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What’s Ahead
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| President Biden met with leaders from companies and labor organizations on Aug. 4 to discuss the Inflation Reduction Act, a spending and tax reform bill Senate Democrats passed over the weekend. (Image credit – The White House) |
Democrats’ Climate Spending Bill on Glide Path to Enactment
Last week, Senate Democrats secured the unanimous support they needed within their caucus to advance an ambitious multiyear spending and tax reform bill, leveraging Congress’ budget reconciliation process to circumvent a Republican filibuster. After voting on a long list of amendments, rejecting almost all of them, the chamber passed the legislation on Sunday on a vote of 51 to 50 as Vice President Harris stepped in to break a party-line tie. The House plans to convene on Friday to approve the bill, sending it to President Biden for his signature. The finalized version differs modestly from the version released the previous week, with changes focused on how it generates revenue through its tax provisions. It retains measures related to energy production and climate change mitigation that will cost $369 billion over multiple years and it adds a further $4 billion for drought mitigation.
The climate-related spending will largely fund economic measures aimed at decarbonization and environmental resilience, but $2 billion will provide a one-time boost to facilities projects at Department of Energy national labs. While the bill assigns those funds to specific offices and programs, DOE will have some discretion around what projects it spends them on. Potential uses include accelerating the Fermilab-led LBNF/DUNE neutrino experiment, jump-starting work on the Second Target Station at Oak Ridge National Lab’s Spallation Neutron Source, and ensuring a smooth ramp up in construction for Brookhaven National Lab’s Electron-Ion Collider. DOE may also use part of the funding to bring the U.S. up to date on its contributions to the international ITER fusion energy facility.
Biden Signing CHIPS and Science Act at White House Event
President Biden is holding a press event on Tuesday in the White House Rose Garden to sign the CHIPS and Science Act, which is arguably the most significant science policy legislation to be enacted in the 21st century so far. The “CHIPS” portion (officially called the CHIPS Act of 2022) provides tax credits and $52 billion through fiscal year 2026 to support the U.S. semiconductor industry, of which $24 billion will be available in the current fiscal year. The bulk of the total multiyear appropriation will support subsidies for the construction and refurbishment of semiconductor fabrication facilities, with about $13 billion allocated to R&D initiatives. The bill also includes a $1.5 billion appropriation to establish a Public Wireless Supply Chain Innovation Fund, virtually all of which will be provided in fiscal year 2023. Among its many provisions, the “Science” portion (officially called the Research and Development, Competition, and Innovation Act) creates a regional technology hub program within the Department of Commerce and sets out ambitious funding targets for the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy Office of Science, and National Institute of Standards and Technology. However, unlike with the CHIPS funding, Congress will need to provide the funding to meet these targets through future appropriations.
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In Case You Missed It
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| A 2016 chart of the U.S. allocation of radio spectrum. (Image credit – NTIA) |
Senators Plot Legislative Strategy for Radio Spectrum Allocation
With the Federal Communications Commission’s authority to auction radio spectrum bands expiring on Sept. 30, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee convened a hearing last week to consider policies for more effectively governing spectrum allocation. In recent years, FCC allocation decisions have sparked serial controversies amid concerns that advanced telecommunications equipment will interfere with users such as weather satellites and the Global Positioning System. Committee members agreed it is urgent that the Senate follow the House in passing a short-term extension of FCC’s authority to avoid disrupting an ongoing auction of frequencies near 2.5 gigahertz. Arguing more than an extension will be needed, Communications, Media, and Broadband Subcommittee Chair Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) pointed to bureaucratic and engineering challenges associated with reconciling competing spectrum uses and the fact that the public value of some uses cannot be assigned a price. He also approvingly noted that on Aug. 2 FCC updated its memorandum of understanding with the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, which represents federal spectrum users. It is the first update to their MOU since 2003. Committee Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Subcommittee Ranking Member John Thune (R-SD) both suggested Congress should identify specific spectrum bands for future auction, as it did the last time it renewed FCC’s auction authority. Such legislation would likely involve reassigning bands currently used by federal agencies, and Wicker and Thune acknowledged considerable time would probably be needed to work with stakeholders to decide which bands ought to be included.
Former NRG CEO Picked for DOE Infrastructure Under Secretary
President Biden nominated energy industry executive David Crane last week to serve as the Department of Energy’s under secretary for infrastructure. Under statute, DOE has three under secretary positions, but until now the Biden administration had only moved to fill two of them. The responsibilities of the third were ill-defined before DOE reconfigured it earlier this year to oversee DOE’s clean energy demonstration and deployment efforts, which are receiving around $25 billion through last year’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Crane was CEO of utility company NRG Energy from 2003 to 2015, stewarding its emergence from bankruptcy and increasing its portfolio in renewable energy. In a 2014 open letter to the company’s shareholders, he called on the energy industry to take accountability for its inaction on climate change and laid out a business plan focused on clean energy and distributed energy generation. However, his initiatives failed to gain favor from the company’s board and he was fired in 2015. Crane is currently CEO of Climate Real Impact Solutions, a clean energy investment firm, and serves on the boards of a number of clean energy ventures and sustainability-focused nonprofit organizations. The under secretary role is currently filled on an interim basis by DOE career official Kathleen Hogan. Separately last week, DOE announced it has selected Betony Jones to lead its Office of Energy Jobs, which engages with industry, labor unions, and other stakeholders to promote energy workforce development. Jones was previously a senior adviser in DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
David Applegate Confirmed as USGS Director
The Senate confirmed geologist David Applegate to serve as director of the U.S. Geological Survey by voice vote on Aug. 4. A career USGS official, Applegate joined the agency in 2004 as senior science adviser for earthquake and geological hazards and then led its Natural Hazards mission area for a decade. He was named the agency’s interim director at the start of the Biden administration and was nominated as Biden’s appointee this past March. At his nomination hearing in April, Applegate fielded questions from senators on energy security and critical minerals and highlighted the agency’s Earth Mapping Resources Initiative (Earth MRI), a project to survey critical mineral concentrations across the U.S. that is receiving $320 million through last year’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Ohio State Diversity Chief to Lead NSF Education Directorate
The National Science Foundation announced last week that James L. Moore III, Ohio State University’s vice provost for diversity and inclusion, will be the new head of its Education and Human Resources Directorate, effective Aug. 22. Moore holds a doctorate in counselor education from Virginia Tech and has focused his research in areas such as STEM education, gifted education, higher education, and multicultural and urban education. Since taking up his role at Ohio State in 2018, he has also served concurrently as the first executive director of the university’s Todd Anthony Bell National Resource Center on the African American Male. He previously worked at NSF from 2015 to 2017 as program director for NSF’s Broadening Participation in Engineering program, and he helped launch the agency’s INCLUDES initiative, which has become the focal point for its efforts to increase diversity and inclusivity in STEM fields. NSF’s Education and Human Resources Directorate funds education research and STEM education initiatives and has an annual budget of more than $1 billion.
Regulators Opt Against Penalizing NIST for Reactor Incident
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission issued a confirmatory order on Aug. 2 enforcing a mediated settlement it has reached over the National Institutes of Standards and Technology’s culpability for a radiation incident that took place at NIST’s research reactor in February 2021. The order acknowledges NIST’s completed and planned corrective actions and states that NRC will not impose a financial civil penalty. In a press release on the order, NIST states it is currently working to identify an independent nuclear consultant it will contract with to assess the safety culture at the reactor facility. NIST still needs approval from the commission to restart the reactor, which has been offline since the incident. The loss of access to the reactor has severely impinged on U.S. capacity for neutron-scattering research, and this summer that situation has been further exacerbated by an extended shutdown at the only other federal reactor-based user facility for neutron scattering, Oak Ridge National Lab’s High Flux Isotope Reactor.
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Events This Week
All times are Eastern Daylight Time, unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement.
Monday, August 8
Tuesday, August 9
Wednesday, August 10
Thursday, August 11
Friday, August 12
No events.
Monday, August 15
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Opportunities DOE Hiring Advisor for Research Security and Collaboration
The Department of Energy is hiring a senior science adviser for international programs, who will advise the Office of Science on matters related to international scientific cooperation, global competitiveness, research security, and scientific integrity. Applicants should have at least one year of specialized experience in areas such as research management, strategic planning, and technical and policy analysis. Applications are due Aug. 18.
Board on International Scientific Organizations Hiring Director
The National Academies is hiring a director for its Board on International Scientific Organizations, which facilitates U.S. participation in world scientific organizations and international initiatives, including by overseeing a network of 17 discipline-specific national committees. Applicants should have extensive project management and supervisory experience, knowledge of international science, and demonstrated success in obtaining funding from federal agencies or private foundations. A doctorate and 10 years of related professional experience are required.
Union of Concerned Scientists Hiring VP
The Union of Concerned Scientists is hiring a vice president for science and innovation, who will guide research efforts at the intersection of science and advocacy and oversee the UCS Science Fellow Program. Applicants should have at least 15 years of management experience in a nonprofit or government setting as well as experience in a relevant scientific field. A doctorate in the physical or social sciences is preferred.
Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
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