- Budget and Appropriations: COVID-19 Edition
- AAU, ACE, APLU, and AAMC Recommend Lawmakers Provide At Least $13 Billion for Research Support
- AAU Joins NACUBO Letters Urging Congress and Administration to Extend COVID-19 Employer Tax Credits to Colleges and Universities
- EPA Issues Supplemental NPRM for Science Transparency Rule
- Coalition Requests At Least $480 Million for AFRI in FY21
- AAU, Organizations Recommend OMB Expand Federal Financial Assistance Administrative Relief
- AAU, Associations Urge House Veterans Committee Leaders to Protect GI Bill Benefits
- AAU Joins Associations on Letter to DHS Seeking Guidance on Visa Programs Amid COVID-19 Pandemic
- Upcoming Events
BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS: COVID-19 EDITION
Last week, the president signed H.R. 6074, the “Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2020,” which included $8.3 billion in relief funding.
The president yesterday approved H.R. 6201, the “Families First Coronavirus Response Act,” a $100 billion financial relief package that provides student loan interest relief, expand food assistance and unemployment insurance, and increases Medicaid funding to states.
On Tuesday, the administration sent a $45.8 billion emergency spending request to Congress that includes $150 million for the Education Department’s COVID-19 response. According to Politico Pro, the measure provides $100 million for “unforeseen coronavirus-related emergencies,” $40 million for the Office of Federal Student Aid’s relief efforts, and $10 million for administrative costs as the department shifts to telework. The request would also amend the White House FY21 budget request for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases to expand their FY21 resources.
According to Politico, the president is also expected to request more than $1 trillion in economic stimulus that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin says will include $250 billion in direct payments to Americans beginning on April 6 and another round of payments totaling $250 billion on May 18. The proposal also includes $200 billion in industry aid, and $50 billion in loans for the airline industry.
AAU, ACE, APLU, AND AAMC RECOMMEND LAWMAKERS PROVIDE AT LEAST $13 BILLION FOR RESEARCH SUPPORT
Yesterday, AAU, ACE, APLU, and AAMC sent a letter to Congressional leaders to lay out a strategy that will “allow our members to continue to lead in the battle against COVID-19 and ensure that our other research on behalf of the American people will not suffer during these unprecedented times.” The four-point plan focuses on key areas of impact that will be effected due to inactivity, including: support for salary and benefits for research personnel and students; costs of winding down and restarting research activities; increased costs for COVID-19 related research; and inactivity at facilities that support federally funded research.
AAU JOINS NACUBO LETTERS URGING CONGRESS AND ADMINISTRATION TO EXTEND COVID-19 EMPLOYER TAX CREDITS TO COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES
AAU yesterday joined the National Association of College and University Business Officers and five other organizations on a letter to congressional appropriators to urge them to extend employer tax credits in H.R. 6201 to colleges and universities. The letter says that while the legislation requires colleges and universities to provide expanded paid sick leave, “they are expressly excluded as state government instrumentalities from the corresponding payroll credits meant to offset a portion of these additional costs.” The organizations request that H.R. 6201’s paid sick leave payroll tax credit and payroll credit for required paid family leave be expanded for colleges and universities, which are some of America’s largest employers.
The organizations also sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig requesting they include exempt organizations, such as colleges and universities, in a notice that outlines a 90-day tax filing exemption for corporations and individuals. The letter notes that exempt taxpayers and filers should be included in the notice because “they are experiencing the same obstructions and challenges to timely filing and payment as individuals and corporate taxpayers.”
EPA ISSUES SUPPLEMENTAL NPRM FOR SCIENCE TRANSPARENCY RULE
The Environmental Protection Agency Wednesday issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking for its “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” rule. Originally published April 30, 2018, the rule would restrict the scientific research EPA considers in rulemaking to research for which the underlying data is publicly available for independent validation. The supplemental NPRM expands the scope of the rule to include “influential scientific information” in addition to research underlying regulatory actions.
COALITION REQUESTS AT LEAST $480 MILLION FOR AFRI IN FY21
Today, AAU and 41 other organizations joined the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative Coalition on a letter to congressional agriculture appropriators to request they provide at least $480 million for the AFRI program in FY21. The coalition says this funding level “will bolster critical research areas aimed at addressing our nation’s most pressing agriculture and public health challenges, including bioenergy, nutrition, climate adaptation and resiliency, agricultural technology, economic prosperity in rural communities, and food safety.”
AAU, ORGANIZATIONS RECOMMEND OMB EXPAND FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE ADMINISTRATIVE RELIEF
AAU, together with COGR, APLU, and AAMC, today sent a letter to the Office of Management and Budget to recommend the expansion of M-20-11, a memo issued March 9 to provide administrative relief for recipients of and applicants for federal financial assistance who are impacted by COVID-19. “Taking immediate action to extend flexibilities would provide significant relief for institutions that are grappling with a landscape that changes daily (sometimes hourly) in which they must make decisions and provide guidance to their research teams,” the organizations say. The letter notes the need for uniform guidance from federal agencies and asserts that “expanding M-20-11 to all federal research awards will serve as a sound basis for future agency-specific guidance.”
AAU, ASSOCIATIONS URGE HOUSE, SENATE VETERANS COMMITTEE LEADERS TO
PROTECT GI BILL BENEFITS
AAU recently joined ACE, APLU, and three other higher education organizations to send a letter to House Veterans’ Committee Ranking Member Phil Roe (R-TN) to express their support for H.R. 6194, legislation that would ensure that veterans can still receive their GI Bill benefits if their campuses move courses online due to COVID-19 concerns. The measure would ensure that our nation’s veterans’ educational benefits are not impacted by the hardships of the coronavirus, the letter says.
Last week, the organizations sent a similar letter to Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chair Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Ranking Member Jon Tester (D-MT), to support their companion legislation in the Senate.
AAU JOINS ASSOCIATIONS ON LETTER TO DHS SEEKING GUIDANCE ON VISA PROGRAMS AMID COVID-19 PANDEMIC
On Monday, AAU, ACE, APLU, and four other higher education organizations sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf seeking guidance for more than 1 million international students and international scholars studying, teaching, and researching on our campuses. The letter poses several questions seeking clarification regarding F-1 visa recipients, including with respect to Optional Practical Training, and the processing of F-1, M-1, and J-1 visa applications amid closures of U.S. consular offices.
UPCOMING EVENTS
SEPTEMBER 10 AAU/APLU 2020 UNIVERSITY INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP SHOWCASE; Rayburn Cafeteria, Rayburn House Office Building, 45 Independence Avenue SW. 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. ET. More information available here.