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What’s Ahead
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| President Biden meets with lawmakers at a March meeting on infrastructure priorities. (Image credit – Adam Schultz / The White House) |
Biden Infrastructure Plan Adds New Piece to R&D Puzzle
The infrastructure spending initiative that President Biden proposed last week outlines roughly $2 trillion in spending that includes more than $200 billion for R&D-focused activities. Of that amount, $40 billion would go toward upgrading research infrastructure at national labs and universities, with half of it for Minority Serving Institutions. The plan also includes $50 billion for the National Science Foundation, $14 billion for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, $35 billion for climate and energy R&D, $20 billion for establishing regional innovation hubs, and $50 billion for implementing the CHIPS for America Act. Now, it is up to Congress to determine how Biden’s plan will mesh with its own legislative strategies.
Democrats are already preparing to use the budget reconciliation maneuver to pass infrastructure legislation without the support of Republicans, who have criticized Biden’s plan for proposing corporate tax increases and including Democratic policy priorities they argue should not be part of an infrastructure package. However, some Republicans are eager to move ahead with certain proposals within the plan, such as CHIPS Act funding and expanding NSF. For instance, Sen. Todd Young (R-IN) is arguing for Congress to move ahead separately with the Endless Frontier Act, a major R&D and NSF reform proposal he is pursuing with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). Meanwhile, research organizations are vying to shape the contents of the infrastructure package. Among them, the Association of American Medical Colleges is calling for funding to address pandemic-related research disruptions, among other priorities, and the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities has outlined proposals that include expanding NSF’s research infrastructure programs and reestablishing a NIST program that funded construction projects at universities.
Biden Budget Preview Pushed Back, Expected ‘Soon’
Although the White House was expected to issue a preview of President Biden’s first budget request to Congress last week, it delayed the release, with an Office of Management and Budget spokesperson saying it will appear “soon.” The annual budget request is due to Congress in early February, but new administrations typically release their first requests late. Biden’s preview document may not include many details about science programs, but he has already said he would like to increase the fraction of federal spending on R&D as a share of U.S. gross domestic product from the current level of about 0.7% to “closer to 2%.” The document will in any case indicate how far the Biden administration proposes to depart from past annual spending levels given that the Budget Control Act of 2011 expired with the current fiscal year.
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In Case You Missed It
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| Barbara McQuiston and Michael Brown (Image credit – DOD) |
Picks Made for High-Level DOD Science and Technology Jobs
The Department of Defense announced last week that Barbara McQuiston has been sworn in as director of defense research and engineering (R&E) for research and technology, a role that oversees DOD’s early-stage R&D activities. McQuiston has held various roles in the defense and aerospace industries, including as an independent consultant and a high-level official at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. President Obama nominated her to be assistant secretary of defense for acquisition in 2011, but she temporarily left defense work after the nomination failed to move forward. In addition to the director role, McQuiston is also presently performing the duties of under secretary of defense for R&E, overseeing the department’s entire R&D, test, and evaluation portfolio. Unlike the director position, the under secretary job requires Senate confirmation and President Biden has not yet named his nominee for it.
Separately, Biden announced on April 2 that he is nominating Michael Brown to be under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, a position with responsibilities that include overseeing DOD’s relations with its technology suppliers. Brown has spent most of his career in the computer industry, including from 2014 to 2016 as CEO of software giant Symantec. He joined DOD in 2016 as a White House Presidential Innovation Fellow and since 2018 has been director of the Defense Innovation Unit, an entity DOD created three years earlier to cultivate contracts with university researchers and technology companies with little defense-sector experience. At DOD, Brown has co-authored an influential report on efforts by the Chinese government to leverage other countries’ work in emerging technologies. He has also been a driver behind National Security Innovation Capital, a recently launched program that invests in U.S. hardware startups as a counterweight to venture capital from China and other rival nations.
EPA Resetting Science Advisory Board Membership
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan dismissed all members of the agency’s Science Advisory Board and Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee last week, opting to reestablish the committees in view of how their members were appointed during the Trump administration. EPA stated it is seeking to “reverse deficiencies” created by a 2017 policy barring recipients of EPA grants from serving on the agency’s advisory boards. Critics of the policy alleged it rebalanced the boards toward industry interests, and a 2019 Government Accountability Office review found that the fraction of Science Advisory Board members with academic affiliations dropped significantly between 2017 and 2018. The policy was ultimately vacated after a federal court determined it was poorly justified. House Science Committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) welcomed the move as a necessary step to “correct the degradation of the EPA’s science advisory committees,” while a spokesperson for the committee’s Republican members said they plan on “looking into the circumstances and procedures of advisory board terminations and appointments.” EPA is now soliciting nominations for new board members through May 3 and has encouraged dismissed members to reapply.
NASA Releases Estimates of Pandemic Impacts
NASA’s Office of Inspector General released a report last week detailing the impacts the COVID-19 pandemic has had on the agency’s 30 largest programs and projects. The report states that those efforts account for about half the $3 billion in costs NASA currently estimates the pandemic will have across all its activities. The Roman Space Telescope, which was formally approved for development last year, is set to incur $400 million in additional costs and a six-month launch delay, in large part because disruptions to subcontractor and high-skill work occurred just as spacecraft fabrication was ramping up. Congress has set a $3.2 billion cost cap on the development of mission-critical elements of the telescope, but NASA states the project will now require higher-than-expected funding as soon as the next fiscal year. The launch of the James Webb Space Telescope, which was pushed back last year due to the pandemic, is still on target for this October and the $100 million cost of the delay will still be accommodated under the mission’s current cost cap. The Europa Clipper, which just passed its critical design review, is expected to incur $90 million in additional costs. Across all science missions covered in the report, NASA estimates that cost increases will total almost $1 billion, though the report notes that impact assessments are ongoing and estimates are subject to change.
National Space Council to Continue Under Biden
Politico reported last week that President Biden will retain the National Space Council, an interagency panel that coordinates national policy on various matters involving space. Per statute, the council is chaired by the vice president but the president is free to determine the rest of its membership and whether to convene it at all. President Trump revived the council in 2017 after it had been dormant since its previous instantiation under the George H. W. Bush administration, and over the last four years it handled issues such as the regulation of space commerce, the growing threat posed by space debris, and the establishment of the Space Force. The Biden administration has not announced how it will configure the council or what its priorities may be, though White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki confirmed it will continue, citing “unprecedented activity” in the space sector.
White House Gears Up for Scientific Integrity Review
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy informed federal agency leaders last week it is now forming the task force ordered by President Biden in January to examine how effective agencies’ scientific integrity policies are in preventing “improper political interference” in scientific research. OSTP deputy directors Jane Lubchenco and Alondra Nelson told the New York Times that the review will examine “Trump-era policies” and infractions with the aim of strengthening measures to protect scientific integrity rather than seeking accountability for past violations. The White House task force is complementary to efforts such as one the Environmental Protection Agency launched on March 23 to review and update the agency’s scientific integrity policies, and a review the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted of COVID-19 guidance issued under Trump, which found that several recommendations were “not primarily authored” by staff and were unaligned with available scientific evidence.
Order Restricting H-1B Visas Expires
President Biden has opted not to extend a proclamation by President Trump that restricted the issuance of various categories of non-immigrant visas, including the H-1B visas used by skilled workers. Trump first implemented the policy in June 2020 and in December he extended it through March 31, 2021, justifying the move as a measure to reserve more jobs for Americans amid the economic downturn caused by the pandemic. Implementation of the policy was partially blocked through a lawsuit by business associations.
Bipartisan Bill Proposes Industrial Innovation Policy Institute
Last month, a bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers introduced the Office of Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation Policy Act, which aims to improve coordination of federal manufacturing initiatives. Among its provisions, the bill would establish a Manufacturing and Industrial Innovation Policy Institute that would analyze relevant R&D trends and provide technical support to a new chief manufacturing officer role in the White House. The institute would be sponsored by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and operated as a Federally Funded Research and Development Center. The bill’s primary sponsors are Reps. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) in the House, and Sens. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) in the Senate.
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Events This Week Monday, April 5
Tuesday, April 6
Wednesday, April 7
Thursday, April 8
Friday, April 9
Monday, April 12
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Opportunities AAAS Hiring Director for S&T Policy Fellowship Program
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is accepting applications for the director of its Science and Technology Policy Fellowships Program. The director will manage a 20-person team and serve as principal investigator on federal grants that support the program, among other responsibilities. Ideal candidates will have an advanced degree in a STEM-related field and at least ten years of relevant experience. Applications are due April 15.
CRS Hiring Industrial Innovation Analyst
The Congressional Research Service’s Resources, Science and Industry Division is seeking an analyst in industrial organization and business who will focus on advanced manufacturing. The incumbent will be responsible for preparing objective, non-partisan analytical studies for members of Congress and their staff. Applications are due April 26.
Maryland Sea Grant Launches Science Policy Fellowship
The Maryland Sea Grant program is accepting applications for its new state science policy fellowship program, which will help advise the Maryland government on sustainability and climate change mitigation and adaptation. Applicants must be graduate students who have advanced to candidacy for a doctoral degree or recently completed a doctoral or law degree. Rolling review of applications will begin April 12 and the position will begin in May 2021.
AAAS Diversity Initiative Seeking Intern
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is seeking an intern with communications expertise to support the STEMM Equity Achievement (SEA) Change program, an initiative to support sustained DEI efforts in higher education. The internship will last 12 weeks and focus on redesigning an introductory workshop used to educate interested institutions about the initiative. Applications are due April 19.
Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
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Around the Web
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- Study identifies benefits and vulnerabilities of global semiconductor supply chain (Semiconductor Industry Association)
- Japan and US aim for chip supply-chain deal in April summit (Nikkei Asia)
- Intel’s chip moonshot is about supremacy, not profit (Bloomberg, perspective by Tim Culpan)
- We need to strengthen and accelerate US S&T progress (The Hill, perspective by Sethuraman Pachanathan)
- Expanding the endless frontier (Science, perspective by Robert Conn)
- Achieving the endless frontier (Inside Higher Ed, perspective by Austin DeMarco)
- Beyond the endless frontier (JSPG)
- Science, The Endless Frontier: Yes, we’re still talking about it (Never Just Science, perspective by Audra Wolfe)
- Fixing crumbling US innovation infrastructure (Forbes, perspective by Deborah Wince-Smith)
- The antiscience movement is escalating, going global, and killing thousands (Scientific American, perspective by Peter Hotez)
- Scientists should admit they bring personal values to their work (Scientific American, perspective by Naomi Oreskes)
- Statement on discriminatory acts against Asian Pacific Islanders (OSA)
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