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What’s Ahead
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| In a speech last week, Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Richard Shelby (R-AL) noted that the last time the Senate had passed nine out of the 12 annual appropriations bills by this point in the year was 1999. (Image credit - C-SPAN) |
Senate Aiming to Avoid FY19 Stopgap Spending
The Senate will remain in session this week while the House enters the last leg of Congress’ traditional August recess. During their unusual extended summer in Washington, senators have concentrated on advancing spending bills and nominations. Last week, on a vote of 85 to 7, the Senate approved a two-bill package that includes fiscal year 2019 funding for the Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health, and Department of Education. Senate leaders remain optimistic Congress will clear some spending measures before the start of the fiscal year on Oct. 1. If they do, agencies covered by those measures will be spared the uncertainties associated with the stopgap spending resolutions that Congress typically uses to fund the federal government during the first part of the fiscal year.
Congress Nears Finish Line on DOE, Other Spending Bills
Senate leaders have told the press they hope to resolve differences with the House as soon as next week over legislation that includes fiscal year 2019 funding for the Department of Energy. Both chambers have also already passed their respective versions of spending bills covering the Department of Defense, Environmental Protection Agency, and U.S. Geological Survey. Other science agencies are further away from receiving final appropriations. The House has yet to pass the bill funding NIH and the Department of Education, and neither chamber has passed its bill that funds NASA, the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Institute of Standards and Technology.
Committee Votes Set for OSTP and NASA Nominees, Veterans STEM Education Bill
On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will meet to vote on President Trump’s nominations of Kelvin Droegemeier for White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director, James Morhard to be NASA deputy administrator, and two other positions. All the nominations are expected to advance to the full Senate. The committee will also vote on four bills, including the bipartisan “Supporting Veterans in STEM Careers Act,” which the House passed last year. The bill would direct the National Science Foundation to create a plan for enhancing its outreach to veterans and require OSTP to create a panel that coordinates federal programs for transitioning veterans into STEM careers. (UPDATE: The meeting has been postponed.)
NASA Science Advisory Committee Convening
The NASA Advisory Council and its committees are meeting this week at Ames Research Center in California. The Science Committee is meeting Monday and Tuesday and will discuss the science requirements of the administration’s lunar exploration initiative and the committee’s in-progress review of the Science Mission Directorate’s Research and Analysis portfolio, among other matters. When complete, the review will deliver recommendations on how the directorate should balance support of high-risk, high-impact projects with support of “ foundational and/or more gradual research activities,” as well as interdisciplinary research. The meeting will be webcast.
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In Case You Missed It
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| Kelvin Droegemeier, left, and James Morhard at a Aug. 23 hearing on their respective nominations to be director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and deputy administrator of NASA. (Image credit - NASA / Bill Ingalls) |
OSTP Nominee Says Science Must Be Free From Political Interference
University of Oklahoma meteorologist Kelvin Droegemeier received broad, bipartisan praise at a Senate hearing last week on his nomination to lead the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. Droegemeier repeatedly stressed that scientists must be able to conduct and communicate their research free from political interference and harassment. He said it is important for OSTP to monitor federal agencies’ adherence to scientific integrity policies and suggested that OSTP could coordinate the adoption of stronger policies against sexual harassment across all R&D agencies. Among the top threats to U.S. R&D leadership, he said, are undue regulatory burden on researchers and growing global competition, particularly from China. Asked about his views on climate science, he said tolerance of varying climate science views is needed and identified reducing uncertainties in climate models as a priority. FYI’s summary of Droegemeier’s remarks is available here.
NASA Deputy Nominee Faces Mild Pushback, Pressed on Climate Views
The hearing was also mostly uncontentious for President Trump’s nominee to be deputy NASA administrator, James Morhard. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) attested to Morhard’s managerial experience as a top Senate appropriations staffer and deputy sergeant-at-arms, though Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) questioned if his experience would compensate for his lack of background as a “space professional.” Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL), the top Democrat on the committee, accepted Morhard’s experience as valuable for the NASA role while urging him to seek advice from NASA’s “expert scientific and technical people.” Pressed by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) on his view of the scientific consensus on climate change, Morhard said, “I believe the climate is changing and that man has a significant impact on it,” but added that he could not “speak authoritatively” on whether humans are the primary driver. He committed to ensuring that there is “no distortion or disregard for science and scientific evidence” at NASA.
ARPA-E Nominee Joins Other DOE Appointees Awaiting Senate Vote
The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee advanced President Trump’s nomination of Lane Genatowski to lead the Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy by voice vote on Aug. 24. Genatowski now joins a list of eight Department of Energy nominees awaiting a vote by the full Senate, including the Office of Science director, the head of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, and the deputy administrator for defense programs at the National Nuclear Security Administration. Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) is calling for her colleagues to quickly work through any issues holding up the nominations. For details on pending nominations, see FYI’s Federal Science Leadership Tracker.
NSF Selects Head for Education and Human Resources
The National Science Foundation announced last week that mathematician Karen Marrongelle will become the new head of its Education and Human Resources (EHR) Directorate on Oct. 1. Marrongelle will join NSF from Portland State University, where she has been dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences for four years. Since receiving her doctorate in mathematics education from the University of New Hampshire in 2001, Marrongelle has taught mathematics at Portland State University. She also served as a program director within EHR’s Division on Research and Learning from 2007 to 2009. EHR manages most of NSF’s STEM education research and diversity programs.
Army Stands Up Futures Command
The U.S. Army formally opened its new Futures Command at an Aug. 24 ceremony in Austin, Texas. Led by General John Murray, Futures Command is charged with coordinating the Army’s modernization activities and establishing stronger relations with academic institutions and industry. It will have authority over a number of existing Army organizations, including Research, Development, and Engineering Command. Army Department officials have called the command’s creation the most significant reorganization of the Army headquarters bureaucracy since 1973. Addressing the Army’s decision to site the new command in Austin, Army Chief of Staff General Mark Milley remarked, “This is the first time in Army history that we’ve ever planted a major headquarters in the center of an urban area in the United States. But we’re looking to be disruptive.”
NIH Announces Effort to Protect Research from Foreign Influence
At a Senate hearing last week, National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins announced he has asked senior leaders at over 10,000 NIH-funded institutions to “review their records for evidence of malfeasance” from foreign actors. In an Aug. 20 letter, Collins wrote that the agency is “aware that some foreign entities have mounted systematic programs to influence NIH researchers and peer reviewers and to take advantage of the long tradition of trust, fairness, and excellence of NIH-supported activities.” The letter identifies three specific areas of concern: “diversion” of intellectual property, attempts to influence funding decisions, and failure of some researchers to disclose resource contributions from other organizations, including foreign governments. Collins also said he has created a working group that will identify steps to improve reporting of financial contributions, enhance intellectual property security, and protect the integrity of peer review in a way that “emphasizes the compelling value of ongoing honorable participation by foreign nationals in the American scientific enterprise.” Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), the chair of the committee, similarly stressed the importance of continuing to welcome foreign researchers to the U.S., noting that several current directors of Department of Energy national laboratories and many U.S. Nobel Prize recipients were born in other countries.
Trump Comments on Protecting US Technology from Acquisition by Foreign Adversaries
On Aug. 23, President Trump held a roundtable discussion with congressional Republicans on reforms to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) made in this year’s annual defense policy legislation. The law broadens the scope of transactions that CFIUS reviews for national security risks and creates a framework for better controlling the export of “emerging and foundational technologies.” Trump described the CFIUS reforms as key to protecting the country’s “crown jewels of intellectual property and advanced technology from harmful foreign investments.” Trump and congressional participants pointed to China as the foremost concern. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) expressed particular concerns about China buying small companies that are developing artificial intelligence and quantum computing technologies. Trump also briefly weighed in on the matter at a political rally in West Virginia last week, saying, “ We have the greatest scientists in the world. That’s why China and so many other countries, they’re trying to steal our technology.”
EPA Proposes Replacing Clean Power Plan with Less Stringent Regulations
On Aug. 21, the Environmental Protection Agency released a proposed replacement for the 2015 Clean Power Plan, the centerpiece of the Obama administration’s effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions across the U.S. electric power sector. Called the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, the proposed regulation would give states greater authority to determine how to reduce emissions from power plants and would permit plant operators to make efficiency upgrades without installing certain pollution control technologies. The proposal does not seek to modify EPA’s scientific determination that greenhouse gases pose a public health risk, known as the “endangerment finding,” which obligates the agency to regulate emissions under the Clean Air Act. House Science Committee Chair Lamar Smith (R-TX) welcomed the proposed rule as a “common-sense approach based on sound science,” while Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) slammed it as the latest among many Trump administration actions that “ignore science and put the health of the American people and our environment at risk.”
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Events This Week
NASA: Advisory Council meeting (continues Thursday)
1:00 - 5:00 pm PDT, Wed; 10:30 am - 4:00 pm PDT, Thu
Ames Research Center (Moffett Field, CA)
Webcast available
Friday, August 31 No events.
Monday, September 3 Labor Day holiday
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Opportunities Duke Hiring Interim Director for Science Policy Center
The Duke Initiative for Science and Society is accepting applications for an interim director of the Center for Science Policy and Society in Durham, North Carolina. The director will oversee the activities of the center, including a science policy tracking website and summer policy institute.
Research!America Seeking Science Policy Fellow
Research!America, a biomedical research advocacy organization, is accepting applications for its science policy fellowship program. Position duties include tracking federal science budgets and legislation, writing communications materials, and completing an independent project on a relevant science policy topic, among other responsibilities. Individuals with a Ph.D. and an interest in biomedical science policy are encouraged to apply. Applications are due Sept. 7.
National Academies Chemical S&T Board Seeking New Members
The National Academies is accepting recommendations for two new members from academia to join its Board on Chemical Science and Technology. The board is specifically seeking recommendations for individuals with expertise in experimental physical, inorganic, and biological chemistry. To maintain demographic balance in its composition, the board especially encourages recommendations of female and minority individuals.
Know of an upcoming science policy opportunity? Email us at fyi@aip.org.Know of an upcoming science policy event? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
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