- Budget and Appropriations Update
- House Nears Completion on FY20 Appropriations Measures
- Senate FY20 Appropriations Efforts Stall Without Budget Caps Deal
- Projections Show U.S. to Hit Debt Limit Early September
- House Advances FY20 NDAA
- House Passes Legislation to Reduce Green Card Backlog
- Senate Confirms Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education
- Senate Confirms New ARPA-E Director
- NSF Director Issues Dear Colleague Letter on Research Protection
- NIH Releases Updated Foreign Funding Guidelines
- AAU, Organizations to HHS Secretary: Do Not Limit Fetal Tissue Research
- NSTC Holds Joint Committee on the Research Environment Meeting
- NIST Extends Controlled Unclassified Information Comment Deadline
- Education Dept Responds to Section 117 Reporting Guidance Requests
- NACUBO Campaign Encourages Senate to Mirror House FY20 Labor-HHS-Ed Funds
- AAU, Associations Support Bipartisan STRONGER Patents Act
- ACTION ALERT: FY20 Infrastructure Funding Needs and Examples
- Upcoming Events
BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE
Only 21 combined legislative days remain until the new fiscal year.
Lawmakers returned from recess this week to continue work on FY20 appropriations. House leaders are now not expected to take up the two outstanding funding measures – Legislative Branch and Homeland Security – before August recess due to party divisions and “diminishing floor time.”
The Senate has not begun their appropriations process due to uncertainty over a potential deal to raise the Budget Control Act’s spending caps for FY20 and FY21. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) reportedly stated that the Senate would continue to work toward a bipartisan deal to raise the caps and avoid the need for a stopgap funding measure and short-term debt relief.
The parties remain divided over FY20 spending levels, as Democrats push for $647 billion in nondefense spending. That is 7 percent over FY19 levels and $100+ billion over the administration’s $543 billion request.
However, in signs that momentum may be building toward a deal, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) yesterday spoke twice with Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and was scheduled to have another call with him today. Meanwhile, Secretary Mnuchin, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, and acting OMB Director Russ Vought are scheduled to meet with Sen. McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to discuss the spending caps and the federal debt limit.
Simultaneously, both sides are preparing for the likelihood that a deal may not be reached quickly enough. OMB has told federal agencies to begin preparing for a one-year temporary funding measure that would extend current funding levels. And the House Appropriations Committee majority staff are preparing a short-term funding measure to extend government operations through the end of the calendar year if negotiators cannot reach a larger deal before appropriations lapse.
Currently, the federal government is using so-called “extraordinary measures” to avoid defaulting on the nation’s debt. According to new projections, the “X Date” when the government will exhaust those measures and reach its borrowing limit could come as early as the first half of September. This adds new urgency to both the budget negotiations and the need to pass a measure to lift the debt limit. Speaker Pelosi has said she will not support a debt limit measure without an agreement to raise the FY20 and FY21 budget caps. Congressional leaders originally sought to tackle the debt ceiling and budget caps together, but lack of a bipartisan agreement to raise the caps could force a separate action to avoid a U.S. debt default.
RESOURCE AVAILABLE: FY20 Budget and Appropriations Resources | AAU and APLU Urge Congressional Leaders to Raise Discretionary Spending Caps for FY20 and 21
HOUSE ADVANCES FY20 NDAA
The House Wednesday began debate on its version of the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act, H.R. 2500, which budgets $733 billion for defense, $17 billion less than the president’s requested levels. The White House yesterday released a statement of administration policy which threatened to veto the House NDAA due to “a number of provisions that raise deep concerns.”
The House Rules Committee Tuesday set up 439 amendments for debate and floor votes. A proposed amendment by Representative Banks, “Transparency of Defense-Funded Research and Engineering Activities,” was modified but ultimately not accepted for floor consideration.
RESOURCE AVAILABLE: Department of Defense Research Funding Table FY20
HOUSE PASSES LEGISLATION TO REDUCE GREEN CARD BACKLOG
The House Wednesday passed H.R. 1044 , the “Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019,” which would adjust “country caps” that limit the percentage of employment-based green cards given to immigrants from any single nation. The measure, which passed with overwhelming bipartisan support, will help reduce the backlog of green card applications from countries such as India and China that have many high-skilled employees working in the United States. Currently, federal law caps the proportion of employment-based green cards distributed to immigrants from any single country at 7 percent, causing certain populations to face longer wait times than other applicants and restricting the ability of American businesses and institutions to attract and retain outstanding talent. The Senate has not yet acted on a companion bill.
SENATE CONFIRMS ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION
On July 11, the Senate confirmed Robert L. King as Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education by a vote of 56-37. King began working as a senior advisor at the Education Department last year and previously served as Chancellor of the SUNY system.
I think if you place these anywhere above the Upcoming Events & ICYMI sections, that should be good, but Luis & Jillian can confirm.
SENATE CONFIRMS NEW ARPA-E DIRECTOR
On June 27, the Senate confirmed Lane Genatowski to be the Department of Energy’s (DoE’s) Director of Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy (ARPA-E). Genatowski holds degrees in economics and law and spent more than 30 years as an investment banker in the energy sector.
NSF DIRECTOR ISSUES DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER ON RESEARCH PROTECTION
National Science Foundation Director France Cordova yesterday issued a Dear Colleague Letter on research protection to outline her concerns about the activities of foreign governments, particularly when they “endeavor to benefit from the global research system without upholding the values of openness, transparency, and reciprocal collaboration.” To streamline the process senior project personnel use to disclose project support, NSF proposes an electronic format for submitting background information beginning in January 2020. In the letter, Cordova mentions that NSF has commissioned JASON to conduct a study to assess risks and recommend best practices for NSF and awardees to maintain balance between openness and security of scientific research. The letter also reaffirms that NSF personnel and Intergovernmental Personnel Act assignees cannot participate in foreign government talent recruitment programs.
NIH RELEASES UPDATED FOREIGN FUNDING GUIDELINES
The NIH on Wednesday released its awaited Reminders of NIH Policies on Other Support and Policies related to Financial Conflicts of Interest and Foreign Components.” The refreshed policy provides guidelines for principal investigators and co-principal investigators regarding what foreign funding or support they must disclose to the NIH. The FAQ section provides several examples to more fully illustrate reporting requirements.
AAU, ORGANIZATIONS TO HHS SECRETARY: DO NOT LIMIT FETAL TISSUE RESEARCH
AAU, along with 91 other higher education organizations and institutions, yesterday sent a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to express collective concern over the department’s policy affecting research using fetal tissue cells. In the letter, the group states that the policy “would impose substantial barriers to and limit the use of an essential biomedical research resource that has led to many advances in human health and remains critical for the development of new treatments for a wide range of serious diseases.”
RESOURCE AVAILABLE: AAU, AAMC, and APLU Troubled By Limits on Fetal Tissue Research
NSTC HOLDS JOINT COMMITTEE ON THE RESEARCH ENVIRONMENT MEETING
The National Science and Technology Council Wednesday hosted a meeting of the NSTC Joint Committee on the Research Environment. According to the NSTC, the committee and its four subcommittees met to discuss the most pressing challenges facing America’s research and scientific community, including “recent efforts to ensure that American research and development activities reflect and contribute to the highest ideals of America’s values, and that American scientists, students, technologists, and engineers are afforded safe, productive, and innovative research environments.”
Led by OSTP Director Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier and NSTC Executive Director Chloe Kontos, the committee is composed of four subcommittees: the Subcommittee on Safe and Inclusive Research Environments, the Subcommittee on Rigor and Integrity in Research, the Subcommittee on Research Security, and the Subcommittee on Reducing Administrative Burden.
NIST EXTENDS CONTROLLED UNCLASSIFIED INFORMATION COMMENT DEADLINE
The National Institute of Standards and Technology Wednesday announced it would extend to August 2 the deadline to submit comments on its updated Special Publication on Protecting Controlled Unclassified Information in Nonfederal Systems and Organizations. The update included changes that could significantly expand the scope and cost of meeting institutional reporting guidelines for controlled unclassified information.
AAU is working with higher education associations to submit comments.
EDUCATION DEPT RESPONDS TO SECTION 117 REPORTING GUIDANCE REQUESTS
The Education Department Deputy Mitchell Zais recently replied to repeated requests for clarification on the interpretation of Section 117 of the Higher Education Act, which requires institutions who receive Title IV federal student aid funds to report to the department gifts received from foreign sources. In the letter, Secretary Zais confirmed colleges and universities would be required to report foreign gifts but failed to provide any insight or clarification previously requested by the higher education community.
AAU, together with ACE, APLU, and four other higher education associations, sent a letter to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos including questions about the interpretation of Section 117 of the Higher Education Act. The department this year began investigating Section 117 compliance at higher education institutions, and the letter says without guidance, “it is nearly impossible to ensure compliance.” The organizations had previously sent a letter in January 2019 and in April met with Office of Federal Student Aid staff to discuss these questions.
NACUBO CAMPAIGN ENCOURAGES SENATE TO MIRROR HOUSE FY20 LABOR-HHS-ED FUNDS
The National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) recently launched a campaign to encourage Senate to pass a FY20 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education bill that matches House funding. To participate or learn more about the campaign, text “ studentaid” to 52886, or visit the campaign’s website here.
AAU, ASSOCIATIONS SUPPORT BIPARTISAN STRONGER PATENTS ACT
AAU, together with AAMC, APLU, AUTM, and COGR, Wednesday released a statement to support the bipartisan STRONGER Patents Act in the House and Senate. Introduced by Representatives Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Bill Foster (D-IL), and Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Tom Cotton (R-AR), the legislation would stem abuses of the U.S. patent system while also taking important steps to improve it. In the statement, the organizations state that “universities and academic medical centers rely on robust, enforceable patents to ensure their research discoveries will be developed into products and innovative techniques that improve quality of life and fuel economic growth.”
UPCOMING EVENTS
JULY 23 HISTORY OF AMERICAN ENTERPRISE AND INNOVATION SHOWCASE; 4:00 p.m. Room 485, Russell Senate Office Building. For more information and to RSVP, see the invitation here.
SEPTEMBER 10 GOLDEN GOOSE AWARDS; 5:30 p.m. at the Library of Congress. See the Save the Date for more information.