CONTENTS:
- Budget and Appropriations Update
- AAU President Comments on House FY19 CJS, Energy and Water Spending Bills
- Oral Arguments Begin in 9th Circuit DACA Challenge
- AAU Asks EPA to Extend Comment Period for Proposed Science Rule
- Associations Express Concerns with Proposed Nonimmigrant Visa Vetting Requirements
- Associations Comment on Proposed Common Rule Compliance Delay
- Treasury Department Plans Regulations on Endowment Tax
- Senate Votes to Keep Net Neutrality Rules
- Senate Confirms Education Department Deputy Secretary
BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE
House appropriators this week approved their FY19 Energy and Water and FY19 Commerce-Justice-Science spending bills. AAU President Mary Sue Coleman issued a statement commending the House Appropriations Committee and relevant subcommittee leaders for their efforts to increase support for NASA and the Energy Department's Office of Science. President Coleman asked Congress to reject cuts to ARPA-E and increase investment in NSF.
ORAL ARGUMENTS BEGIN IN 9TH CIRCUIT DACA CHALLENGE
Oral arguments began Tuesday in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in a challenge to the administration's ending DACA. The three-judge panel is the first appellate court to hear arguments after the President announced the program's wind down in September 2017.
A D.C. federal judge in April rejected the administration's premise for ending DACA and stayed his decision for 90 days, allowing DHS to offer justification for ending the program. Should the Department fail to do so, it must "accept and process new as well as renewal applications." In March, a Maryland federal judge struck down a legal challenge to DACA's termination, saying that although he disagrees with administration's move, it is not his job to set immigration policy. Previously, two district court judges from Brooklyn and San Francisco ruled against winding down DACA.
AAU ASKS EPA TO EXTEND COMMENT PERIOD FOR PROPOSED SCIENCE RULE
AAU President Mary Sue Coleman yesterday wrote to EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to request the agency extend the 30-day comment period on a proposed rule intended to "strengthen transparency" of science used in EPA rulemaking. Citing the proposed rule's complexity and potential impact on university researchers, the letter asks EPA to instead consider a 60-day comment period.
ASSOCIATIONS EXPRESS CONCERNS WITH PROPOSED NONIMMIGRANT VISA VETTING REQUIREMENTS
AAU joined several other higher education associations Wednesday in a letter to the U.S. State Department to voice concerns with proposed additional vetting requirements for nonimmigrant visa applicants, including student, work, and tourist visas. The proposed data collection would require nonimmigrant visa applicants to report five years of identifiers for social media platforms and to submit five years of previously used telephone numbers, email addresses, and international travel. The letter says that combined, the proposed changes "may result in significant unintended consequences that will hamper the United States' ability to attract the world's best students and scholars to our campuses."
AAU will continue to monitor the proposed application requirements.
ASSOCIATIONS COMMENT ON PROPOSED COMMON RULE COMPLIANCE DELAY
On Wednesday, AAU, AAMC, APLU, and COGR submitted comments in response to an April 20 NPRM on the revised Federal Policy for the Protection of Human Subjects ("revised Common Rule"). The Associations note they support the proposed general compliance date of the revised Common Rule until January 21, 2019 and the proposal to allow the voluntary adoption of three "burden reducing" provisions in the 2018 requirements during the six-month delay. The associations also encouraged the Office of Human Research Protections to promptly issue guidance to clarify many areas of the revised Common Rule, including: the inclusion of key information in informed consent documents, posting of informed consent documents on a public website, benign behavioral interventions, and training resources.
TREASURY DEPARTMENT PLANS REGULATIONS ON ENDOWMENT TAX
According to the White House Office of Management and Budget's regulatory agenda, released last week, the Treasury Department is planning regulations to carry out the new 1.4 percent excise tax on investment earnings of certain private universities. The announcement says the notice of proposed rulemaking will be published by December and lists an IRS attorney as the staff contact.
AAU will continue to monitor proposed regulations pertaining to Tax Cuts and Jobs Act implementation and weigh in accordingly.
SENATE VOTES TO KEEP NET NEUTRALITY RULES
Using Congressional Review Act (CRA) procedures, the Senate voted Wednesday to reinstate the FCC's net neutrality rules, which FCC Commission Ajit Pai announced last week will end June 11. To successfully overturn the FCC decision, the CRA resolution (S.J. Res. 52) will need simple majority approval in the House and the President's signature. Should the president veto the resolution, it would return to Congress for a two-thirds veto override in both the House and Senate.
The Hill has more.
SENATE CONFIRMS EDUCATION DEPARTMENT DEPUTY SECRETARY
The Senate confirmed Dr. Mitchell (Mick) Zais Wednesday to serve as Deputy Secretary of Education, the no. 2 position to Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Dr. Zais most recently served as South Carolina's State Superintendent from 2011-15 and previously served as President of Newberry College in South Carolina. Dr. Zais served 31 years in the U.S. Army and retired as a Brigadier General.
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