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What’s Ahead
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| Workers decorate the 2022 Capitol Christmas Tree. (Image credit – Architect of the Capitol) |
FY23 Budget Deal Imminent as Current Congress Draws to Close
Congressional appropriators are expected to release legislation as soon as Monday that will finalize federal agencies’ budget allocations for fiscal year 2023. To buy time for further negotiations, last week Congress passed a one-week extension to the stopgap spending measure that has been funding agencies since the beginning of the fiscal year on Oct. 1. Although House Republicans have pushed to delay the final negotiations until January, when they will take control of the House, retiring Senate Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Richard Shelby (R-AL) is pressing to wrap up the process by year’s end. To win sufficient Republican support for a final deal, Democrats have reportedly agreed to pare back their ambitions for increasing the non-defense budget, which would leave less room for meeting the budget targets set out in the CHIPS and Science Act. (Update: The final appropriations legislation is now posted here.)
In addition to the budget negotiations, lawmakers are in a final sprint to finish other remaining business before the legislative process resets with the start of the 118th Congress on Jan. 3. At the end of last week, the Senate approved the annual National Defense Authorization Act on a vote of 83 to 11, sending it to President Biden for his signature. Congress also passed the Quantum Computing Cybersecurity Preparedness Act, which backs efforts underway to harden federal computing systems against the threat that future quantum computers could break current encryption methods, as well as the Empowering the U.S. Fire Administration Act, which authorizes that agency to send researchers and fire protection engineers to investigate major building fires. In addition, the new budget stopgap included the PRECIP Act, which directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to periodically update its estimates of the maximum probable precipitation rates across the U.S. However, the House has apparently abandoned an attempt to pass a bill called the EAGLE Act that would remove per-country caps on employment-based visas.
Editor’s Note: FYI This Week will return the first week of January.
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In Case You Missed It
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| Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm speaks on Dec. 13, 2022 about the first-ever “ignition” of a controlled nuclear fusion reaction, achieved at Lawrence Livermore National Lab on Dec. 5. Behind her are, from left, Livermore Director Kim Budil and National Nuclear Security Administration head Jill Hruby. (Image credit – DOE) |
Laser Fusion Experiment Clears Ignition Threshold
The Department of Energy announced last week that the National Ignition Facility at Lawrence Livermore National Lab conducted a nuclear fusion experiment on Dec. 5 in which the application of 2.05 megajoules of laser energy to a hydrogen fuel target yielded 3.15 megajoules of energy output. It was the first time a net energy gain, the accepted definition of fusion “ignition,” had ever been obtained from fusion outside a thermonuclear detonation. The achievement realized an idea first proposed at Livermore in the 1960s and resolved doubts that NIF, which has operated since 2009, would ever clear the ignition threshold. The most immediate applications of follow-on ignition shots will be to the facility’s primary purpose: providing data that helps to certify the viability of aging nuclear warheads. Asked about applications to energy generation at a DOE press event, Livermore Director Kim Budil cautioned that the prospect of laser fusion power plants is “probably decades” away, while expressing optimism the goal is achievable. Currently, private ventures are more focused on developing magnetic confinement fusion, an alternative approach that has not yet achieved ignition, with an eye toward building power plants in the 2030s.
DOE Voids Revocation of Oppenheimer Security Clearance
On Dec. 16, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm vacated the 1954 revocation of the security clearance held by physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, who led the development of the first atomic bombs and afterward shaped work on the nascent U.S. nuclear arsenal as a top adviser to the Atomic Energy Commission, the predecessor of the Department of Energy. In the wake of the Red Scare and Oppenheimer’s reluctance to construct the vastly more powerful hydrogen bomb, AEC Chair Lewis Strauss and other opponents of Oppenheimer pressed for the removal of his clearance, questioning his character and loyalty to the U.S. The resulting hearings and AEC ruling against Oppenheimer drew nationwide attention and sowed lasting resentment among many scientists, who regarded the affair as a deep injustice. Although Oppenheimer died in 1967, last year DOE was petitioned to reverse the decision by Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM), who had previously appealed unsuccessfully to the Obama administration. In vacating the decision, Granholm pointed out that the AEC committed a variety of procedural abuses in making the case against Oppenheimer and that ample historical evidence indicates the revocation was politically motivated.
TerraPower Delays Reactor Demonstration Citing HALEU Shortage
The Casper Star-Tribune reported last week that the company TerraPower is delaying the target startup date for the Natrium reactor it is building in southwest Wyoming from 2028 until at least 2030. Employing a liquid sodium coolant, Natrium is one of two nuclear energy projects with novel designs that the Department of Energy is subsidizing through a reactor demonstration program Congress created in 2019. TerraPower blamed the delay on a lack of reliable supplies of the high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel the reactor will use, an issue it warned about last summer after its plans to acquire an initial supply from Russia were derailed by that country’s invasion of Ukraine. Called for in many new reactor designs, HALEU has a higher concentration of the uranium-235 isotope than fuels used by traditional nuclear power plants. Congress and DOE have been working to build up domestic commercial supplies of the fuel and the department just established a consortium that will help coordinate public and private activities around that goal. In response to the Natrium delay, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY) criticized DOE’s pace in making HALEU available and requested an oversight hearing on the topic. He also noted he had led a bipartisan letter asking appropriators to provide more funding for bolstering uranium supply chains. TerraPower indicated it does expect domestic HALEU supplies will be robust enough to meet its preliminary plans to build up to five additional Natrium reactors by 2035 with the utility company PacifiCorp.
DOE Spins Up Carbon Removal and Hydrogen Fuel Initiatives
The Department of Energy announced last week it is accepting applications for a $3.5 billion program that will fund regional hubs dedicated to extracting carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, a process known as direct air capture. DOE also launched a $115 million prize competition to spur innovation in direct air capture technologies and previewed a $100 million grant program for developing processes to convert captured carbon emissions into useful products. These programs are all part of a suite of clean energy initiatives funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act last year. Separately last week, DOE released details about forthcoming programs that will develop technologies for clean hydrogen electrolysis, manufacturing, and recycling, using $1.5 billion in funding from the infrastructure law. Those efforts will complement the $8 billion regional clean hydrogen hub program also funded by the law.
White House Announces Alliance to Coordinate STEM Equity Efforts
At a stakeholder summit on Dec. 12, the White House announced the launch of the STEMM Opportunity Alliance, a consortium of more than 90 institutions that will work to promote equitable participation in the fields of science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine. The effort will coordinate over $1 billion of planned public and private spending, focusing on five “equity and excellence” action areas identified by the White House: promoting science literacy and access to STEMM education, addressing shortages of STEMM teachers, reducing disparities in research funding for underrepresented groups, mitigating bias, discrimination, and harassment in the STEMM workforce, and improving data collection to ensure accountability across the STEMM ecosystem. Coordinated by the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, the alliance comprises federal science agencies, businesses, academic institutions, and nonprofit organizations (including AIP).
New DOE Workforce Diversity Program Issues First Grants
Last week, the Department of Energy Office of Science announced the first round of grants through its Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) initiative, which aims to expand training opportunities for members of historically underrepresented groups. Totalling $32 million across 41 grants at 37 institutions, the awards will support internships, training programs, and mentorship opportunities. Among the institutions receiving funding, 24 are designated as minority-serving institutions (MSIs). The office also announced plans to distribute $35 million through its new Funding for Accelerated, Inclusive Research (FAIR) program, a complementary initiative aimed at building research capacity at institutions historically underrepresented in science. Each grant will provide up to $750,000 over three years to support basic research in all fields supported by the Office of Science, including through partnerships with DOE national labs and user facilities. The grants are only open to MSIs outside the top tier of research institutions and “emerging research institutions,” defined as higher education institutions that receive less than $50 million annually in federal research funds. The solicitation is open until April 11 and the office is holding an informational webinar on Jan. 6.
NSF Appoints Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
The National Science Foundation announced last week that Charles Barber will serve as its first-ever chief diversity and inclusion officer, a role created in response to the CHIPS and Science Act to improve coordination of the agency’s efforts to broaden participation in STEM. Barber will also be responsible for developing and implementing a strategic plan to advance diversity and equity within NSF’s own workforce. An Army veteran, Barber previously directed diversity, equity, and inclusion programs within the Navy Department and over the past 20 years has held various human resources and management positions at defense agencies. His appointment at NSF begins Jan. 16.
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Events This Week
All times are Eastern Standard Time, unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement.
Monday, December 19
Tuesday, December 20
Wednesday, December 21
Wednesday, January 4
Thursday, January 5
Friday, January 6
Sunday, January 8
American Astronomical Society: 241st meeting
(continues through Thursday)
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Opportunities APS Hiring Science Policy Intern
The American Physical Society is hiring a science policy intern to work part-time with its Government Affairs team. The intern’s responsibilities will include analyzing and visualizing data to inform APS advocacy strategies on policy issues such as STEM education and equity in STEM. Candidates with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, physical science, or public policy are preferred, though current undergraduate students will be considered.
New Climate Adaptation Science Council Seeking Members
The U.S. Geological Survey is seeking nominations for the newly-formed Advisory Council for Climate Adaptation Science, which will guide the development of the new USGS National Climate Adaptation Science Center and its nine affiliated regional centers. The committee will consist of approximately 18 members drawn from state and local governments, academia, Indigenous organizations, and other sectors, who will serve terms of two to three years. Nominations are due Jan. 16.
Medical Isotopes Advisory Committee Seeking Members
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is soliciting nominations of brachytherapy radiation oncologists to serve on the Advisory Committee on the Medical Uses of Isotopes, who will provide guidance on matters such as emerging medical technologies, physician training requirements, and radiation safety rules. Committee members serve four-year terms that may be renewed. Nominations are due Jan. 23.
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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