What’s Ahead

Rosa DeLauro at Brookings — House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT)

(Image credit – Paul Morigi, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

House Appropriators Advancing Science Spending Bills

On Monday, subcommittees of the House Appropriations Committee are meeting to advance draft fiscal year 2022 spending legislation covering a range of science agencies, including NASA, the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, and National Institutes of Health. The drafts were released to the public over the weekend and show that appropriators have generally agreed to provide large funding increases for science agencies, albeit in most cases not so large as the Biden administration requested. The drafts would not fund the administration’s proposed Advanced Research Projects Agency for Climate, though they would provide more than requested for ARPA–Energy. The bill for NIH would set up an ARPA–Health within the agency with an initial budget of $3 billion, short of the $6.5 billion the administration requested. The DOE Office of Science would receive a 4% budget increase, suggesting appropriators have been more convinced by the administration’s proposal to focus spending increases on applied energy R&D than by the House Science Committee’s vision of boosting funding for fundamental science.

Additional details on agency spending proposals will be contained in draft reports to be released in conjunction with the full committee’s consideration of the legislation. The full committee is scheduled to take up the Defense Department’s spending bill on Tuesday , and has already released the accompanying report draft, with DOE’s spending bill following on Friday . Final spending legislation will have to be negotiated with Senate appropriators, who have not yet released counterpart proposals, and it will require Congress to agree to overall budget limits for the year. House Republicans have argued that Democratic appropriators are unilaterally moving ahead with proposals that include far too much spending on non-defense programs. Spending proposals will be incorporated into FYI’s Federal Science Budget Tracker as they become available.

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Manchin Pushing Ahead With Revised Energy Infrastructure Bill

On Wednesday, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee is meeting to consider the Energy Infrastructure Act, a bill drafted by committee Democrats that proposes an array of ambitious spending initiatives for energy technology R&D and demonstration projects. Carbon emissions mitigation and clean hydrogen production are major focal points, with total proposed funding for different initiatives exceeding $20 billion. Unlike a draft of the bill released last month, a new version that was released ahead of this week’s hearing would not directly appropriate funds but rather would only recommend that Congress appropriate the funding proposed. The committee has not indicated whether the change is essentially procedural, with the expectation the funding would later be appropriated through a special infrastructure spending package, or if it reflects a shift in expectations about whether the proposed funding will be included in such a package. Currently, though, discussion surrounding infrastructure spending is focused on a bipartisan framework that includes no funding for R&D and technology demonstrations. President Biden has endorsed that framework and Committee Chair Joe Manchin (D-WV) was one of its architects.

Senate Commerce Committee Examining Technology Supply Chains

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee is holding a hearing on Thursday to consider issues that may arise if the government undertakes major new initiatives to secure technology supplies in sectors such as semiconductors and aerospace. Congress and the Biden administration are both currently advancing ambitious proposals to reduce reliance on tenuous foreign supply chains of technologies and materials, including by bolstering domestic R&D and industry . As one step toward that goal, the committee has incorporated a provision into the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act to create a Commerce Department program dedicated to increasing the resiliency of supply chains for “critical industries” and managing initiatives such as the semiconductor subsidy program authorized in the CHIPS for America Act . At the hearing, the committee will hear from six witnesses, including IBM Research Director Darío Gil, Information Technology Industry Council Senior Vice President of Policy John Miller, and James Lewis, director of the Strategic Technologies Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

State Department Science Nominee Faces Senate Panel

Environmental lawyer Monica Medina is testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday in support of her nomination to lead the State Department’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs. The bureau oversees offices focused on science and technology cooperation, climate change mitigation negotiations, marine and water conservation, space, and biodefense and has been led on an acting basis since 2014. Medina currently is the publisher of Our Daily Planet, a sustainability newsletter, and previously worked in senior positions in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration during the Clinton and Obama administrations.

AAAS CEO to Testify at Immigration Policy Hearing

The House Judiciary Committee is holding a hearing on Tuesday to discuss how “outdated” immigration policies dissuade skilled immigrants from pursuing careers in the U.S. The CEO of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Sudip Parikh, is one of four witnesses testifying at the hearing. In his written testimony , Parikh suggests ways to better attract STEM workers to the U.S., such as by making it easier for foreign students to receive green cards post-graduation. He also suggests Congress make foreign student visas into “dual intent” visas, meaning that applicants would not have to demonstrate they intend to leave the U.S. after graduation and could instead declare their interest in seeking green cards.

Science Committee to Highlight Equity Issues in Energy Innovation

The House Science Committee is holding a hearing on Friday to discuss ways of “fostering equity in energy innovation,” a priority of Energy Subcommittee Chair Jamaal Bowman (D-NY). The witnesses will be Dan Kammen, a professor of energy at the University of California, Berkeley; Myles Lennon, an anthropologist and professor of environment and society at Brown University; Shobita Parthasarathy, director of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy program at the University of Michigan; and Bruno Grunau, regional director of the Cold Climate Housing Research Center in Alaska.

Astronomers Fleshing Out Megaconstellation Mitigation Options

Astronomers and other stakeholders are holding a workshop called SATCON 2 this week to discuss potential policy frameworks for mitigating optical and radiofrequency interference from the expansion of satellite megaconstellations. The workshop will build on last year’s SATCON1 workshop, which identified mitigation strategies for satellite operators, such as reducing satellite reflectivity and positioning satellites in orbits under 600 kilometers. SATCON2 participants will discuss resources and metrics needed to implement recommendations from the SATCON1 workshop. In advance of the workshop, the National Science Foundation has released a report by the JASON science advisory panel that likewise suggests mitigation options. The panel’s highest-priority recommendation is to “eliminate or highly regulate” the number of satellites in orbits higher than 600 kilometers, which are significantly more visible than those in lower orbits.

Emerging Technologies Summit Seeks to Spur Global Cooperation

On Tuesday, top officials from the Biden administration and members of Congress are participating in a day-long Global Emerging Technologies Summit organized by the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence. Speakers include the secretaries of commerce, defense, and state as well as President Biden’s Science Adviser Eric Lander and National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. Lander will participate in a panel discussion on international cooperation with officials from countries in the “Quad” alliance of the U.S., India, Japan, and Australia. Other countries represented at the summit include the U.K., New Zealand, Taiwan, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Italy, and Denmark. Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Mark Warner, Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), and Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) will speak at the summit and several other members of Congress will deliver prerecorded remarks.

In Case You Missed It

NSF and DOE Pressed for Details on Foreign Talent Plan Probes

At a meeting last week of the National Academies’ research security roundtable, officials from the National Science Foundation and Department of Energy offered new details on their investigations into grantees suspected of concealing ties to foreign institutions, such as participation in talent recruitment programs. NSF Inspector General Allison Lerner estimated that more than 50% of her office’s current investigative portfolio consists of “talent plan-focused failures to disclose and other related inappropriate activity.” DOE’s investigations chief Lewe Sessions said his office has 35 active cases involving “undisclosed foreign affiliations of employees and contractors, undisclosed research conflicts of interest, theft of intellectual property, and associated fraudulent activity in obtaining federal grant funds,” of which 24 involve universities and 11 national labs or companies. He added the caseload “represents a nearly 200% increase from prior fiscal years” and that DOE is seeking the authority to prevent grantees from participating in foreign talent recruitment programs, stating that it would be the first federal agency to do so.

The roundtable co-chairs expressed frustration that the agencies were unable to provide more granular information on trends in the number of cases. Lerner said she was hesitant to provide details in part because the investigations could result in no findings of wrongdoing, and Sessions remarked that part of the increase in cases likely reflects his office prioritizing such investigations in recent years. NSF’s chief research security officer, Rebecca Spyke Keiser, suggested that another reason for the increase is that the Chinese government broadened the scope of its talent recruitment programs around 2016 to allow scientists to participate on a part-time rather than full-time basis. “That was when we also saw many of these programs start to not be disclosed and an uptick in number of people subscribing to the programs,” she said. Separately at the meeting, university representatives presented a set of principles they have developed to inform debates about research security policy and summarized relevant provisions in the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act.

NSF Names Next Head of Geosciences Directorate

The National Science Foundation announced last week that it has selected Alexandra Isern to lead its Geosciences Directorate, which oversees a $1 billion portfolio of fundamental research in Earth, atmospheric, ocean, and polar sciences. She has worked at NSF for the past 20 years and has been leading the Geosciences Directorate in an acting capacity since Bill Easterling departed in June after leading the directorate for four years. Isern received her bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Florida in 1987 and her doctorate in geochemistry from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in 1993. She officially begins her new role on July 19.

Flagship Electron-Ion Collider Passes Early Project Milestone

Last week, the Department of Energy cleared the Electron-Ion Collider project at Brookhaven National Lab to proceed into its preliminary design phase, which will conclude with the establishment of a baseline cost and schedule. When complete, the collider will provide cutting-edge capabilities for studying the fundamental particles and forces that bind atomic nuclei together and will replace Brookhaven’s existing Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider. Construction work is scheduled to begin in 2024, after RHIC completes its scientific program, and the new facility is expected to be ready for research operations in the early 2030s. DOE currently estimates the project will cost between $1.7 billion and $2.8 billion.

Events This Week

Monday, July 12

American Astronomical Society: Satellite Constellations 2 Workshop
(continues through Friday)

House: Subcommittee meeting to advance the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill
11:00 am, Appropriations Committee (2118 Rayburn Office Building)

House: Subcommittee meeting to advance the Energy-Water appropriations bill
1:00 pm, Appropriations Committee (2118 Rayburn Office Building)

National Academies: “Aligning Co-Production of Environmental Knowledge with Trust, Justice, and Equity”
1:00 - 2:00 pm

National Academies: “Protecting Critical Technologies for National Security in an Era of Openness and Competition: Workshop on Artificial Intelligence”
1:00 - 6:00 pm

House: Subcommittee meeting to advance the Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill
3:00 pm, Appropriations Committee (2118 Rayburn Office Building)

Tuesday, July 13

American Astronautical Society: John Glenn Memorial Symposium
(continues through Thursday)

CSIS: Project on Nuclear Issues Summer Conference
(continues Wednesday)

National Academies: “Risk Analysis Methods for Nuclear War and Nuclear Terrorism,” meeting seven

NSCAI: Global Emerging Technology Summit
8:30 am - 5:30 pm

Brookings: “Leveraging Regional Tech Hubs to Advance Economic Inclusion, with Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI)”
9:00 - 10:00 am

DNFSB: “Public Meeting and Hearing on the Status of the Savannah River Site”
9:30 am - 4:30 pm

Senate: Hearing to consider the nomination of Monica Medina to be assistant secretary of state for oceans and international environmental and scientific affairs
10:00 am, Foreign Relations Committee (G50 Dirksen Office Building)

House: Full committee meeting to advance the Defense appropriations bill
10:00 am, Appropriations Committee (1100 Longworth Office Building)

Bipartisan Policy Center: “Building Faster to Achieve Net-Zero, with Reps. Sean Casten (D-IL) and Kelly Armstrong (R-ND)”
11:00 am - 12:00 pm

China Tech Threat: “How Should BIS Evolve to Ensure the U.S. Leads in Critical Technologies?”
12:00 - 1:00 pm

NASA: “Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities in NASA Programs, Contracts and Grants”
1:00 pm

National Academies: “Call to Action for Science Education: Building Opportunity for the Future,” report release
1:00 - 2:00 pm

House: “Oh, Canada! How Outdated U.S. Immigration Policies Push Top Talent to Other Countries”
2:00 pm, Judiciary Committee

House: Votes on amendments to the EAGLE Act
2:00 pm, Foreign Affairs Committee

CNAS: “U.S. Technology Strategy and the Global Competition for Talent”
3:00 - 4:00 pm

APS: “The Real World Effects of Nuclear Weapons”
3:30 pm

GWU: “Celebrating 200 Years: George Washington University on the Pulse of Space and Technology
6:30 pm

Wednesday, July 14

Senate: Meeting to consider the Energy Infrastructure Act
10:00 am, Energy and Natural Resources Committee (366 Dirksen Office Building)

National Academies: “Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the U.S.: Open Session with NuScale Power”
10:30 am - 12:00 pm

National Academies: “Planetary Science Decadal Survey: Panel on Small Solar System Bodies,” meeting 14
11:00 am - 5:00 pm

National Academies: “Planetary Science Decadal Survey: Panel on Venus,” meeting 21
11:00 am - 5:00 pm

House: “Keeping Us Safe and Secure: Oversight of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission”
11:30 am, Energy and Commerce Committee (2123 Rayburn Office Building)

House: “Principles for Outbreak Investigation: COVID-19 and Future Infectious Diseases”
12:00 pm, Science Committee

HDIAC: “DOD’s Role on the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.”
12:00 pm

ITIF: “How Can U.S. Policymakers Support the Development of Quantum Computing?”
12:00 - 1:00 pm

House: “Innovation as a Catalyst for New Jobs: SBA’s Innovation Initiatives”
1:00 pm, Small Business Committee

Senate: “Defending and Investing in U.S. Competitiveness”
2:00 pm, Finance Committee (215 Dirksen Office Building)

National Academies: “The Social Cost of Carbon and Developing Carbon Markets”
2:00 - 3:30 pm

Wilson Center: “Cybersecurity on the Final Frontier: Protecting Our Critical Space Assets from Cyber Threats”
3:00 - 4:30 pm

National Academies: “Accelerating Decarbonization in the U.S.: Environmental Justice and Equity Expert Discussion”
3:00 - 4:30 pm

APS: “Professional Opportunities for Non U.S. Citizens: Fellowships, Jobs, and National Labs”
3:00 pm

House: Hearing to review the budget request for military construction, energy, and environmental programs
4:00 pm, Armed Services Committee

Thursday, July 15

House: Full committee meeting to advance the Commerce-Justice-Science and Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bills
10:00 am, Appropriations (1100 Longworth Office Building)

Brookings Institution: “Can the Biden Administration Improve the Manufacturing Sector?, with Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI)”
10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Senate: “Implementing Supply Chain Resiliency”
10:30 am, Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee (253 Russell Office Building)

House: Votes on amendments to the EAGLE Act
12:00 pm, Foreign Affairs Committee

National Academies: “Accelerating Decarbonization in the U.S.: Environmental Justice and Equity Discussion”
1:00 - 2:30 pm

AAAS: “What’s it like to be a S&T Policy Fellow? Part II”
2:00 - 3:00 pm

House: “Advancing Environmental Justice Through Climate Action
2:30 pm, Climate Crisis Committee

National Academies: “Climate Conversations: Climate Security”
3:00 - 4:00 pm

National Academies: “Planetary Science Decadal Survey: Research and Analysis Writing Group”
6:00 - 8:30 pm

Engineers and Scientists Acting Locally: “How Policy and Local Context Shape STEM Education”
6:30 - 8:00 pm

Friday, July 16

House: Full committee meeting to advance the Energy-Water appropriations bill
9:00 am, Appropriations Committee (1100 Longworth Office Building)

House: “Fostering Equity in Energy Innovation”
10:00 am, Science Committee

House: “Examining the DHS Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction Office”
10:00 am, Homeland Security Committee

National Academies: “Army Futures Command Research Program Realignment Study,” meeting seven
11:00 am - 1:00 pm

AGU: “Connecting Close to Home: Engaging Federal Policymakers in Your Community”
12:00 - 1:00 pm

National Academies: “Planetary Science Decadal Survey: Panel on Mercury and the Moon,” meeting 20
11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Monday, July 19

National Academies: “Laying the Foundation for New and Advanced Nuclear Reactors in the U.S.” meeting six
(continues Tuesday)

National Academies: “Foundation for Assessing the Health and Vitality of the NASA Science Mission Directorate’s Research Communities,” meeting four
12:00 - 5:00 pm

DOE: Nuclear Science Advisory Committee meeting
11:00 am - 2:15 pm

Columbia University: “CO2 Recycling: Technology Limits, Opportunities, and Policies for a Circular Carbon Economy”
1:00 - 2:00 pm

Senate: Subcommittee meeting to advance strategic forces provisions for the FY22 NDAA
5:30 pm, Armed Services Committee (232A Russell Office Building) Closed to the public

Opportunities

DOE Seeking Input on Barriers to ‘Inclusive Innovation’

The Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy is seeking input on barriers facing first-time funding applicants and groups from underserved communities. DOE notes that based on the input it may create “application support services for funding opportunities, incubation and acceleration services for entrepreneurship; and other measures to support a just and inclusive innovation ecosystem,” among other actions. Comments are due Aug. 8.

ITIF Hiring Senior Clean Energy Innovation Analyst

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation is hiring a senior policy analyst for its clean energy innovation program. The analyst’s duties include assessing “domestic and international policies that have the potential to accelerate or impede climate and clean energy innovation.” Applicants should have an advanced degree in public policy, energy technology, or a related field with at least three years of relevant experience.

Day One Project Hiring Defense Budget Reform Project Manager

The Day One Project, an initiative to identify actionable S&T policy ideas, is hiring a project manager to lead its Defense Budget for the 21st Century initiative, which will suggest reforms to the Department of Defense’s Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution (PPBE) system. The position is for a one-year term with the possibility of extension. Applications for the position will be accepted until filled.

For additional opportunities, please visit www.aip.org/fyi/opportunities . Know of an opportunity for scientists to engage in science policy? Email us at fyi@aip.org .

Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org .