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What’s Ahead
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| Department of Energy Under Secretary for Science and Innovation Geri Richmond speaking at a Resources for the Future event in October 2022. She is appearing at a House Science Committee hearing this week alongside Kathleen Hogan, who is acting as DOE under secretary for infrastructure. (Image credit – Resources for the Future) |
Science Committee Probing DOE Management of Big-Budget Initiatives
The House Science Committee is holding a hearing on Wednesday to examine the Department of Energy’s implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Inflation Reduction Act, and CHIPS and Science Act, which together are providing it with about $100 billion for R&D programs, facility upgrades, and energy technology demonstrations and deployment programs. Last year, DOE reorganized itself to help implement the laws, designating an under secretary of infrastructure position to oversee a new Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and other efforts focused on technology deployment. The witnesses at this week’s hearing will be Kathleen Hogan, who has been acting as the infrastructure under secretary, and Geri Richmond, the under secretary for science and innovation.
Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Energy Subcommittee Chair Brandon Williams (R-NY) have raised concerns about DOE’s approach to standing up OCED, which is receiving $27 billion over five years through the laws. Last week they sent a letter to Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm stating, “This massive influx of funding for an entirely new office under an untested and siloed management structure raises serious concerns about DOE’s ability to administer and coordinate these projects appropriately.” As an example, the letter points to how activities such as the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program have been split between OCED and the department’s energy R&D offices, which are overseen by the under secretary for science and innovation.
NIST Budget Request up for Examination
National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Laurie Locascio is appearing before the House Science Committee on Wednesday for a hearing on the agency’s fiscal year 2024 budget request. The Biden administration is asking for $1.63 billion, which nearly matches the target set by the CHIPS and Science Act, with a strong focus on expanding manufacturing programs. NIST’s budget has become the focal point of a series of major policy issues that may come up for discussion. In particular, the agency is responsible for administering $50 billion the Commerce Department is receiving through the CHIPS and Science Act for semiconductor manufacturing and R&D initiatives. In addition, NIST is overseeing a portfolio of extramural construction projects funded through earmarks Congress has attached to its budget, which currently account for almost a quarter of the agency’s overall topline. At the same time, NIST is grappling with deteriorating facilities on its own campuses. A recent National Academies report endorsed annually spending between $420 million and $550 million on construction and maintenance over the next 12 years to resolve the situation and the administration has proposed to raise that part of NIST’s budget from $130 million to $262 million.
NOAA Head Faces Science Committee Questions
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration head Rick Spinrad will testify before the House Science Committee on Thursday. The principal subject of the hearing will be NOAA’s fiscal year 2024 budget request, which calls for a 10% increase to over $6.8 billion, with much of the additional funding allocated to the agency’s weather satellite program. However, NOAA is also the subject of major legislative initiatives Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R-OK) is pushing, including an update to the Weather Research and Forecasting Innovation Act of 2017 and another bill that would remove the agency from the Commerce Department and make it independent. Three former heads of NOAA all testified strongly in favor of agency independence at a committee hearing last month, but the Biden administration has not yet offered a view on the matter.
House Begins Advancing Annual Defense Policy Bill
This week, the House Armed Services Committee will start to assemble its draft of the National Defense Authorization Act, a sprawling defense policy update that Congress passes each year. The NDAA always includes a large number of provisions bearing on science and technology, with attention given perennially to matters such as the defense research and engineering workforce and the Defense Department’s ability to rapidly develop technologies and transition them into use. Subcommittees are advancing their respective portions of the bill on Thursday and Friday ahead of a marathon meeting of the full committee on May 23, at which the legislation’s more significant and controversial proposals are apt to be introduced and debated. The Senate Armed Services Committee has not released its schedule for drafting its counterpart bill, which will ultimately be reconciled with the House version. The most recent NDAA was signed into law in December. (Update: The committee has postponed its consideration of the NDAA to an unspecified later date.)
National Science Board Convening
The National Science Board, which oversees the National Science Foundation, is holding its quarterly meeting this week. On Tuesday, the board will discuss the quadrennial science and technology review that was mandated by the CHIPS and Science Act and the first iteration of which is due by the end of this year. The board will also hear an update on NSF efforts related to sexual assault and harassment prevention. In addition, there will be a panel discussion with NSF prize recipients, including renowned physicist Dick Garwin, a longtime adviser to the government who is receiving the Vannevar Bush Award, which honors “exceptional lifelong leaders in science and technology.” A commission the board has appointed to examine NSF’s merit review criteria will discuss its plans on Wednesday. The commission held its first meeting last month and is meeting again on Monday morning.
Review of High Magnetic Field Research Kicking Off
On Monday, the National Academies is holding the first open meeting of a new study examining scientific opportunities afforded by current and future technologies for creating high magnetic fields. The only session will be a discussion of the study’s goals with its sponsor, the National Science Foundation, which funds the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory, an organization that operates seven user facilities across three campuses. The study charge calls for a broad review of relevant research and technology as well as consideration of policy matters affecting access to high magnetic field capabilities. These include balances that must be struck between employing centralized versus decentralized facility models and between pushing toward higher field strengths versus maximizing scientific output at currently accessible fields. The chair of the study committee is Peter Littlewood, a physicist at the University of Chicago and a former director of Argonne National Lab.
Event Recognizing Defense Chief Ash Carter’s Legacy in Innovation
The Special Competitive Studies Project, a subsidiary of the Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation, is hosting an event called the Ash Carter Exchange on Innovation and National Security on Tuesday in Washington, DC. The event is being held in honor of former defense secretary Ash Carter, who died unexpectedly last fall, and is co-organized by his wife Stephanie Carter. Highlighting the role of technology development in defense, which was a major focus for Carter, participants include former defense secretaries Leon Panetta and Robert Gates, former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, and a number of prominent figures in the spheres of science, technology, and national security, including DARPA Director Stefanie Tompkins, new Defense Innovation Unit Director Doug Beck, Lawrence Livermore National Lab Director Kim Budil, physicist and former Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute president Shirley Ann Jackson, and geophysicist and MIT Vice President for Research Maria Zuber.
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In Case You Missed It
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| Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced a new legislative initiative on May 3 focused on the U.S. competition with China. Behind him, from the left, are: Sens. Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Tom Carper (D-DE), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), and Chris Coons (D-DE). (Image credit – Office of Sen. Schumer) |
Schumer Planning Legislation With Focus on China and Technology
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and other Senate Democratic leaders announced on May 3 they are starting to develop bipartisan legislation to reinforce U.S. competitiveness in its rivalry with China, with a strong focus on technology. The effort aims to resuscitate and expand on China-focused provisions that were dropped from the CHIPS and Science Act last year during the negotiations to push it across the finish line. Schumer remarked that he wants to tighten restrictions on international trade and finance, including by building on strict export controls the Biden administration has placed on trade in advanced semiconductors with China and by authorizing a new process for screening “outbound” investment in Chinese companies. He also expressed an interest in increasing funding for strategically important technologies, mentioning biotechnology and biomanufacturing specifically. To pass, any new legislation will need support from not only Senate Republicans but also House Republican leaders. Schumer and other Senate committee chairs indicated they are starting to work on provisions with their Republican counterparts, but a number of Senate Republicans told the media they would not support major spending increases.
Biden Administration Makes Push on AI Policy
Last week, Vice President Kamala Harris and other senior administration officials met with the CEOs of Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, and Anthropic to discuss the risks and benefits of advances in artificial intelligence, calling on the companies to model “responsible behavior” and ensure their products are safe and secure. In conjunction with the meeting, the administration announced new actions aimed at promoting “responsible AI innovation,” including plans to conduct public assessments of existing generative AI systems and to release policy guidance on the use of AI systems within the U.S. government. In addition, the National Science Foundation announced it is providing $140 million to set up seven new National AI Research Institutes, bringing the total number of institutes to 25. Meanwhile, Congress is scrambling to weigh in on the subject of AI and last month Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer unexpectedly released a broad proposal to develop a regulatory framework for it.
Science Committee Leans on Antarctica Contractor Leidos
Last week, House Science Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R-OK) and Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) sent a letter to federal contractor Leidos stating its response to investigations of sexual assault and harassment at Antarctic facilities it operates has been inadequate. An independent report found last year that such incidents were apparently widespread, and Leidos Chief Operating Officer Kathleen Naeher testified at a Science Committee hearing on the subject in December. In a written response to further committee questions, Naeher stated that Leidos had received “five allegations of sexual harassment and zero allegations of sexual assault” since taking over the Antarctic facilities contract in 2016. However, Lucas and Lofgren’s letter alleges that documents obtained from the National Science Foundation, the lead agency for the U.S. Antarctic Program, contradict those numbers. The letter further states that NSF’s Office of Inspector General has faced difficulties attempting to interview Leidos employees. It directs Leidos to correct any inaccurate information it has provided to the committee and to inform its employees that cooperation with NSF is mandatory. Leidos’ contract with the U.S. Antarctic Program expires in 2025.
Roadmap Spotlights Priorities for European Astronomy
Astronet, a consortium of European funding agencies and research organizations, released a roadmap late last month that outlines research and facility priorities for space science through 2035. Immediate priorities the roadmap identifies for ground-based facilities largely align with ones previously set out in 2008 and include completion of the European Southern Observatory’s Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) and the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), and construction of the proposed Cherenkov Telescope Array, the European Solar Telescope, and a wide-field, high multiplex spectroscopic facility. Priorities for space-based missions are the launches in the mid-2030s of the Athena X-ray telescope and the LISA gravitational wave detector, as well as the launch of the Rosalind Franklin Mars rover, which has been threatened by the European Space Agency’s decision to withdraw from its partnership on the mission with Russian space agency Roscosmos. The new roadmap also identifies longer-term priorities for the post-2035 period, including adding a planetary camera and spectrograph to the ELT, upgrading SKA, and building the proposed Einstein Telescope gravitational wave detector and facilities for observing the cosmic microwave background.
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Events This Week
All times are Eastern Standard Time, unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement.
Monday, May 8
Tuesday, May 9
Wednesday, May 10
Thursday, May 11
Friday, May 12
Monday, May 15
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Opportunities National Science Board Seeking Nominees for 2024 Cohort
The National Science Foundation is soliciting nominations for members of the National Science Board, who will replace the eight current members whose terms are expiring in 2024. The 24-member board is the governing body for NSF and members serve six-year terms that can be renewed once. Nominees must have a distinguished record in science or public service and the board is particularly seeking members with expertise in areas such as national security, private-sector research and partnerships, STEM workforce development, and advanced manufacturing. Nominations are due May 31.
NIST Seeking Advisory Committee Members
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is soliciting nominations of members for its eleven federal advisory committees, including the Visiting Committee on Advanced Technology, National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee, and Earthquake Hazards Reduction Advisory Committee. Terms run for two to three years and generally may be renewed once.
NASA Hiring Heliophysics Director
NASA is hiring a director for the Science Mission Directorate’s Heliophysics Division, a position that entails overseeing spaceflight missions, technology development, research and data analysis programs, and related activities. Applicants must have experience developing budgets and strategies for heliophysics activities and managing research organizations responsible for planning or executing space-based missions. Applications are due June 30.
Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.
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