONS URGE OSTP TO EXTEND RFI COMMENT PERIOD
AAU, along with AAMC, APLU, and COGR, last week sent a letter to the Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Science and Technology Council to request a 30-day extension of the comment period on their request for information on the research environment – which would move the deadline from December 23 to January 22. The request, issued by the OSTP and NSTC’s Joint Committee on the Research Environment , seeks input that the administration can use to “maximize the quality and effectiveness of the American research environment” from private industry, academic institutions, professional societies, non-profit and philanthropic organizations, and federal agencies.
RESOURCE AVAILABLE: Associations Request Comment Period Extension to RFI on the American Research Environment
AAU AND APLU RECEIVE NSF GRANT TO EXPAND ACCESS TO GOVERNMENT-FUNDED RESEARCH
AAU and APLU on Wednesday announced they have received a new grant of $191,000 from the National Science Foundation to create a set of guidelines to help universities as they develop and implement policies, practices, and procedures to ensure public access to federally funded research data. We are grateful for this grant and excited to expand our work in public access to data. The best science comes from broadly sharing data and results, enabling other researchers to further study and refine their knowledge on crucial scientific questions.
UPCOMING EVENTS
DECEMBER 20 GOLDEN GOOSE AWARD NOMINATIONS DUE; Submissions here, more information here.