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What’s Ahead
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| Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN) has been selected as the House’s top Republican appropriator for the Department of Energy. He is shown here speaking at the 2013 dedication of the Carbon Fiber Technology Facility at Oak Ridge National Lab in his district. (Image credit – ORNL / CC BY 2.0) |
House Republicans Shuffle Key Science Appropriators
The work of organizing the House continues this week as Republicans and Democrats start to fill out their committee rosters and select subcommittee leaders. On Monday, the Republicans named all their top appropriators, changing up who is responsible for drafting science agency budgets. Rep. Mike Simpson (R-ID), a champion of nuclear energy, is leaving as the top Republican on the subcommittee that drafts the Department of Energy budget to chair the subcommittee that covers the U.S. Geological Survey and Environmental Protection Agency. Taking his place is Rep. Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN), who represents a district encompassing Oak Ridge National Lab and has been an active proponent of the DOE national lab system. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL) has stepped aside as the top Republican on the subcommittee that drafts budgets for NASA, the National Science Foundation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Institute of Standards and Technology and he now leads the one that drafts the National Institutes of Health budget. Aderholt is replaced by Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY), a former Appropriations Committee chair who represents a rural district in eastern Kentucky and is currently the longest-serving member of the House. Keep tabs on congressional science policy leadership assignments with FYI’s Federal Science Leadership Tracker.
New House Committee on China Aiming for Bipartisanship
The House voted to approve its new Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the U.S. and the Chinese Communist Party last week on a vote of 365 to 65, signaling bipartisan interest in the subject. Committee Chair Mike Gallagher (R-WI) previewed his own aspirations for collaborating with Democrats last year, remarking that “defending America from the Chinese Communist Party aggression should not be a partisan thing.” A former Marine counterintelligence officer, Gallagher was one of the first members of Congress to propose withholding defense research funding from participants in Chinese talent recruitment programs, an early milestone in an ongoing chill in U.S.–China science and technology collaboration. Democrats have not yet named their ranking member, but Politico reports that a top contender is Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a former CIA analyst. The Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus has taken a neutral position on the committee, with caucus chair Rep. Judy Chu (D-CA) explaining that, while Chinese government actions raise “legitimate concerns,” she voted against its formation partly due to concerns about increases in “xenophobic rhetoric” aimed at Asian Americans. In a statement welcoming the committee, incoming House Science Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R-OK) indicated he also plans to focus on issues such as research security and technological competition.
Lucas Takes Up House Science Committee Gavel
Now officially chair of the House Science Committee, Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) has begun to flesh out his priorities for the new Congress. In a statement, he previewed a focus on issues such as technology supply chains, space and aeronautics, clean and affordable energy, threats from China, and oversight of “the billions and billions of dollars the Democratic-led Congress and administration have poured into our agencies over the last two years.” He further stated he wants to work cooperatively with incoming Committee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), pointing to a tradition of bipartisanship on the committee, and he has already floated legislation that would make the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration an independent agency, which would need Democrats’ backing to pass. In a separate statement on Twitter, Lucas highlighted recent decreases in emissions from U.S. energy consumption, attributing it to “innovative research.” Climate change was a tension point on the committee under its previous Republican chair, now-retired Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), but Lucas has struck a more conciliatory tone on the issue.
Speakership Deal May Set Up Budget Cut Demand Exceeding 20%
While the House approved a rules package last week that incorporates many of the concessions Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made in his bid to be speaker, a non-public “addendum” with additional terms reportedly exists. Among these is that the House will seek to return federal discretionary spending to its fiscal year 2022 level. As many Republicans would refuse to entertain defense cuts, that raises the prospect their appropriations proposals would roll back nondefense spending by more than 20% to meet the self-imposed target. The Senate and Biden administration are unlikely to accede, portending a high-stakes standoff, either over the federal debt limit this summer or ahead of a possible government shutdown as early as this fall. Even if a deal is struck without such brinksmanship, Republican advocacy for steep cuts would dampen the prospect they will agree to meet the ambitious science agency funding targets set out in the CHIPS and Science Act.
PCAST Set to Release Wildfire Preparedness Report
The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology is meeting Thursday to vote on a report on “modernizing wildland firefighting to protect our firefighters.” The council explored the topic at a meeting last March, at which experts described technology and policy strategies for improved detection, monitoring, and mitigation of wildfires. The wildfire study will be the third public report submitted to President Biden by PCAST, following ones on biomanufacturing and semiconductor R&D. The biomanufacturing report, which was released last month, recommends actions to clarify regulatory processes for new biotechnologies and boost manufacturing capacity, including through new regional facilities that would provide skilled workers access to advanced manufacturing tools and training opportunities.
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In Case You Missed It
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| White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Arati Prabhakar (Image credit – Francis Chung / E&E News / Politico via AP Images) |
OSTP Publishes Model Scientific Integrity Policy, Assessment Rubric
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy released a framework last week for federal agencies to use in assessing their scientific integrity policies. The framework was called for in a memorandum President Biden issued early in his administration and includes a recommended definition of scientific integrity, a model integrity policy, suggested evaluation metrics, and the charter of a new interagency panel that will assess agency integrity policies. Alongside the framework, OSTP Director Arati Prabhakar issued a memo that requires agencies to draft updates to their integrity policies within 60 days, solicit public input within 180 days, and finalize the policies within 270 days. She also directed agencies to report annually on “the number of administrative investigations and appeals involving alleged deviations from the agency’s scientific integrity policies.” The framework and memo build on the five principles for scientific integrity OSTP proposed a year ago. The framework was applauded by the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy organization that has long pushed for stronger federal scientific integrity policies, though UCS argued the framework does not do enough to ensure agencies hold violators accountable.
Grassley Probing Agency Use of Outside Scientists, Schmidt Influence
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the presumptive ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, announced last week he is probing federal agencies’ use of the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) Mobility Program, which allows them to hire temporary employees whose salaries are paid by external organizations. He is focusing on a fellowship offered by the Federation of American Scientists (FAS) that is partly funded by Schmidt Futures, a philanthropic initiative of former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who has become a key player in deliberations over U.S. R&D policy. FAS is a nonprofit policy research and advocacy organization that traces its roots to the post-World War II period. Grassley has sent letters to seven agencies and three White House offices that recently hosted FAS fellows. Grassley acknowledges the arrangements are allowed by law but cites a series of Politico articles about them to suggest that Eric Schmidt’s “reportedly close involvement in funding the salaries of Biden administration IPA assignees in science and technology-related positions raises conflicts of interest concerns because Schmidt reportedly has extensive investments in technology companies.” FAS and Schmidt Futures have defended the arrangement in statements to Politico, pointing to internal safeguards against conflicts of interest and the fact that Schmidt Futures is not the sole funder of the fellowship.
Biden Fills Out National Science Board With Eight Appointments
The White House announced last week that President Biden intends to fill eight vacancies on the National Science Board, bringing it back to a full roster of 24 members, who serve staggered six-year terms. The board’s primary functions are to oversee the National Science Foundation and periodically assess the state of science and engineering activity in the U.S. The new appointees are astronomer Keivan Stassun, materials scientist Merlin Theodore, geodetic engineer Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska, chemical engineer Marvi Ann Matos Rodriguez, engineering education expert Bevlee Watford, psychologist Wanda Ward, education researcher Deborah Ball, and geneticist Vicki Chandler. Ball and Chandler previously served terms on the board through appointments by President Obama.
NASA Appoints Chief Technologist
NASA announced last week it has appointed A.C. Charania as chief technologist, who will work within the recently reorganized Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy to address technology needs across the agency. Charania has held numerous roles in the aerospace industry and most recently was vice president of product strategy at Reliable Robotics, a company that is developing autonomous vehicles for commercial aviation. He previously led lunar programs at Blue Origin and worked in business development for Virgin Galactic’s small satellite launch vehicle program. He holds a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from Georgia Tech, as well as bachelor’s degrees in engineering and economics. Charania assumed the role on Jan. 3 from Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy head Bhavya Lal, who had filled it in an acting capacity since late 2021.
New NSF Earth Sciences Director Starts Work
On Jan. 15, paleobiologist Dena Smith-Nufio took the helm of the Division of Earth Sciences within the National Science Foundation’s Geosciences Directorate. Smith-Nufio has been a program director within the division since 2016 and served as its acting director in 2020. Before joining NSF, she was a professor of geosciences at the University of Colorado Boulder and the curator of invertebrate paleontology at the CU Museum of Natural History. Smith-Nufio assumed the role from Jessica Robin, who had led the division on an acting basis since April.
Academies Panel Weighs In on China-Specific DOD Funding Ban
The National Academies released a study last week that proposes criteria for the Department of Defense to use when deciding whether to waive a prohibition on funding universities that host Confucius Institutes. The institutes offer Chinese language and cultural education using financial support from the Chinese government, and the study committee notes that after Congress imposed the DOD funding prohibition in 2018 their numbers have dropped from a peak of about 120 to seven. Last year, Congress extended the prohibition to National Science Foundation funding, starting in fiscal year 2025. Although DOD and NSF are allowed to issue waivers, the committee found DOD has never offered one. The committee proposes the waiver criteria include an assessment of whether host institutions meet certain research security standards, while noting it is not aware of any information implicating the institutes in espionage. It does identify incidents in which the governance structure of the institutes impinged on academic freedom and proposes host institutions demonstrate they have full managerial control over curriculum and instructors. The committee, which is chaired by Dartmouth College President Philip Hanlon, plans to publish a follow-on report in June assessing other types of foreign-funded programs and offering “flags for academic institutions that would lead to further deliberation and vetting to determine whether or not to enter into a partnership.”
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Events This Week
All times are Eastern Standard Time, unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement.
Monday, January 16
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Tuesday, January 17
Wednesday, January 18
Thursday, January 19
Friday, January 20
Monday, January 23
Federal Demonstration Partnership: January meeting
(continues through Wednesday)
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Opportunities DOE Seeking Next Director for Advanced Computing Office
The Department of Energy is seeking a director for its Office of Advanced Scientific Computing Research to replace Barbara Helland, who is retiring this month. Suggestions for candidates, including self-nominations, should be sent to Office of Science Deputy Director Harriet Kung ( Harriet.Kung@science.doe.gov) by Jan. 27.
Kavli Foundation Hiring Director of Physical Sciences
The Kavli Foundation is hiring a director for physical sciences, who will oversee the foundation’s grantmaking and scientific convening activities related to astrophysics and theoretical physics. Applicants should have a doctoral degree in a physical sciences field, preferably astrophysics, and at least 10 years of management experience.
STPI Hiring Research Associate and Analyst
The Science and Technology Policy Institute, which provides policy analysis support to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and federal science agencies, is seeking a research associate and a research analyst. Applicants for the associate role must have a master’s or bachelor’s degree in a science or engineering field and two years of professional experience. Applicants for the analyst role must have a doctorate and at least five years of subsequent research or policy experience or a terminal master’s degree and at least 13 years of relevant experience. Applications are due Jan. 31 and Feb. 28, respectively.
Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
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