- Budget and Appropriations Update
- White House Releases FY21 Research and Development Budget Priorities
- Administration Finalizes Borrower Defense to Repayment Policy
- CNSR Recommends Priorities for NDAA Conference Agreement
- AAU Researchers Selected for 2020 Breakthrough Prize
- Upcoming Events
BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE
Lawmakers next week return to D.C. with just 13 combined legislative days before September 30 to agree on 12 FY20 appropriations measures and fund the government.
The Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies subcommittee will reportedly meet Tuesday to markup its FY20 appropriations bill, which includes funding for student aid programs and NIH. The full Appropriations Committee is expected to Thursday meet to consider Defense, Energy and Water, State-Foreign Operations, and Labor-Health and Human Services-Education FY20 funding measures.
Meanwhile, the House could as early as September 16 vote on a continuing resolution to fund the government after October 1. This would give appropriators more time to agree on FY20 funding measures. Prior to August recess the House passed 10 of 12 FY20 funding bills, but the chamber must cut $15 billion in non-defense spending and increase defense spending by $5 billion to align with levels set by the Budget Control Act’s spending caps.
WHITE HOUSE RELEASES FY21 RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT BUDGET PRIORITIES
The White House Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy last week released a memo outlining the administration’s FY21 research and development budget priorities. The document echoes OSTP Director Kelvin Droegemeier’s emphasis on “American values.”
Highlighted in the memo are five R&D budget priorities, including national security, economic security, energy and environmental leadership, health and well-being, and space exploration and commercialization. The memo also highlights five crosscutting actions “that span all five R&D budgetary priorities and require departments and agencies to coordinate, collaborate, and partner with one another and with the other sectors of the S&T enterprise to maximize success.”
RESOURCE AVAILABLE: AAU, APLU Call on OMB to Prioritize Higher Education Research in FY21
ADMINISTRATION FINALIZES BORROWER DEFENSE TO REPAYMENT POLICY
The Department of Education last week announced it had finalized borrower defense to repayment rules. The rules replace Obama-era standards for loan forgiveness for defrauded student loan borrowers and reduce the amount of overall loan forgiveness provided to students. The new rules also allow college and universities to again use mandatory arbitration agreements for newly-enrolled students. The rules will reportedly be published this week and will take effect July 1, 2020.
The House Education Committee is expected to hold a September 19 hearing to examine how the department is managing the public service loan forgiveness program.
CNSR RECOMMENDS PRIORITIES FOR NDAA CONFERENCE AGREEMENT
The Coalition for National Security Research, of which AAU is a member, Wednesday sent a letter to House and Senate Armed Services Committee leadership thanking them for their work on the FY20 National Defense Authorization Act. The Coalition outlines recommendations for the ongoing NDAA conference negotiations and prioritizes increased authorization levels for defense science and technology programs. The letter also highlights several provisions that CNSR supports for inclusion in the final conference agreement, including language to strengthen the Manufacturing USA centers, create a new R&D program in emerging biotechnologies, and more.
AAU RESEARCHERS SELECTED FOR 2020 BREAKTHROUGH PRIZE
The Breakthrough Prize Foundation yesterday announced the recipients of the eighth annual Breakthrough Prize and the 2020 New Horizons Prize. The Breakthrough prize annually recognizes and awards achievements in life sciences, fundamental physics, and mathematics. This year’s winners include researchers from: the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration, which included Harvard University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the University of Arizona; the University of Chicago; Yale University; and the University of Pennsylvania.
The New Horizon Prize recognizes early-career achievements in physics and mathematics. Winners this year include researchers from: the California Institute of Technology; the University of Washington; the University of Chicago; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Princeton University; McGill University; the University of California, Los Angeles; and Northwestern University.
UPCOMING EVENTS
SEPTEMBER 10 GOLDEN GOOSE AWARD CEREMONY & RECEPTION; 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. ET at the Library of Congress Coolidge Auditorium. RSVP here.
SEPTEMBER 26 – 27 INSTITUTE FOR RESEARCH ON INNOVATION & SCIENCE ANNUAL SUMMIT; Ann Arbor, Michigan. More information and registration available here.