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What’s Ahead
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| House Armed Services Committee Chair Adam Smith (D-WA) speaks at a committee meeting in February 2020. Sgt. 1st Class Chuck Burden / DOD |
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Annual Defense Bill up for Full Committee Debate in House
The House Armed Services Committee is meeting on Wednesday to debate the National Defense Authorization Act, a bill that Congress passes annually to update policy for the Department of Defense and National Nuclear Security Administration. The bill already passed through subcommittee deliberation prior to the House’s August recess, but the most significant and controversial provisions are usually reserved for the full committee meeting, which often continues for more than one day. Each year’s bill generally includes a wide array of science and technology policy provisions, and in recent years these have focused on matters such as accelerating the deployment of emerging technologies, bolstering DOD’s ability to partner with innovative companies, and protecting research from exploitation by rival governments. The Senate Armed Services Committee completed work on its counterpart version of this year’s bill before the August recess, though so far it has only released an executive summary. The House and Senate versions will likely be reconciled into a final version sometime this fall.
DOE Fusion Advisory Panel Checks In on Strategic Plan
On Monday and Tuesday, the advisory committee for the Department of Energy’s Fusion Energy Sciences (FES) program is holding its first meeting since December, when the committee concluded a two-year effort to develop a long-range strategic plan for the program. This week’s meeting will include an update on implementation of the plan as well as a discussion of a National Academies report released this year that outlines a path toward building a U.S.-based fusion power plant. Both reports recommend the U.S. scale up domestic fusion technology R&D efforts to enable the construction of an operational pilot plant by the 2040s or earlier, but so far the administration has proposed no major changes to the program and the pending House and Senate appropriations bills for fiscal year 2022 fall well short of the spending levels recommended for FES in the Energy Act of 2020. Also on the meeting agenda is an update on U.S. contributions to the international ITER project and a presentation on the National Ignition Facility’s recent breakthrough fusion experiment. Pointing to the result, House Science Committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) recently urged DOE to expand the FES program to include inertial fusion energy research and other new fusion research efforts authorized in the Energy Act.
DOE Hosting High-Profile ‘Hydrogen Shot’ Summit
The Department of Energy is holding a summit on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss its ‘Hydrogen Shot’ initiative, which aims to reduce the price of hydrogen produced from renewable energy by 80% to $1 per kilogram in one decade. The initiative was the first in a series of “Energy Earthshots” the agency is launching to address technical and economic barriers associated with deploying different clean energy technologies. At the event, DOE will share the results of its request for public input on the Hydrogen Shot. Invited speakers include Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chair Joe Manchin (D-WV), and the directors of five DOE national labs. Bill Gates, who founded Breakthrough Energy, an organization that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy innovation, will deliver a keynote address. The Biden administration and lawmakers are currently proposing to sharply increase funding for DOE’s applied energy programs that support hydrogen innovation, both through the annual appropriations process and special infrastructure legislation.
Lunar Science Panel Holding Annual Meeting
The Lunar Exploration Analysis Group, a panel that advises NASA on its lunar science activities, is convening its annual meeting this Tuesday through Thursday. NASA’s plans for lunar science have been rapidly intensifying in association with the agency’s Artemis lunar exploration program, and a campaign of commercially operated robotic missions is scheduled to begin launching next year. This week’s meeting will review those missions as well as longer-term plans that are currently under consideration by the National Academies’ decadal survey for planetary science, which recommends priorities for NASA’s Planetary Science Division. LEAG submitted a series of white papers to the survey in May advocating on behalf of lunar science and outlining priorities for future missions. The meeting will also examine science to be conducted in conjunction with crewed missions to the Moon. The schedule for crewed missions is currently up in the air while NASA reexamines its plans for the Artemis program, which is not expected to meet the Trump administration’s goal of returning astronauts to the surface by 2024.
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In Case You Missed It
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| The White House |
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Biden White House Releases First R&D Priorities Memo
The White House released its annual R&D priorities memo late last week, providing broad guidance to federal science agencies as they draft their budget requests for fiscal year 2023. It is the first to be issued by the Biden administration and is signed by Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Eric Lander and Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Shalanda Young. The memo emphasizes pandemic preparedness and climate change mitigation and it follows the Trump administration’s R&D memos in focusing on “critical and emerging” technology areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum information science, advanced communications, and biotechnology. It also reinforces the Biden administration’s goal of linking innovation with opportunities to bolster domestic manufacturing and increase the security of technology supply chains. In addition, it stresses “innovation for equity,” stating that agencies should “prioritize R&D investments in programs with strong potential to advance equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically disadvantaged, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.” Other priorities include protecting national security interests against threats such as cyberattacks and biological risks, building trust in science through means such as open-science practices, and promoting diversity and equity in STEM education.
Report Finds US Falling Behind in Basic Energy Sciences
The advisory committee for the Department of Energy’s Basic Energy Sciences program released a draft report last week that warns the U.S. is losing ground to Europe and China in several key research areas supported by the program. The report states that the facilities supported by the program are world-leading but “no longer unique” in their technical capabilities and that some may soon be eclipsed by ones abroad. It also notes that U.S. light and neutron source user facilities lag in overall number of beamlines and that U.S. facilities generally offer more limited technical support to users than their international counterparts. In addition, the report warns that global competition for scientific talent has increased, partially because of other nation’s talent recruitment efforts and the “excellent funding opportunities” available for early and mid-career scientists in Europe. Accordingly, the report recommends DOE work to “create a more sustainable career path” for researchers, such as by increasing the dollar amount of DOE’s Early Career Awards and creating analogous awards that provide five years of funding to mid-career and senior investigators. It also recommends DOE enhance career opportunities for staff scientists at user facilities and increase investments in research infrastructure, including small and mid-scale instrumentation.
Senate Intelligence Panel Seeks National Technology Strategy
The Senate Intelligence Committee approved legislation this month containing a provision that would require the president to annually produce a “National Technology Strategy.” The strategy would identify priority R&D areas, assess the relative competitiveness of U.S. technology sectors versus those of competitors, and recommend “programs to grow United States talent in key critical and emerging technologies,” among other items. The legislation as a whole would broadly update policy direction for intelligence agencies and includes a number of other STEM-focused provisions. Among them are new requirements for reporting back to Congress on “known Chinese talent recruitment programs operating in the United States,” the Chinese government’s collection of genomic data, “anomalous health incidents” affecting U.S. diplomatic and intelligence personnel, the vulnerability of the Global Positioning System, and the activities of the Defense Department’s Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force. The legislation may ultimately be merged into the latest National Defense Authorization Act.
Science Committee Pushes DOE Role in Low-Dose Radiation Research
At a meeting last week of a National Academies panel that is developing a congressionally mandated strategy for low-dose radiation research at the Department of Energy, the Democratic staff director of the House Science Committee’s Energy Subcommittee, Adam Rosenberg, expressed frustration with DOE’s reticence to reestablish its research in the area as required by recent laws. He said the committee is open to arguments that further research would not be fruitful or that other agencies are better suited to steward the field, but said that to date it “has not heard good arguments for either of those points.” Prompted by a panel member who said DOE has spent funds provided to reestablish the program on computational activities that are not directly related to low-dose research, Rosenberg said DOE’s handling of the funds has been “unacceptable.” Asked whether the Academies panel might recommend conducting the work through an entity “semi-independent” of the government, he said flatly that it should not, remarking, “DOE shouldn’t get an out because it’s not following the law.” Another committee staff member, Alyse Huffman, suggested that appropriators may be willing to direct more money toward DOE’s program once it has a firmer strategic direction.
House Passes Blueprint for $3.5 Trillion Spending Plan
On a party-line vote of 220 to 212 last week, House Democrats approved a blueprint for a $3.5 trillion multiyear spending package and committed to voting by Sept. 27 on a separate $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure package. In addition to funding many other priorities, Democrats plan to use the partisan spending package to seek tens of billions in additional funding for R&D and research infrastructure beyond what is included in the bipartisan package. The promise to vote promptly on the infrastructure bill placated a group of centrist Democrats who were pushing the House to pass the bipartisan plan before taking up the partisan blueprint.
Societies Seek Priority Visas for Afghan STEM Workers
A group of U.S. scientific societies and universities sent a letter to the White House last week asking for Afghan volunteers and members of global professional societies to be made eligible for a priority refugee visa program. In urging action, the letter states that “it is becoming clear the Taliban are targeting technical professionals based on membership in professional associations” as well as past collaborations with U.S. counterparts in such societies. The letter also calls for the U.S. to help Afghan women in STEM fields to leave the country. (Several AIP Member Societies are signatories of the letter.)
Webb Telescope Completes Testing, Prepares to Set Sail
NASA’s $10 billion James Webb Space Telescope completed testing this month at a Northrop Grumman facility in California and is now being readied for a sea journey that will take it through the Panama Canal to a launch site in French Guiana on the coast of South America. The launch vehicle, an Ariane 5 rocket provided by the European Space Agency, will also arrive by sea. NASA has stated the Webb telescope will complete its shipping preparations in September, but has not disclosed the exact departure date, at least in part due to concerns the vessel could be targeted by pirates. The launch is scheduled for as early as Oct. 31, though the current cadence of Ariane 5 launches suggests it may not launch until later this year.
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Events This Week Monday, August 30
Tuesday, August 31
Wednesday, September 1
Thursday, September 2
Friday, September 3
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Opportunities House Science Committee Hiring Manufacturing Policy Staffer
The Democratic majority staff of the House Science Committee is hiring a professional staff member to support its oversight of manufacturing and innovation programs. Applicants should have familiarity with manufacturing and innovation activities carried out by the Department of Commerce. Applicants should send a cover letter and resume to SciResumes@mail.house.gov by Sept. 10.
Nominees Sought for Study on Interface of Chemistry and QIS
The National Academies is seeking nominations for volunteer experts to serve on a committee responsible for identifying research opportunities at the interface of chemistry and quantum information science. The committee will assess how QIS could transform the field of chemistry, such as through new simulation tools, and will assess how chemistry research supports the field of QIS. Nominations are due Sept. 17.
DOE Benchmarking Biological and Environmental Research Program
The Department of Energy’s Biological and Environmental Research program is seeking input on “technical and logistical pathways that would enhance the BER research portfolio in comparison to similar international research efforts.” In particular, the request seeks input on BER research areas and facility capabilities that require strengthening, as well as mechanisms to optimize research collaborations and attract and retain talent. Comments are due Oct. 31.
Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
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