CONTENTS
BUDGET, APPROPRIATIONS, TAX ISSUES
- House Approves FY16 Commerce-Justice-Science Funding Bill
- House Appropriations Committee Marks up FY16 Defense Funding Bill
OTHER CONGRESSIONAL ISSUES
- Senate Judiciary Committee Approves PATENT Act
- AAU, APLU Issue Statement in Advance of PATENT Act Markup
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
- AAU, APLU, COGR Submit Comments on Petition to Change Animal Use Regulations
OTHER
- First 2015 Golden Goose Awardees Announced
- AAU Now on Facebook
BUDGET, APPROPRIATIONS, TAX ISSUES
HOUSE APPROVES FY16 COMMERCE-JUSTICE-SCIENCE FUNDING BILL
The House on June 3 approved its version of the FY16 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill (H.R. 2578). The vote was 242 to 183, with 12 Democrats voting in favor, 10 Republicans voting against.
As reported previously, the measure totals $51.4 billion, an increase of $1.3 billion over the FY15 level and $661 million below the President’s request. It includes an additional $50 million for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and an additional $519 million for NASA. (See the May 15 AAU Weekly Wrap-up for additional details.)
The committee report language accompanying the bill directs NSF to dedicate 70 percent of its funding to four research directorates: engineering, biological sciences, computer sciences, and mathematics & physical sciences, with international, integrative, and Arctic Commission activities held at their FY15 levels. This would, in effect, require NSF to cut $250 million, or 16 percent of the combined budget, from its geosciences and social & behavioral sciences directorates.
The White House on June 1 issued a detailed Statement of Administration Policy (SAP) threatening a veto of H.R. 2578, with specifics on both funding levels and policy riders. Among other concerns, the SAP said the bill, “drastically underfunds critical investments in research and development that are key to advancing U.S. economic competitiveness and reducing taxpayer costs for securing essential weather satellite data and conducting an effective 2020 census.”
HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE MARKS UP FY16 DEFENSE FUNDING BILL
The House AppropriatACions Committee on June 2 approved its version of the FY16 Defense appropriations bill by voice vote. The measure provides $578.7 billion for Defense, which is $24.4 billion above the FY15 level and $800 million above the President’s FY16 request.
The overall Research, Development, Test & Evaluation account is funded at $67.9 billion, which is $3.8 billion, or 6.1 percent, above FY15 funding. Within that total, funding for 6.1 basic research is cut by $177 million, or 7.1 percent, while funding for 6.2 applied research and 6.3 advanced technology development is increased by $190 million (4.1 percent) and $409 million (7.7 percent), respectively.
AAU’s updated appropriations chart for Defense is available here.
OTHER CONGRESSIONAL ISSUES
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE APPROVES PATENT ACT
The Senate Judiciary Committee on June 4 approved the PATENT Act by a vote of 16 to 4, with only Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chris Coons (D-DE), David Vitter (R-LA), and Ted Cruz (R-TX) voting against it.
During consideration of the bill, the Committee approved an amendment offered by John Cornyn (R-TX) that alters the definition of micro-entity status in a way that is potentially helpful to universities, technology transfer organizations, and research foundations. The panel also approved the manager’s amendment, which among other changes, clarifies that the burden is on the prevailing party to demonstrate that it is entitled to fee shifting, a provision which universities support.
AAU, APLU ISSUE STATEMENT ON PATENT ACT MARKUP
Prior to the Senate Judiciary Committee markup of the PATENT Act, AAU and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) issued a statement expressing appreciation to the sponsors of the bill for including positive changes to the bill’s fee shifting provision in the manager’s amendment. The June 3 statement also thanks the sponsors for “adopting an inclusive process and for actively responding to concerns of the higher education community” in drafting the legislation.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
AAU, APLU, COGR SUBMIT COMMENTS ON PETITION TO CHANGE ANIMAL USE REGULATIONS
AAU, APLU, and the Council on Governmental Relations (COGR) on May 29 submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) expressing strong opposition to a citizen’s petition that asks the agency to alter certain provisions of the Animal Welfare Act dealing with the use of animals in research.
The AAU-APLU-COGR comment letter urges USDA to retain its current guidance and regulations governing the use of alternatives to procedures that may cause pain or distress to research animals, rather than initiating new rulemaking to stiffen and codify those standards. The letter states that the USDA has sufficient authority both to enforce any breach of regulations and to require any corrective actions it deems necessary. The three associations add that they concur with the National Association for Biomedical Research that the petition for regulatory change relies on false premises to support its conclusion.
OTHER
FIRST 2015 GOLDEN GOOSE AWARDEES ANNOUNCED
The founders of the Golden Goose Award, on June 2, announced the first 2015 recipients of the honor: Dr. Walter Mischel, creator of the “Marshmallow Test,” and his two colleagues, Dr. Philip Peake and Dr. Yuichi Shoda. The Golden Goose Award was created in 2012 by a coalition of business, university, and scientific organizations to recognize federally funded research that sounded odd or impractical when it was first conducted, but which has led to important benefits to society.
In the 1960’s, Dr. Mischel proposed testing the ability of young children to resist the impulse to eat a single marshmallow when waiting would get them two treats instead of one. Those initial tests led to extraordinary findings linking children’s self-control to later life outcomes and to methods for teaching self-control and improving lives.
The three researchers—and other recipients to be named in the coming weeks—will receive their Golden Goose Awards at a gala event on September 17 at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
AAU NOW ON FACEBOOK
AAU has created a new Facebook page that features information on AAU projects and activities. The site can be visited—and liked—at: https://www.facebook.com/AAUniversities.