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What’s Ahead
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| President Biden speaks last week during his first press conference since taking office. (Image credit – C-SPAN) |
Biden to Preview Budget and Infrastructure Priorities
The White House is releasing an outline of President Biden’s budget request for fiscal year 2022 this week, which will preview the administration’s priorities in advance of the final request, anticipated for release in May. Separately this week, Biden plans to announce priorities for an infrastructure spending initiative, which is expected to include a focus on clean energy R&D. Biden provided some insight into his science and technology priorities last week during his first press conference since taking office, setting a target of increasing federal funding for R&D as a share of gross domestic product from the current level of about 0.7% to “closer to 2%” in part as a response to the Chinese government’s increased spending on R&D. He said, “The future lies in who can, in fact, own the future as it relates to technology, quantum computing, a whole range of things, including in medical fields,” adding that he would focus on investing in “industries of the future.”
Science Policy Poised for an Active April in Congress
The House and Senate are on recess for the next two weeks. When they return to business in mid-April, science policy will be one of the foremost issues on the agenda. In a letter to his caucus, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wrote that when work resumes there will be multiple hearings and committee meetings to consider legislation that is “designed to bolster American competitiveness and counter the growing economic threats we face across the globe, especially from the Chinese Communist Party.” That effort is expected to revolve around an updated version of the Endless Frontier Act he introduced last year with Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), which proposed spending $100 billion over five years on technology R&D through the National Science Foundation and another $10 billion through the Commerce Department. The effort also is a prelude to multi-trillion dollar infrastructure legislation Democrats are preparing that will have a major focus on combating climate change. Aside from those marquee efforts, the nominations of Eric Lander to be White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director and of former Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) to be NASA administrator are currently awaiting action by the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Their nomination hearings have not been scheduled yet, but are likely to take place before long.
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In Case You Missed It
Bipartisan NSF Policy Bill Unveiled by Science Committee
On March 26, the House Science Committee introduced a bipartisan bill called the NSF for the Future Act that proposes Congress approximately double the National Science Foundation’s budget over five years, in part to accommodate the creation of a “Directorate for Science and Engineering Solutions” that would focus on addressing “societal challenges.” The committee views the new directorate as an alternative to the technology-centric directorate proposed in the Endless Frontier Act championed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). In a call with reporters, committee staff members credited Schumer with kickstarting a conversation about the future of NSF but said his bill has unrealistic funding targets and argued it places an outsized focus on both technology-oriented research and the current competitive dynamic between the U.S. and China. The House bill recommends the new directorate’s budget start at $1 billion in fiscal year 2022 and grow to $5 billion over five years. Aside from creating the directorate, the House bill would update policies across NSF’s existing programs, including by requiring grant applicants to assess the potential ethical implications of their research.
Science Committee Republicans Re-up Research Doubling Bill
On March 23, House Science Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) reintroduced his Securing American Leadership in Science and Technology Act, which proposes that Congress double the budgets of certain science agencies over 10 years. Lucas states the two principal motivators for increasing spending are to help the U.S. compete with China in science and technology and to help mitigate climate change. The agencies targeted for budget increases are the Department of Energy Office of Science, National Science Foundation, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and a research office in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The bill also includes policy updates for various programs in each agency and incorporates proposals from NIST on ways to improve the federal technology transfer system. A staff member for Lucas told reporters last week that the bill is meant as a statement of Republican priorities for negotiations with committee Democrats on upcoming legislation and noted that portions of it were incorporated in the bipartisan NSF for the Future Act.
Report Proposes Geoengineering Research Effort with ‘Exit Ramps’
The National Academies released a report last week recommending the U.S. spend $100 million to $200 million over five years on exploratory research into methods to curb global warming by altering the atmosphere to reflect more sunlight. The report stresses that such methods, known as solar geoengineering, should not be viewed as a substitute for climate mitigation or adaptation actions and that the research program should focus on “developing policy-relevant knowledge, rather than advancing a path for deployment.” It also states that a robust research governance framework should be implemented that includes “exit ramps” to terminate projects if they are found to pose unacceptable physical, social, geopolitical, or environmental risk. Commenting on the report, National Academy of Sciences President Marcia McNutt tweeted, “Solar geoengineering is a last-ditch, Hail Mary, to counter unacceptable climate warming. No team plans to be down 7 points in the 4th quarter with 10 seconds on the clock and 50 yards to go, but teams practice the Hail Mary just in case.”
Turk Confirmed as Deputy Energy Secretary
David Turk was sworn in as deputy energy secretary on March 25 after being confirmed by the Senate in a nearly unanimous vote Wednesday, with only Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) voting against his confirmation. Turk previously served as DOE’s deputy assistant secretary for international climate and technology during the Obama administration, where he helped develop Mission Innovation, an initiative launched in concert with the Paris agreement that called on participants to multiply their energy R&D funding. Most recently, Turk served as deputy executive director of the International Energy Agency. With Turk and Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm now in place, the Biden administration will turn to filling more than 20 other positions at the department requiring Senate confirmation. President Biden has yet to announce any nominees for those positions, including the under secretary for science and energy, a newly reinstated position that will oversee both the Office of Science and the department’s applied energy programs. Consult FYI’s Federal Science Leadership Tracker to stay up to date on the appointment process for key science agency positions.
APS Raises Concerns About Arrest of MIT Professor
On March 17, the presidential line of the American Physical Society sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland noting they are “troubled” by the charges brought against MIT nanoengineering professor Gang Chen, who was arrested in January for allegedly failing to disclose connections to Chinese institutions when applying for a federal grant. They write that Chen’s prosecution, which is among the latest pursued under the Department of Justice’s “China Initiative,” raises concerns about “possible broader implications for scientific and academic freedom within the United States.” While acknowledging the government’s concerns related to national security and economic espionage, they state the allegations against Chen “include descriptions of what appear to be normal activities and exchanges that occur within the global scientific community.” The letter also notes that APS members “have expressed concern with what they perceive as scientists, particularly those of Chinese descent, being targeted for federal investigation for seemingly normal academic activities.” It adds, “The appearance of targeting academics who are from or who have collaborated with colleagues in China has racial overtones that deeply affect our community.” Previously, around 200 MIT faculty signed an open letter in defense of Chen. (APS is an AIP Member Society.)
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Events This Week Monday, March 29
Tuesday, March 30
Wednesday, March 31
Thursday, April 1
Friday, April 2
Monday, April 5
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Opportunities Public Engagement Conference Accepting Abstracts
The Science Public Engagement Partnership, an initiative of the Kavli Foundation and the Department of Energy, is accepting abstract submissions for its July conference, titled, “Communicating the Future: Engaging the Public in Basic Science.” The event will explore “why the public and basic science should be connected and what current communication and engagement efforts are taking place, including the challenges and opportunities in this work.” Submissions are due April 5.
NSF Seeking Members for 15 Advisory Committees
The National Science Foundation is accepting nominations for members to serve on its 15 scientific and technical advisory committees. These include advisory committees for individual directorates and offices as well as topical committees that cover astronomy and astrophysics, environmental research and education, and equal opportunities in science and engineering, among other topics.
Mirzayan S&T Policy Fellowship Accepting Applications
The National Academies is accepting applications for the 2021 Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program, which was postponed due to the pandemic. Fellows will spend 12 weeks working at the National Academies in Washington, D.C. through the program, which will now take place from Aug. 30 to Nov. 19, 2021. Program staff have noted they are “optimistic that the delay will allow an in-person fellowship to happen.” Interested individuals who have earned a graduate degree in a STEM-related field within the last five years are encouraged to apply. Applications are due April 30.
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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- The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the extramural scientific workforce — outcomes from an NIH-led survey (NIH)
- Consular closures, visa backlogs, and travel restrictions could make it difficult for international students to get to the US (Latitudes)
- Key immigration priorities for the higher education community (Association of American Universities)
- Georgia Institute of Technology professor charged with Visa and wire fraud (Justice Department)
- Prosecuting Asian-American scientists for espionage is a shortsighted strategy (Scientific American, perspective by Alicia Lai)
- Trump-era policies toward Chinese STEM talent: A need for better balance (CEIP, perspective by Evan Burke)
- Report exposes power gap at US universities (Nature)
- Socioeconomic roots of academic faculty (SocArXiv, paper by Allison Morgan, et al.)
- Training across the academy: The impact of R&D funding on graduate students (Research Policy, paper by Alexandra Graddy-Reed, et al.)
- Tackling an ‘ableist’ culture in research (Nature, audio)
- Women must not be obscured in science’s history (Nature, editorial)
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