CONTENTS:
- Budget and Appropriations Update
- FY19 Minibus Spending Negotiations Delayed
- House Appropriators Approve FY19 Labor-HHS-Education Bill
- Joint Select Committee on Budget Process and Reform Meets Again
- NDAA Conference Begins
- Associations Comment on Proposed EPA Science Rule
- President Trump to Appoint ARPA-E Director
BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE
House and Senate conferees were set to meet yesterday to begin negotiating differences in the FY19 “minibus” spending package (H.R. 5895), which would provide funding for the departments of Energy and Veterans Affairs, military construction, and congressional operations. However, the conference meeting was cancelled at the last minute. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) told Politico the delay is due to disagreements over budget caps and how to pay for a veterans health care program.
A new meeting date has not yet been announced. The House Appropriations Committee announced conferees in late June and the Senate Appropriations Committee announced delegates earlier this week.
The House Appropriations Committee late-Wednesday approved the FY19 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill by a 30-22 vote. The FY19 spending bill would boost National Institutes of Health funding by $1.25 billion, maintain the Pell Grant maximum award of $6,095, and flat-fund campus-based aid programs and the Institute for Education Sciences. Eighteen of 49 amendments were adopted. Among those defeated was an amendment by Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) to strike bill language that prohibits NIH funding for research using fetal tissue originating from induced abortions. Also voted down was Rep. Nita Lowey’s (D-NY) amendment to designate $10 million in CDC injury prevention funds for gun violence research.
AAU’s FY19 Funding Priorities table is available here.
JOINT SELECT COMMITTEE ON BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS
PROCESS REFORM MEETS AGAIN
The Joint Select Committee on Budget and Appropriations Process Reform held it fifth hearing yesterday focused on the appropriations process. Former House Budget Committee chairman Leon Panetta and former House Appropriations Committee chairman David Obey offered suggestions to modify the budget and appropriations process, including changing the fiscal year to match the calendar year and developing two-year budgets. Both witnesses pointed to partisan politics as the most significant obstacle to a well-functioning budget and appropriations process.
Chairman Steve Womack (R-AR) said he and co-chair Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) will soon begin hosting "informal working sessions" to start negotiating reform recommendations that are due November 30.
NDAA CONFERENCE BEGINS
House and Senate Armed Services Committee representatives began FY19 National Defense Authorization Act conference negotiations Wednesday. Several House Armed Services Committee members are serving as conferees and all Senate Committee members will participate. House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) says he hopes to wrap up conference negotiations by the end of July.
ASSOCIATIONS COMMENT ON PROPOSED EPA SCIENCE RULE
AAU, APLU, AAMC, and COGR submitted a joint public comment letter to the EPA Wednesday to oppose the agency’s proposed rule, Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science, which would restrict the scientific research EPA considers in rulemaking to that in which the underlying data is publicly available. While AAU strongly supports public access to research, some research data cannot be made publicly available for legitimate reasons, including privacy concerns. The proposed rule would limit EPA’s ability to use the best available science when promulgating rules that safeguard human health.
AAU encourages universities to submit their own public comments. The deadline to submit comments was extended from May 30 to August 16. The EPA will host a July 17 hearing from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ET.
Please visit us at www.aau.edu and follow AAU on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.