- White House to Release FY21 Budget Request February 10
- From Mary Sue’s Desk: Ensuring an Accurate Census
- Education Department Announces New HEA Section 117 Foreign Gift and Contract Reporting System
- Commerce Department Issues New Artificial Intelligence Software Restrictions
- AAU, Associations Comment on USCIS Proposed Rule to Increased Visa Fees
WHITE HOUSE TO RELEASE FY21 BUDGET REQUEST FEBRUARY 10
The White House on Monday announced that it will release its proposed FY21 budget on February 10 according to Politico Pro. Details about the proposal are forthcoming, but the request is expected to adhere to spending levels set by last year’s deal to raise the Budget Control Act’s discretionary spending caps for two years.
The bipartisan agreement set FY21 spending levels at $671.5 billion for defense and $626.5 billion in non-defense spending, a combined increase of $10 billion over FY20 spending limits split equally between defense and nondefense spending, excluding Overseas Contingency Operations funding. The deal also suspended the debt ceiling through July 31, 2021.
FROM MARY SUE’S DESK: ENSURING AN ACCURATE CENSUS
AAU President Mary Sue Coleman today posted a blog highlighting the important role AAU’s 63 U.S. members will play in ensuring an accurate 2020 U.S. Census. The census is critical for many reasons, including: distribution of federal funds for student aid programs, mental health programs, and nutrition assistance; fair federal, state, and local legislative representation for the cities and towns that host our institutions; and accurate data for private-sector groups who serve our university communities.
President Coleman invites member universities to “join us in helping to ensure that the Census Bureau is able to accurately count every student at our institutions” by using the U.S. Census Bureau’s campus outreach materials available here.
EDUCATION DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES NEW HEA SECTION 117 FOREIGN GIFT AND CONTRACT REPORTING SYSTEM
The Education Department on December 23 announced it would allow institutions to choose between two HEA Section 117 Foreign Gift and Contract Reporting systems – the existing “E-App” system and a new system which the department plans to introduce later this month – to meet the department’s January 31 reporting deadline. The announcement comes in advance of the department’s pending implementation of the new reporting system, which is still subject to OMB approval and potential changes. In the Federal Register notice published in December, the department asked OMB to approve the new requirements by January 2. As of today, OMB has not completed its review.
RESOURCE AVAILABLE: AAU, Associations Comment on Foreign Gifts and Contracts Reporting Proposed Information Collection | AAU Comment Letter on Sec. 117
COMMERCE DEPARTMENT ISSUES NEW ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE SOFTWARE RESTRICTIONS
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security on Monday issued an interim final rule that imposes a narrow ban on the export of artificial intelligence software that uses neural networks to discover “points of interest” in geospatial imagery. The rule notes that the restriction only applies to software with graphical user interface, a feature that makes programs easier for non-technical users to run. Though the rule took effect Monday, January 6, BIS is accepting public comments until March 6, 2020.
AAU, ASSOCIATIONS COMMENT ON USCIS PROPOSED RULE TO INCREASE VISA FEES
AAU, along with ACE, APLU, and five other higher education associations, recently submitted comments on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services’ proposed rule to increase certain immigration and naturalization benefit request fees. The proposal includes a 21 percent weighted average increase in fees “without any evidence that the additional revenue generated will be used to reverse the ongoing slowdown in processing at DHS.” The associations encourage USCIS to “protect our national security while simultaneously ensuring that our institutions of higher education continue to be the destinations of choice for the world’s most talented students and scholars.”