CONTENTS
BUDGET, APPROPRIATIONS & TAX ISSUES
- Obama Administration to Propose Reinstating Year-Round Pell Grant
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
- NSB’s 2016 Report Shows China Gaining on U.S. in R&D Investment
OTHER
- AAU Board Expresses Support for Research on Gun Violence, Gun Safety
BUDGET, APPROPRIATIONS & TAX ISSUES
OBAMA ADMINISTRATION TO PROPOSE REINSTATING YEAR-ROUND PELL GRANT
When the Administration sends the President’s FY17 budget to Congress on February 8, the package will include a $2 billion-a-year proposal to reinstate year-round Pell Grant awards and provide a bonus for students who stay on track to graduation. Unlike the previous year-round Pell Grant—which was eliminated in a 2011 budget bill—the plan is designed to encourage students to earn their degrees.
The Administration’s proposal has two elements. The first, "Pell for Accelerated Completion," would allow full-time students to earn a third grant award for study over the summer, but only if they have taken at least 24 credits during the previous two semesters. Nearly 700,000 students would receive an average $1,915 in additional aid, officials said. The earlier version of the year-round Pell Grant had no such requirement.
The second element, an "On-Track Pell Bonus," is new. It would add $300 to the maximum award for students who take at least 15 credits per semester in an academic year—putting them on track to finish an associate degree in two years or a bachelor's in four.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
NSB’S 2016 REPORT SHOWS CHINA GAINING ON U.S. IN R&D INVESTMENT
The National Science Board’s (NSB) Science and Engineering Indicators 2016 shows the U.S. is still leading the world in research and development (R&D) spending, but China is catching up fast.
The annual report notes that the U.S. accounts for 27 percent of global R&D investment, while China accounts for 20 percent of the total. But China’s investment in R&D increased an average of 19 percent a year between 2003 and 2013, far faster than the U.S. rate of 4.5 percent a year.
OTHER
AAU BOARD EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR RESEARCH ON GUN VIOLENCE, GUN SAFETY
The AAU Board of Directors on January 21 issued a statement of support for federally funded research on gun safety and gun violence.
The Board expressed concern about the large number of gun-related deaths in the United States and noted, “With firearms causing approximately the same number of deaths in America as automobiles, it is clear that gun violence is a major public health problem for our country.” The statement adds:
While there can be honest disagreement about the most effective means of addressing gun violence, there should be no doubt that, like any other public health issue, the more we know about causes, about trends, and about potential remedies, the stronger basis we will have for effective action.
The Board expressed support for President Obama’s recent directive to the Justice Department and the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to conduct research on technology that can improve gun safety, and called on Congress to end its prohibition on federally funded public health research on gun violence.