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What’s Ahead
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| House Science Committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) at a 2021 hearing. Johnson’s committee developed 13 bipartisan bills that have been incorporated into the America COMPETES Act of 2022. (Image credit – Bill Ingalls / NASA) |
House Sets Up Floor Vote on America COMPETES Act of 2022
The House is scheduled to vote as early as this week on the America COMPETES Act of 2022, a nearly 3,000-page package Democrats introduced last week as a response to the bipartisan U.S. Innovation and Competition Act the Senate passed last summer. Lawmakers have proposed more than 500 amendments to the House bill, and the Rules Committee will meet on Tuesday to determine which will receive consideration on the floor. Many bipartisan bills are incorporated in the package, including proposals to quickly ramp up the budgets of the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy Office of Science, but Republican committee leaders have argued they were not adequately consulted on its provisions concerning foreign relations and trade policy, among other matters. If Democrats remain mostly united in support of the COMPETES Act, they will not need Republican votes to pass the bill and convene a House-Senate conference committee to negotiate a compromise version, but any final bill will require the support of at least 10 Republican senators.
The amendments proposed for floor consideration offer a sense of the potential debates ahead. Several seek to place restrictions on the $52 billion in semiconductor sector subsidies that are in both the House and Senate bills, such as an amendment by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) that would prevent the funds from being used on stock buybacks or dividend payments, and an amendment by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) that would prevent them from going to companies that expand semiconductor manufacturing capacity in China. Other amendments seek to expand or restrict a provision that would exempt STEM doctoral graduates from green card caps, such as an amendment by Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC) that would extend it to master’s degree graduates in critical fields, and another by Rep. Troy Balderson (R-OH) that would prevent doctoral graduates from institutions in China or Russia from qualifying. Republicans have also offered a host of research-security amendments, including ones to ratchet up export controls on critical technologies and to further lower the dollar-value thresholds on the foreign gifts and contracts universities are required to disclose to the government.
DHS S&T and DOE Electricity Nominees Face Senate Panels
On Thursday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee is holding a hearing to consider the nomination of physicist Dimitri Kusnezov to lead the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate, which has an annual budget of about $800 million and focuses on issues such as critical infrastructure resilience and detection of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons. Kusnezov most recently served as deputy under secretary for artificial intelligence and technology at the Department of Energy and previously was chief scientist of the National Nuclear Security Administration. Also on Thursday, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee is considering the nomination of Maria Robinson to lead the Department of Energy’s Office of Electricity. Robinson is currently serving her second term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and previously worked on energy regulatory and policy issues at the firms Advanced Energy Economy and Navigant Consulting. (Update: The DOE nomination hearing has been delayed to Feb. 8.)
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In Case You Missed It
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| Worcester Polytechnic Institute President Laurie Leshin speaks at a 2016 ceremony for winners of a NASA competition to develop robots capable of autonomously collecting geologic samples on other planets as part of future sample return missions. (Image credit – Joel Kowsky / NASA) |
Laurie Leshin Named Next Director of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab
Caltech announced on Jan. 27 it has chosen planetary scientist Laurie Leshin to lead its Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which it operates under contract with NASA. Leshin has been president of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Massachusetts since 2014 and previously served as deputy director for science and technology at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. She earned her doctorate in geochemistry from Caltech in 1995 and, before joining Goddard, held a faculty position in geoscience at Arizona State University, where she played a leading role in establishing its School of Earth and Space Exploration. When Leshin takes up her new role on May 16, she will be the first woman to direct JPL in its more than 80-year history. Currently, the lab is leading the development of a number of major science projects for NASA, including the Europa Clipper and the lander for the planned Mars Sample Return mission. Its previous director, Michael Watkins, stepped down last August.
Bipartisan Pandemic Preparedness Bill Unveiled in Senate
Last week, the leaders of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee released bipartisan draft legislation focused on addressing weaknesses in the nation’s public health preparedness and response systems exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among its provisions, the bill seeks to improve biosurveillance and forecasting abilities, strengthen the public health workforce, bolster supply chains for medical equipment and supplies, and accelerate the development of vaccines and other countermeasures. It would also require the National Institutes of Health to support a network of research centers focused on “pathogens of pandemic concern” and coordinate research on “emerging public health threats.” The sponsors say they may also add provisions to improve lab safety and establish an Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. While appropriators have proposed to allocate billions to launch ARPA–H in fiscal year 2022, the funds are contingent on Congress passing separate legislation to authorize the agency. As yet, no such bill has been introduced in the Senate.
Commerce Department Presses Case for Semiconductor Subsidies
On Jan. 25, the Commerce Department released results from a survey of the semiconductor supply chain challenges faced by U.S. companies. Describing a “perfect storm” of events, the department states the shortage has been exacerbated by dramatically increased demand for products that use semiconductors in part driven by the pandemic, combined with supply chain disruptions from “black swan” events like winter storms and factory fires. Among its findings, the survey states that “the median inventory of semiconductor products highlighted by buyers has fallen from 40 days in 2019 to less than 5 days in 2021.” The department argues the results demonstrate the need to shore up the domestic semiconductor manufacturing sector with the $52 billion in subsidies currently pending in Congress. Separately last week, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is housed within the department, released a request for input on potential programs to address research and infrastructure needs for the domestic semiconductor industry. Comments are due March 25.
Key Defense R&D Lawmakers to Retire
In the last two weeks, Reps. Jim Langevin (D-RI) and Jim Cooper (D-TN) have announced they are not running for reelection. Langevin is the chair of the House Armed Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies, and Information Systems, and has been its top Democrat for over a decade. The subcommittee handles most matters pertaining to defense R&D and has recently focused on initiatives such as accelerating advanced technologies and facilitating relations between the Defense Department and extramural researchers. Cooper chairs the committee’s Strategic Forces Subcommittee, which oversees the National Nuclear Security Administration, and he was a key proponent of separating space activities from the U.S. Air Force, which translated into the creation of the Space Force. Separate from his committee work, Cooper was the main progenitor of the Golden Goose Award, which is presented annually by a coalition of research organizations to recognize obscure or odd-sounding research that led to important applications. Aiming to highlight the value and unpredictable nature of federally funded basic research, the award is a retort to present-day imitators of Sen. William Proxmire (D-WI), who in the 1970s and ’80s gave “golden fleece awards” to research projects he alleged were examples of wasteful government spending.
Mathematician-Engineer Jerry McNerney Also Retiring From Congress
Rep. Jerry McNerney (D-CA) announced on Jan. 18 that he is retiring from Congress at the end of his current term. Holding a doctorate in mathematics, which he received from the University of New Mexico in 1981, McNerney is one of only a small number of members in the history of Congress to possess a non-medical doctorate in a STEM field. Before entering Congress in 2007, McNerney worked as an engineer at Sandia National Labs and later at a wind-power company. In Congress, he has served on the House Science Committee and focused attention on issues such as increasing the domestic supply of high-assay low-enriched uranium and supporting exploratory research on geoengineering.
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Events This Week
All times are Eastern Standard Time, unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement.
Monday, January 31
Tuesday, February 1
Wednesday, February 2
Thursday, February 3
Friday, February 4
Monday, February 7
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Opportunities New Academic Security Advisory Council Seeking Members
The Department of Homeland Security is seeking individuals interested in serving on the newly reestablished Homeland Security Academic Advisory Council, which may address subjects such as campus safety, cybersecurity, foreign influence, and student visa processing. The council will consist of up to 30 members drawn from relevant federal agencies and across the academic sector, including representatives of Historically Black Colleges and Universities and other Minority-Serving Institutions, two and four year colleges, K-12 school systems, and higher education associations. Members will serve a three year term. Applications are due Feb. 15.
Lewis-Burke Seeking Legislative Research Assistant
Lewis-Burke Associates, a D.C.-based lobbying firm that represents various research organizations, is accepting applications for a legislative research assistant. The position involves monitoring science and higher education policy developments as well as attending congressional hearings and briefings, among other duties. Individuals must have a science or policy-related college degree, and previous policy or legislative affairs experience is preferred.
Energy Policy Think Tank Seeking to Fill Roles
The Energy Futures Initiative, a nonprofit clean energy think tank, is seeking a project manager to support its director of research. Applicants with an advanced degree in environmental science, climate science, public policy, engineering, economics, or related fields are preferred. EFI is also seeking an analyst, responsible for conducting qualitative and quantitative research, developing reports, and presenting to stakeholders on various topics, including clean energy technology or policy. Candidates should have a background in research with knowledge of relevant fields, such as climate change, energy policy, and clean energy finance.
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
News and views currently in circulation. Links do not imply endorsement.
White House
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- MIT professor Gang Chen says misunderstanding lay at root of US case (Wall Street Journal)
- Reflecting on Professor Gang Chen’s Case and looking ahead to the future of the China Initiative (Asian American Scholar Forum, video)
- Here’s why prosecutors’ case against Gang Chen collapsed (ScienceInsider)
- Gang Chen’s case should be the end of the DOJ’s ‘China Initiative’ (SupChina, perspective by Margaret Lewis)
- Dropping charges against Gang Chen shows DOJ not taking threat of Chinese espionage seriously (Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL))
- Following Charles Lieber’s conviction, ‘shock’ and sadness linger among his Harvard colleagues (Harvard Crimson)
- Judge limits testimony at trial of Feng Tao, professor accused of hiding Chinese ties (Politico)
- US visa policies trap foreign PhD graduates in academia (Nature, perspective by Jianyang Geng)
- #BlackInQuantum (Symmetry)
- AAAS releases second annual diversity, equity, and inclusion report (AAAS)
- Institutions must go beyond vying for the same small group of minority scholars (Chronicle of Higher Education, perspective by Tameka Porter and Mark Rozell)
- More women in a STEM field leads people to label it as a ‘soft science,’ according to new research (The Conversation, perspective by Alysson Light)
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