CONTENTS:
- 2018 AAU/TSC SRO-Media Roundtable a Success
- Budget and Appropriations Update
- House Passes Interior-Environment and Financial Services Package
- White House Urges Conferees to Stay Within Existing Spending Caps
- NDAA Conference Update
- AAU, Other Organizations Weigh in on Proposed EPA Science Rule
- Administration Proposes Fee Increases for Foreign Students' Visas
- USCIS Issues Policy Memo Expanding Adjudicator Authority
- Senate Confirms Top Education Department Officials
2018 AAU/TSC SRO-MEDIA ROUNDTABLE A SUCCESS
AAU and the Science Coalition Wednesday held the 2018 AAU-Science Coalition SRO-Media Roundtable. Moderated by Science Magazine’s Jeff Mervis, the 10 panelists discussed the impacts of university research to U.S. economic competitiveness. Participating media representatives asked a variety of thoughtful questions and built relationships with university senior research officers. For those unable to attend in person, AAU livestreamed the event on Periscope.
BUDGET AND APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE
The House Thursday passed a second combined spending package (H.R. 6147), which would fund Interior-Environment and Financial Services in FY19. An amendment offered by Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-WI) which would have cut roughly $23 million each from the NEH and NEA failed 297 - 114. AAU would like to thank the CFR for their efforts to defeat this amendment.
The House last week canceled a committee meeting to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the first FY19 “minibus” spending package (H.R. 5895), which couples Energy-Water and congressional operations funding. AAU President Mary Sue Coleman wrote conferees last week urging them to adopt the Senate-passed funding levels for the DOE Office of Science and ARPA-E.
Administration officials penned a letter to lawmakers Monday warning against raising spending caps to adjust for a spending shortfall in a veterans health program. Shortly after, House and Senate Budget Committee chairmen Mike Enzi (R-WY) and Steve Womack (R-AR) echoed the White House call asking conference committee members to prioritize funding authorized within existing spending limits. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) had earlier called for additional room under spending caps, not cuts in other programs, to pay for the funding gap. The funding dispute could render much of congressional appropriators’ efforts for naught, should Congress and the administration fail to reach consensus and instead opt for a continuing resolution.
The Fiscal Times has more.
NDAA CONFERENCE UPDATE
House and Senate Armed Services Committee representatives last week began FY19 National Defense Authorization Act conference negotiations. Earlier this week, Senators Cornyn and Rounds circulated a Dear Colleague letter supporting amendment language which would establish a forum for the DOD and other national security agencies to engage with the academic research community to jointly identify, discuss, and develop policies and regulations relative to science and security. The letter received bipartisan support.
House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry says he hopes to wrap up conference negotiations by the end of July.
AAU, OTHER ORGANIZATIONS WEIGH IN ON PROPOSED EPA SCIENCE RULE
AAU and 68 other organizations issued a statement Monday to strongly oppose the EPA’s proposed rule, Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science, which would restrict the scientific research the EPA considers in rulemaking to only that in which the underlying data are 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 the EPA’s ability to use the best available science when promulgating rules that safeguard human health.
AAU, APLU, AAMC, and COGR last week submitted a joint comment letter to the EPA opposing the agency’s proposed science rule.
ADMINISTRATION PROPOSES FEE INCREASES FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS’ VISAS
The Department of Homeland Security Tuesday released a notice of proposed rulemaking seeking to increase by 75 percent the fees foreign students pay for visas and impose new fees on schools accepting international students. Under the proposed rule, the program fee for international students on F and M visas would increase from $200 to $350 and exchange visitors would face an increase from $180 to $220. The “school certification petition fee” would increase from $1,700 to $3,000 and schools would have to pay new additional fees when seeking recertification, appealing government decisions, and changing or adding new locations. The agency will accept public comments until September 17.
USCIS ISSUES POLICY MEMO EXPANDING ADJUDICATOR AUTHORITY
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services issued a July 13 policy memorandum allowing its adjudicators to deny immigrant petitions without following five-year old protocols that require a Request for Evidence (RFE) or a Notice of Intent to Deny (NOID) before petition denial. Under the new guidance, rejections may be issued at the discretion of USCIS staff and limited options for recourse are available. Effective September 11, 2018 and to be implemented without public comment, the policy may particularly impact universities employing H-1B visa holders.
AAU and other higher education organizations will submit a letter objecting to the change and outlining possible unintended consequences.
SENATE CONFIRMS TOP EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS
The Senate this week confirmed Jim Blew to serve as Assistant Secretary of Education for Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development, and Scott Stump to lead the department’s Career and Technical Education Office.
Blew, the former director of Student Success California, was confirmed by a 50-49 party-line vote. Stump, a former assistant provost at the Colorado Community College System, was confirmed 85-0.
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