CONTENTS
CONGRESSIONAL ISSUES
- House Approves 21st Century Cures Act
- AAU Issues Statement of Support for Cures Act
- Senate Committee Begins Work on COMPETES Act
- House Could Consider Patent Bill Week of July 20
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
- White House Issues S&T Priorities for FY17 Budget
- Associations Detail Concerns about Proposed Rule on Student Aid Funds
- AAU and COGR Comment on Controlled Unclassified Information
CONGRESSIONAL ISSUES
HOUSE APPROVES 21ST CENTURY CURES ACT
The House today approved the 21st Century Cures Act (H.R. 6) by an overwhelming vote of 344 to 77. The bill focuses on speeding drugs to market but also includes an Innovation Fund for the National Institutes of Health, which would receive a total of $8.75 in mandatory spending spread over five years.
Earlier, House leaders and the bill sponsors were able to defeat an amendment offered by Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) that would have changed funding for the Innovation Fund from mandatory to discretionary spending, where it would have competed with other health programs and education programs, including student financial aid. The Brat amendment was defeated on a vote of 141 to 281.
No companion bill has yet been introduced in the Senate.
AAU ISSUES STATEMENT OF SUPPORT FOR CURES ACT
AAU issued a statement on July 9 expressing strong support for the NIH funding elements of the 21st Century Cures Act (H.R. 6) and opposition to the Brat amendment.
SENATE COMMITTEE BEGINS WORK ON COMPETES ACT
Leaders of the Senate Commerce Committee this week began the process of reauthorizing the COMPETES Act, with the designation of Senators Cory Gardner (R-CO) and Gary Peters (D-MI) to lead a process of gathering recommendations from the scientific community and others about what should be included in the bill.
The COMPETES Act, which was first enacted in 2007 and renewed in 2010, authorizes programs and policies for the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. The House approved its version of the bill (H.R. 1806) in May. AAU opposed H.R. 1806.
According to the Commerce Committee’s press release, Senators Gardner and Peters will hold a series of meetings and briefings on the reauthorization. Topics “will include (1) maximizing basic research; (2) improving Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) education research and practices for students; and (3) translating federal research results into innovative commercial applications for the benefit of the economy and society.”
The release adds that members of the public and interested groups are invited to submit information about the bill to [email protected] no later than Friday, August 21.
HOUSE COULD CONSIDER PATENT BILL WEEK OF JULY 20
House Republican leaders plan to schedule the Innovation Act (H.R. 9) for House floor consideration during the week of July 20, reports Politico. H.R. 9 aims to address abusive patent litigation, but it is opposed by many organizations, including AAU, as going too far and making the protection of intellectual property more difficult and expensive for all patent holders.
Rep. Matt Salmon (R-AZ) on July 9 issued a Dear Colleague letter asking other House Members to support a letter to the House leadership urging them to slow down floor consideration of H.R. 9 in order to address concerns about the bill, including those raised by universities.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
WHITE HOUSE ISSUES S&T PRIORITIES FOR FY17 BUDGET
The White House on July 9 sent federal agency leaders its memorandum on science and technology (S&T) priorities for the President’s FY17 budget.
Among the continuing multi-agency S&T priorities are global climate change; clean energy; advanced manufacturing; and innovation in the life sciences, biology, and neurosciences.
ASSOCIATIONS DETAIL CONCERNS ABOUT PROPOSED RULE ON STUDENT AID FUNDS
A group of 10 higher education associations, including AAU, submitted comments to the Department of Education on July 2 expressing several concerns about the Department’s proposed rule on institutions’ management of federal student aid funds.
Among the chief concerns is that the proposed rule is too prescriptive and expensive to implement and would prompt third-party servicers and banks to abandon this market, leaving colleges and universities without valuable partners who have helped them improve services to students.
AAU, COGR COMMENT ON CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION
AAU and the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) on July 7 sent comments to the National and Archives Records Administration (NARA) regarding the agency’s proposed rule on controlled unclassified information.
The associations express support for the agency’s goal of establishing uniform federal policies and practices regarding information that requires safeguarding or dissemination controls, commonly referred to as controlled classified information (CUI). They urge NARA to clarify how the proposed rule would apply to universities and other contractors, and to more fully consider the regulatory burden it would impose on them. They also ask the agency to delay implementation of the rule to assure coordination with a pending Federal Acquisition Regulation rule.
Earlier this year, AAU and COGR submitted related comments to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) regarding NIST’s draft guidance on CUI (January, 23, 2015) and its revised CUI guidance (May 13, 2015).