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AAU Weekly Wrap-up, June 26, 2020

  • FY21 Appropriations Update
  • Senate Considering “Phase Four” COVID-19 Relief Measure
  • Critical RISE Act Relief Would Support American Research Enterprise
  • AAU, Associations Seek Court Order to Delay Title IX Rule August 14 Start Date
  • Congress Advances National Defense Authorization Act
  • Reps. Introduce National Security Innovation Pathway Act to Retain Top Foreign Talent
  • Education Department Introduces Section 117 Foreign Gift Reporting Portal
  • AAU, Associations Urge Federal Reserve to Expand Main Street Lending Program
  • AAU Joins Associations to Comment on “Basketing Rule” NPRM

FY21 APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE

While the Senate Appropriations Committee has postponed expected subcommittee markups of FY21 appropriations measures, the House Appropriations Committee is expected to begin subcommittee markups on all 12 bills beginning on July 6 – with committee markups scheduled for July 9. According to CQ Budget, the committee’s expected markup schedule is as follows:

  • Monday, July 6: State-Foreign Operations, Agriculture, and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs subcommittee markups.
  • Tuesday, July 7: Homeland Security, Interior, Legislative Branch, Energy-Water, and Labor-Health and Human Services-Education subcommittee markups.
  • Wednesday, July 8: Commerce-Justice-Science; Transportation-Housing and Urban Development, Financial Services, and Defense subcommittee markups.
  • Thursday, July 9: State-Foreign Operations, Agriculture, and Military Construction-Veterans Affairs full committee markups. The committee will also vote on 302(b) spending allocations.
  • Friday, July 10: Energy-Water and Interior full committee markups.

The schedule of the remaining full committee markups scheduled for the week of July 13 is not yet available. The committee has not publicly released its 302(b) funding levels.

SENATE CONSIDERING “PHASE FOUR” COVID-19 RELIEF MEASURE

Senate Republicans have reportedly started to work on a new coronavirus aid package, but details are not yet publicly available. On Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin met with Republican senators to discuss relief provisions that could be included in the measure, including the possibility of another round of stimulus checks for taxpayers.

CRITICAL RISE ACT RELIEF WOULD SUPPORT AMERICAN RESEARCH ENTERPRISE

On Wednesday, Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Fred Upton (R-MI), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Frank Lucas (R-OK), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) introduced H.R. 7308, the “Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act.” The AAU-endorsed measure would authorize approximately $26 billion in relief funding to support the nation’s research workforce and offset costs related to laboratory closures and lost research productivity resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The measure’s provisions are consistent with the recommendations of AAU, APLU, AAMC, and ACE and those in a letter sent by over 180 Reps. to House leaders in April.

President Coleman released a statement applauding the effort, saying “this sorely needed funding and regulatory relief would help keep critical research personnel working and ensure that federally supported research projects can be restarted and completed despite the unprecedented disruptions caused by COVID-19.”

AAU, ASSOCIATIONS SEEK COURT ORDER TO DELAY TITLE IX RULE AGAINST AUGUST 14 START DATE

AAU this week joined 24 other organizations to submit amicus briefs to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia and to the federal district court in New York in support of a motion filed by attorneys general from 17 states and the District of Columbia that asked the court to delay the August 14 effective date for the Education Department’s new Title IX regulations. The motion followed the attorneys general filing a lawsuit challenging the substance of the new regulations and the process by which they were issued. The associations’ briefs focus on the “unique harms” that would result if the compliance deadline is not stayed and urges the court to enjoin that deadline to give colleges and universities more time to implement the new regulations.

RESOURCES AVAILABLE : AAU President Urges Delay of Complex Title IX Changes Due to COVID-19 Crisis | AAU, Associations Request Delay of Title IX Rule to Support Campus Reopening Efforts

CONGRESS ADVANCES NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT

The Senate Armed Services Committee is expected to begin debate on its version of the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act next week, and Politico reports that Senate leaders aim to pass the bill before July 4. The bill authorizes $740.5 billion for military and national security programs, including $300 million above the president’s request for Defense Department science and technology research. The measure also calls for review and assessment of the national security innovation base, including policies for attracting and retaining skilled immigrants.

The House Armed Services Committee is expected to consider its version of the NDAA next Wednesday. A summary of the bill can be found here and the chairman’s mark can be found here . The measure adds nearly $600 million in science and technology funding. According to Politico, the measure is also expected to include $1 billion for a “Pandemic Preparedness and Resilience National Security Fund” including: $750 million for military pandemic preparedness; $50 million for rapid production of medical countermeasures; and $200 million for small companies in the defense industrial base. House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-TX) said in a statement that he supports both the House and Senate NDAA measures as written.

RESOURCES AVAILABLE: FY21 Budget & Appropriations Resources | Department of Defense Research Funding Table FY21

REPS. INTRODUCE NATIONAL SECURITY INNOVATION PATHWAY ACT TO RETAIN TOP FOREIGN TALENT

House Committee on Armed Services members Rep. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) last week announced the introduction of the “National Security Innovation Pathway Act,” which will provide “pathway[s] to an immigrant visa for non-citizens engaged in essential work to promote and protect national security.” President Coleman praised the measure, saying it “takes a smart and modernized approach to the global race for talent. While America’s leading research universities draw the top minds from around the world, our nation’s outdated visa system requires many of these individuals to return home to compete against us.”

EDUCATION DEPARTMENT INTRODUCES SECTION 117 FOREIGN GIFT REPORTING PORTAL

On Monday, the Education Department unveiled a new reporting portal for Section 117 foreign gift reporting. Institutions are expected to begin using the new portal before the deadline July 31. More information about the portal, including finalized reporting requirements, submission information, and consequences for failure to comply, can be found here.

AAU, ASSOCIATIONS URGE FEDERAL RESERVE TO EXPAND MAIN STREET LENDING PROGRAM

AAU, together with ACE and 54 other higher education organizations on Monday submitted comments about the Main Street Lending Program and underscore the importance of expanding the program to nonprofit private and public colleges and universities. In addition to expanding the program, the organizations’ suggestions include: adjusting the list of qualifications for eligible borrowers; expanding the eligibility thresholds for colleges and universities; and expanding and changing the proposed loan terms to help colleges and universities continue to respond to COVID-19. “For our nation’s colleges and universities, access to affordable capital is a necessary lifeline as they navigate the economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis,” the letter says.

AAU JOINS ASSOCIATIONS TO COMMENT ON “BASKETING RULE” NPRM

On Monday, AAU joined NACUBO, and eight other organizations to submit comments to the IRS in response to its April 24 notice of proposed rulemaking related to the implementation of a new “basketing” rule created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This rule would require tax-exempt entities, such as colleges and universities, to compute taxable income separately for each trade or business that has created unrelated business taxable income, or UBTI. Previously, tax-exempt properties were able to aggregate UBTI just like taxable entities – a method that more accurately reflects an entity’s taxable income. According to the comments, the rule would prevent “colleges and universities from offsetting the UBTI of one trade or business with the loss of another, thereby increasing the institution’s overall tax burden.”