CONTENTS
BUDGET, APPROPRIATIONS, AND TAX ISSUES
- President’s FY17 Budget Proposes Increases for Research, Higher Education
- AAU Posts Summary of Key FY17 Research and Higher Education Proposals
- AAU Issues Statement on the FY17 Budget
OTHER CONGRESSIONAL ISSUES
- House Approves NSF “National Interest” Bill
- AAU-APLU Statement Thanks Rep. Hultgren for His Amendment to FLIGHT R&D Bill
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
- Public-sector Employers Urge Congress to Oppose Labor Department’s Overtime Proposal
- IRS Issues Guidance on Subsidized Graduate Student Health Insurance
OTHER
- AAU Undergraduate STEM Education Initiative Receives New Helmsley Charitable Trust Grant
BUDGET, APPROPRIATIONS, AND TAX ISSUES
PRESIDENT’S FY17 BUDGET PROPOSES INCREASES FOR RESEARCH, HIGHER EDUCATION
The President’s FY17 budget, released February 9, proposes improvements in student financial aid programs and in tax provisions intended to make college more accessible, but, as AAU president Hunter Rawlings said in a statement released on February 9, it “does not live up to the President’s long-time commitment to funding research.”
The budget includes funding increases for research and science education, including new initiatives to find cures for cancer, bolster clean energy research and development, boost cybersecurity, and expand computer science education in K-12 schools, resulting in apparent funding increases for most of the key science agencies. However, much of the additional funding would come not from discretionary spending but from proposed mandatory funding streams that Congress will not seriously consider.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) reports that two-thirds of the proposed $6.2 billion increase for research and development—or $4 billion—would come from mandatory funding sources.
Nondefense discretionary spending in FY17 is largely flat, so actual increases in research would require cuts elsewhere in the budget, and the Administration chose not to propose such cuts.
As reported by AAAS, the FY17 budget would increase discretionary spending for the Department of Energy Office of Science by 4.2 percent, and for USDA’s Agriculture and Food Research Initiative by 7.1 percent (the Administration proposes to double the AFRI budget to $700 million with mandatory spending). Discretionary spending for the National Science Foundation would increase by 1.3 percent.
Although the Administration is proposing to increase funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $825 million, or 2.6 percent, the request includes $1.8 billion in mandatory funding, so discretionary spending for NIH actually would decline by $1 billion. The budget for NASA would be $19 billion, a cut of 1.4 percent, but since that includes $763 million in mandatory funding, discretionary spending for the space agency would actually drop by $1 billion, or 5.3 percent. The budget would cut Department of Defense basic research funding by $205 million, or 9 percent. DARPA would receive a 3.7-percent increase.
In higher education, the FY17 budget would reinstate the year-round Pell Grant and raise the maximum individual award by $20; create a single pay-as-you-earn student loan program; and support making two years of college free at community colleges, historically black colleges and universities, and minority-serving institutions. The budget also proposes to consolidate several higher education tax credits into an expanded American Opportunity Tax Credit.
Among several proposed tax increases, the Administration once again would cap the value of charitable deductions for high-income taxpayers and disallow the deduction for charitable contributions that are a prerequisite for purchasing tickets to college sporting events.
AAU Posts Summary of Key FY17 Research and Higher Education Proposals
AAU’s FY17 Budget Webpage includes a summary and analysis of budget proposals for key research and higher education programs, the AAU Funding Priorities Table, individual agency budget tables, individual agency budget materials, and the AAU statement about the budget. The AAU staff will continue to update these documents.
AAU Issues Statement on the FY17 Budget
The AAU statement about the President’s FY17 budget expresses serious concerns about the Administration’s use of unrealistic mandatory spending rather than discretionary spending to support research, and underscores the importance of bolstering student financial aid and reforming education tax credits.
The statement says, “The budget sets aspirational goals for research funding, which we commend, but, other than energy research, the proposed investments rely on mandatory funding streams that Congress will not seriously consider.” The statement adds that the nation’s investments in research and higher education will remain inadequate—threatening an innovation deficit—unless Congress and the President “are prepared to deal with the actual causes of the nation’s long-term fiscal issues.”
OTHER CONGRESSIONAL ISSUES
HOUSE APPROVES NSF “NATIONAL INTEREST” BILL
The House of Representatives on February 10 approved legislation to require the National Science Foundation (NSF) to affirm that each research grant it approves is in the national interest and, therefore, worthy of taxpayer support.
The Scientific Research in the National Interest Act ( H.R. 3293), authored by House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX), was approved on a largely party line vote of 236 to 178. The original language of the bill was the same as a provision in the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act, which the House approved last May.
The bill would require NSF to affirm in writing that each of its grant awards is worthy of federal funding and in the national interest. An award would be deemed in the national interest if it met one of seven criteria, including increasing U.S. economic competitiveness, advancing health, increasing scientific literacy, or promoting the progress of science in the U.S.
Among the amendments approved during House consideration were two offered by Reps. Shelia Jackson-Lee (D-TX) and Suzan DelBene (D-WA) to ensure that “research conducted is consistent with established and widely accepted scientific methods applicable to the field of study,” and that the criteria would not be applied to previously awarded NSF grants.
The White House’s Statement of Administration Policy says the President’s senior advisors would recommend that he veto the bill.
AAU-APLU STATEMENT THANKS REP. HULTGREN FOR HIS sUAS AMENDMENT
AAU and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) on February 11 issued a statement thanking Rep. Randy Hultgren (R-IL) for introducing an amendment to the FLIGHT R&D Act (H.R. 4489) that would prevent federal regulations from impeding university research and development (R&D) and teaching involving small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS).
The amendment was approved by voice vote during the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee’s markup of the bill.
Rep. Hultgren’s amendment would prevent the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from issuing regulations regarding small unmanned aircraft systems that are flown strictly for R&D and education.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
PUBLIC-SECTOR EMPLOYERS URGE CONGRESS TO OPPOSE LABOR DEPARTMENT’S OVERTIME PROPOSAL
A group of 30 higher education and public-sector organizations, including AAU, sent a letter to all Members of Congress on February 11 describing the harmful effects of the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed changes in the overtime pay exemption rules for certain “white collar” employees. They asked lawmakers to express concerns to the Administration.
Last September, AAU joined CUPA-HR and 16 other higher education organizations in filing extensive comments on the DOL proposal. DOL is still reviewing the many comments it received and is expected to issue a final rule in July.
Among proposed changes to the white collar exemption is a more than doubling of the annual salary threshold from $23,660 to $50,440. The associations said in their comments that the salary threshold should be raised, but argued that the proposed increase was too high and “would require many colleges and universities to reclassify employees that work in jobs that have always been exempt and are well-suited to exempt status.” For research universities, this would include postdocs.
The letter added that if the Department would not lower the proposed salary threshold, it should phase in the increase over time to allow employers and employees time to make adjustments and preparations.
IRS ISSUES GUIDANCE ON SUBSIDIZED GRADUATE STUDENT HEALTH INSURANCE
Universities will have one full academic year to bring their subsidized graduate student health insurance plans (SHIP) into compliance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to guidance issued February 5 by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Treasury Department.
According to CUPA-HR , this means that institutions will be able to continue offering subsidies for their graduate students during a plan or policy year beginning before January 1, 2017, without fear of liability under ACA.
CUPA-HR and other higher education associations, including AAU, disagree with the agencies’ interpretation of the law and will continue working with the agencies and Congress to resolve the issue.
OTHER
AAU UNDERGRADUATE STEM EDUCATION INITIATIVE RECEIVES NEW HELMSLEY CHARITABLE TRUST GRANT
AAU announced on February 11 that it has received a second significant grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to support the association’s undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education initiative. The initiative is supporting efforts to improve teaching of undergraduates in STEM disciplines, particularly in introductory courses.
The grant will enable AAU to continue to support departmental and institutional efforts to encourage, train, and recognize faculty members for effectively using proven, evidence-based teaching practices, and to assess the progress of the initiative’s eight university project sites, which were selected in 2013.