CONTENTS
BUDGET, APPROPRIATIONS, TAX ISSUES
- President Vetoes Defense Authorization Bill, in Part over Sequestration
- Biomedical, Aerospace and Defense Associations Urge Congress to Lift the Spending Caps
OTHER CONGRESSIONAL ISSUES
- Industry-Led Innovation Imperative Event Highlights Statement by 325+ Organizations
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
- White House Releases Strategy for American Innovation
- DHS Issues Proposed Rule on OPT for Non-Immigrant STEM Students
- AUTM Releases Highlights of Annual Licensing Survey
BUDGET, APPROPRIATIONS, TAX ISSUES
PRESIDENT VETOES DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION BILL, IN PART OVER SEQUESTRATION
In the latest battle over the FY16 budget, President Obama on October 22 vetoed the National Defense Authorization Act, in part because of it its implications for the FY16 budget. The measure (H.R. 1735) would allow Congress to raise Defense spending by holding the Department’s base discretionary budget at the sequester level but boosting its spending by $38 billion through the Overseas Contingency Operations fund, which does not count against the budget cap.
The President and congressional Democrats continue to insist that any effort to raise discretionary spending for Defense must be accompanied by a similar increase for nondefense discretionary spending.
BIOMEDICAL AND DEFENSE ASSOCIATIONS URGE CONGRESS TO LIFT THE SPENDING CAPS
A group of four biomedical, aerospace, and defense associations on October 21 sent a letter to Members of Congress urging them to support a multi-year budget agreement that lifts the discretionary spending caps on both defense and nondefense areas.
The joint letter from United for Medical Research (UMR) — a coalition in which AAU participates — the Aerospace Industries Association, Research!America, and the National Defense Industrial Association, highlights the harmful effects of the spending caps on biomedical research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and on the defense and aerospace industries. The letter describes how the budget caps are limiting the nation’s ability to reduce the human and economic costs of disease, as well as our ability to protect our homeland from threats and sustain the manufacturing sectors in defense and space equipment.
The letter adds:
For the sake of the security of our nation and the longevity and health of all Americans, we urge you to move forward with responsible funding of our national security and medical research priorities. We ask that you support a multi-year budget agreement that lifts the discretionary spending caps so that these two important areas of the federal budget can be adequately supported.
OTHER CONGRESSIONAL ISSUES
INDUSTRY-LED INNOVATION IMPERATIVE EVENT HIGHLIGHTS STATEMENT BY 325+ ORGANIZATIONS
Leaders from industry, academia, and Congress on October 20 participated in a symposium at the U.S. Capitol to address recommendations contained in the statement, Innovation: An American Imperative. The statement calls for specific federal policies and investments to ensure the U.S. remains the global innovation leader. The document was spearheaded by a group of 10 industry leaders and endorsed by more than 325 industry, research, and higher education organizations, including AAU.
The Capitol Hill symposium included remarks by Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Gary Peters (D-MI), and Representative Randy Hultgren (R-IL). The session also featured a panel discussion by four major industry executives: Norman Augustine, retired CEO of Lockheed Martin; Jeannette Wing, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Research; Roger Perlmutter, Executive Vice President, Merck & Co. and President of Merck Research Laboratories; and John Evans, Vice President, International Science and Technology, Lockheed Martin.
A video of the symposium will be available soon at www.innovationimperative.us.
Endorsing organizations helped to amplify the event on social media using the hashtag, #InnovationImperative.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
WHITE HOUSE RELEASES STRATEGY FOR AMERICAN INNOVATION
The Obama Administration on October 21 released an updated version of its Strategy for American Innovation, which identifies investments and policies “to sustain the innovation ecosystem that will deliver benefits to all Americans.” The Strategy was first released in 2009 and updated in 2011.
Among the recommendations in the strategy is a call for “robust world-leading investments” in fundamental research and research infrastructure, as well as “strong and sustained investment” in STEM education.
DHS ISSUES PROPOSED RULE ON OPT FOR NON-IMMIGRANT STEM STUDENTS
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on October 19 published a proposed rule to amend F-1 nonimmigrant student visa regulations dealing with optional practical training (OPT) for students with STEM degrees. The proposed rule would expand the number of months STEM OPT students could use the program and impose new requirements on both institutions of higher education and employers.
AAU plans to submit comments on the proposed rule and has requested campus feedback on the proposal. Comments are due to DHS by November 18, 2015.
AUTM RELEASES HIGHLIGHTS OF ANNUAL LICENSING SURVEY
The Association of University Technology Managers (AUTM) on October 19 released highlights of its FY2014 U.S. Licensing Activity Survey. It shows “renewed evidence of steady growth in the patenting and licensing of new technologies, net product sales, and new products and startups…” The full survey results will be published later this year.
According to the survey, university technology licenses rose in FY2014 by 4.5 percent from the previous year to 5,435, while the number of startup companies formed was up by nearly 12 percent to 914. The number of U.S. patents rose by 11 percent to 6,363, and the number of new commercial products created rose by 34 percent to 965.