- Still No Agreement on Details of FY21 Stopgap Funding Measure
- Democrats Promise Pandemic Aid Package Before Elections, Republicans Say Negotiations a “Dead-End Street”
- Senate Committee Advances RISE Act to Support American Research Enterprise
- Senate Democrats introduce Bill to Invest in Science and Technology
- AAU Joins “Invent Together” to Diversify Patent Ecosystem
- AAU, APLU Urge Congressional Armed Services Leaders to Include Key Provisions in NDAA
- AAU, Associations Urge Armed Services Committee Leaders to Protect International Students
- TFAI Highlights Vital Research and Development Provisions for FY21 NDAA
- Upcoming Events
STILL NO AGREEMENT ON DETAILS OF FY21 STOPGAP FUNDING MEASURE
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) has said that next week the House will consider a continuing resolution to fund the government at current levels past the end of the fiscal year on September 30, CQ Budget reports. However, the House today missed its self-imposed noon deadline to file the legislation that would have ensured the chamber could take up stopgap spending early next week.
Though The Hill reported that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) informally agreed that Congress will pass a “clean” continuing resolution, CQ Budget reports that negotiations are held up by several controversial provisions, including the addition of COVID-19 relief, an extension of the December 31 deadline for census apportionment data to be delivered to the president before it is given to the House next year, $13 billion in aid for farmers requested by the administration, and period of funding the bill will cover.
The House in late July completed consideration of 10 of 12 FY21 appropriations measures, but the Senate has yet to begin its FY21 appropriations effort.
DEMOCRATS PROMISE PANDEMIC AID PACKAGE BEFORE ELECTIONS, REPUBLICANS SAY NEGOTIATIONS A “DEAD-END STREET”
Last week, the Senate failed to gather enough bipartisan support to advance a $650 billion pandemic relief measure, but efforts to negotiate a COVID-19 aid measure continue on Capitol Hill. Yesterday, the chamber’s bipartisan “Problem Solvers Caucus” unveiled its “March to Common Ground” framework, a $1.5 trillion proposal intended to encourage renewed negotiations. The framework was rejected by House Democrats because it “wouldn’t do enough to address medical or economic needs,” Bloomberg Government reports. According to The Washington Post, Pelosi announced the House would remain in session until a deal is struck – though House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) later clarified that lawmakers will need to be on call to return to Washington to vote.
Democratic congressional leaders continue to call for at least $2.2 trillion, although House Democrats initially approved $3.5 trillion in relief as part of H.R. 6800 , the “HEROES Act.” Mnuchin has indicated that the administration may support a $1.5 trillion stimulus plan, The New York Times reports. According to CQ Budget, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) said negotiations on a future stimulus are a “dead-end street,” a sentiment echoed by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL).
SENATE DEMOCRATS INTRODUCE BILL TO INVEST IN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Yesterday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Bob Menendez (D-NJ) introduced the “America Labor, Economic competitiveness, Alliances, Democracy and Security (America LEADS) Act.” The $350 billion measure would provide “significant new investments to rebuild the U.S. economy and provide our workers, entrepreneurs, researchers, and manufacturers with the skills and support needed to out-compete China and succeed in the twenty-first century.”
AAU applauded the bill’s attention to increasing federal support for research in a tweet, thanking Senate Democrats for recognizing that significant investments in science and technology are critical to our nation’s ability to compete effectively against China.
AAU JOINS “INVENT TOGETHER” TO DIVERSIFY PATENT ECOSYSTEM
AAU this week joined a group of businesses, organizations, and universities to form Invent Together, a coalition that aims to diversify the U.S. patent ecosystem. The coalition will work to increase the number of women, people of color, and low-income individuals who hold patents by, among other things, “increasing the availability of data and research on … patent gaps and by breaking down barriers based on race, gender, income, and other characteristics.” To help support the coalition, like and share AAU’s tweet.
SENATE COMMITTEE ADVANCES RISE ACT TO SUPPORT AMERICAN RESEARCH ENTERPRISE
Earlier today, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation approved by voice vote S. 4286, the bipartisan “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 Senate Commerce Committee marked up a modified version of the bill but maintained the key provisions consistent with the recommendations of AAU, APLU, AAMC, and ACE and those in an April letter sent to House leaders by over 180 representatives.
In the House, the RISE Act now has more than 129 cosponsors. CFR members are urged to contact their House and Senate delegations and ask them to cosponsor the bill. Representatives interested in cosponsoring the bill should contact Matt Allen in Rep. Diana DeGette’s (D-CO) office or Stephanie DeMarco in Rep. Fred Upton’s (R-MI) office, and senators should contact Andrew Nam in Sen. Thom Tillis’ (R-NC) office or Ryan McKeever in Sen. Ed Markey’s (D-MA) office to cosponsor.
AAU, APLU URGE CONGRESSIONAL ARMED SERVICES LEADERS TO INCLUDE KEY PROVISIONS IN NDAA
On Monday, AAU and APLU sent a letter to leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee leaders to outline critical policy provisions that negotiators should include in the final versions of S. 4049 / H.R. 6395 , the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act. The provisions focus on several policy areas, including: the scientific workforce; the impacts of COVID-19; science and security and research integrity; cybersecurity; and science and technology provisions. The letter also notes provisions of concern and recommendations to exclude or modify them. These recommendations, the associations say, would promote and protect American innovation. As members of the Task Force on American Innovation and the Coalition for National Security Research, AAU and APLU also share the conference priorities outlined in both coalition’s letters.
AAU, ASSOCIATIONS URGE ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE LEADERS TO PROTECT INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
Today, AAU joined ACE and 12 other higher education organizations on a letter to House and Senate Armed Services Committee leaders urging them to include Section 1763 of the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act in the final conference agreement on the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act. Section 1763 “would allow international students to engage in online or distance education classes or programs that are determined necessary by an institution or program for the protection of health and safety until the end of the global COVID-19 pandemic.” The letter goes on to say that Section 1763 would allow students to travel to the United States to pursue their education regardless of how their program is being taught this semester and would further guarantee that they could remain in America for their spring semester in the likely event the pandemic continues to necessitate virtual instruction into 2021.
RESOURCES AVAILABLE: AAU, APLU Urge Congressional Armed Services Leaders to Include Key Provisions in NDAA
TFAI HIGHLIGHTS VITAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT PROVISIONS FOR FY21 NDAA
The Task Force on American Innovation, which includes AAU, last week sent a letter to Congressional Armed Services Committee leaders to highlight vital research and development provisions to include in the final conferenced FY21 NDAA. The provisions include: semiconductor research and development and advanced American manufacturing; the Minerva Research Initiative; the National Artificial Intelligence Initiative; the Traineeships for American Leaders to Excel in National Technology and Science (TALENTS) program; and “industries of the future” such as artificial intelligence, quantum information science, advanced communications, advanced manufacturing, and biotechnology. Supporting these areas of research and development is critical to ensure that the United States remains the global leader in scientific research and to the country’s recovery from the impacts of the pandemic, the group says.
UPCOMING EVENTS
OCTOBER 1 ERNEST ORLANDO LAWRENCE AWARDS NOMINATIONS DUE; Nominations can besubmitted here by 5:00 p.m. ET Thursday, October 1. More information about the award can be found here. Please contact Dr. Kaitlyn Schroeder-Spain with questions.
NOVEMBER 12 OFFICE OF SCIENCE GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH PROGRAM NOMINATIONS DUE; Nominations can be submitted by 5:00 p.m. ET Thursday, November 12. More information and nomination instructions can be found here.