What’s Ahead

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) is chairing a hearing this week on progress in vaccine development for COVID-19. 
Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) is chairing a hearing this week on progress in vaccine development for COVID-19. (Image credit – Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee)

Full Plate Awaits as Congress Returns for Fall Business

As Congress resumes ordinary business this week, it faces the immediate task of reaching an agreement on stopgap spending needed to avert a government shutdown at the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have reportedly agreed to pursue a “clean” extension of current spending separate from negotiations over the next COVID-19 response bill. Democratic and Republican leaders remain far apart on the parameters of the pandemic bill, with Democrats seeking $2.2 trillion overall and the White House proposing $1.3 trillion. Senate Republicans plan to advance a narrower relief measure this week that would provide liability protections to businesses alongside roughly $500 billion in response and recovery measures.
Aside from spending, lawmakers are also pushing to finalize major defense and energy policy legislation before the new year, when the currently elected Congress concludes. A conference committee is expected to convene soon to reconcile the House and Senate versions of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which includes numerous provisions related to the “national security innovation base” and emerging technologies. The House also plans to vote later this month on a package of energy policy legislation that is a counterpart to the Senate’s stalled American Energy Innovation Act. The majority staff director for the House Science Committee’s Energy Subcommittee told a National Academies panel last week that the House package is focused on the Department of Energy’s applied R&D programs and does not include bills specific to the DOE Office of Science.

Science Committee Examining Disruptions to University Research

The House Science Committee is holding a hearing on Wednesday to review the impacts of the pandemic on university research. University associations have requested that Congress’ next relief bill provide at least $26 billion distributed across science agencies to help restart labs and address project slowdowns. Committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) have endorsed this request by introducing the Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act. They have also introduced legislation that would create a fellowship program that would provide two years of support to postdoctoral researchers who face diminished job opportunities due to the pandemic. The hearing’s witnesses are Joseph Walsh, the University of Illinois System’s interim vice president for economic development and innovation; Oakland University Vice President for Research David Stone; Purdue University Executive Vice President for Research and Partnerships Theresa Mayer; and Ryan Muzzio, a physics doctoral student at Carnegie Mellon University.

Hearing to Showcase DOE COVID-19 Response

The House Science Committee will examine the Department of Energy’s role in responding to the pandemic at a hearing on Friday. Under the CARES Act enacted in March, DOE received $99.5 million to support coronavirus research at its national labs, and in April the department launched a National Virtual Biotechnology Laboratory to streamline access to capabilities such as neutron sources and supercomputers for COVID-19 researchers. The virtual lab’s efforts to date include structural characterization of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, epidemiological modeling, medical equipment manufacturing, and drug development. Mary Maxon, associate laboratory director for biosciences at Berkeley Lab, will testify at the hearing alongside biologists from the University of Georgia, University of Chicago, and Colorado State University.

Senators Probing Vaccine Progress Amid Fears of Political Pressure

National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins and U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams are testifying Wednesday at a Senate hearing on efforts to develop a COVID-19 vaccine and secure public confidence in its effectiveness. Called Operation Warp Speed, the U.S. vaccine program has faced mounting concerns that political officials might intervene to recklessly speed up the approval process. The Washington Post reported last week that President Trump has pushed for health officials to deliver a vaccine by the end of the year and has spoken of the prospect of one arriving by Nov. 1, just before the presidential election. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also directed states to prepare for the possibility of distributing a vaccine to high-risk groups as soon as the end of October, though the head of CDC’s parent department has insisted that date was not dictated by political officials. Collins has defended CDC’s move as a prudent preparedness measure, while saying it is “unlikely” a vaccine would be ready by October. Meanwhile, the science lead for Operation Warp Speed, retired biotechnology executive Moncef Saloui, told Science he would “immediately resign if there is undue interference in this process.” A group of nine companies involved in the effort also released a statement on Tuesday declaring they will “only submit [a vaccine] for approval or emergency use authorization after demonstrating safety and efficacy through a Phase 3 clinical study that is designed and conducted to meet requirements of expert regulatory authorities such as FDA.”

House Panel Proposing to Reduce Independence of NNSA

The House Energy and Commerce Committee is meeting Wednesday to advance 38 bills, including bipartisan legislation that would increase the Department of Energy’s authority over the National Nuclear Security Administration. Congress created NNSA in 1999 as a “semiautonomous” agency within DOE in a bid to improve management of the department’s nuclear weapons programs, but there has been a long-simmering debate over how much independence it should be granted. The bill would remove language from NNSA’s organic act that stipulates its employees “shall not be responsible to, or subject to the authority, direction, or control” of any DOE officials except the secretary of energy. Committee leaders are advancing the proposal amid disagreements between the leaders of NNSA and DOE during the budget formulation process this year that triggered a push from the Senate Armed Services Committee to increase the Department of Defense’s influence over NNSA’s budget. Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) objected to that idea at a July hearing, saying, “I firmly believe that the Defense Department should not have its hand in the DOE’s budgeting process. We should be strengthening the secretary of energy’s role in managing the nuclear security mission, because NNSA seems to be going from quasi-independent to completely rogue with each passing year.”

Workshop to Flesh Out Space Weather Infrastructure Needs

The National Academies is holding a three day workshop this week to consider options for improving the architecture of space- and ground-based infrastructure for observing space weather. Representatives from science agencies including NASA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Science Foundation will discuss their priorities for space weather research and forecasting on Wednesday, and subsequent sessions will consider specific observational needs. Topics to be discussed include “data buys, resilience, and distributed vs. single measurements.”

Think Tank Spotlighting Energy Innovation Spending Strategies

The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation is hosting a webinar Thursday on the prospects of increased federal funding for energy R&D and technology demonstration projects. In view of recent bipartisan interest in expanding energy R&D budgets, the panel will discuss how new spending would have to strike balances across types of technologies, stages of technological development, sectors of the research enterprise, and geographical regions. Opening remarks will be delivered by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), who recently introduced the Regional Clean Energy Innovation Act, which would direct the Department of Energy to support a network of regional institutes that would help new technologies overcome obstacles to deployment and commercialization.

In Case You Missed It

The U.S. is contributing 9% of the construction costs of the ITER fusion energy facility in France. Pictured here is a section of the facility’s cryostat built by India being lowered into place earlier this month. 
The U.S. is contributing 9% of the construction costs of the ITER fusion energy facility in France. Pictured here is a section of the facility’s cryostat built by India being lowered into place earlier this month. (Image credit – ITER Organization)

DOE Exploring Ways to ‘Pivot’ to Pilot Fusion Plant

Speaking last week to the National Academies fast-track study committee charged with mapping out paths to a U.S.-based fusion pilot plant, DOE Office of Science Director Chris Fall emphasized that while DOE is “committed to robust participation in the international program of fusion and plasma science,” he wants to prepare for contingencies should the U.S. decide to shift resources elsewhere. He noted the U.S. contribution to achieving the “first plasma” milestone at the under-construction ITER facility in France will exceed the amount spent on any other Office of Science facility and remarked, “We need to be prepared for the possibility … that the US at some point decides not to continue with ITER. I’m not making news here. I don’t have any plans. But the fact is that this is a political decision that’s always subject to change and has changed in the past.” He also expressed enthusiasm for the lower-cost, smaller-scale fusion concepts being pursued by the U.S. private sector, arguing the agency must be able to “pivot quickly with resources” should one succeed. He asked the committee to provide frank estimates of the costs and likelihood of success of different options for a U.S. plant. The committee is chaired by Richard Hawryluk, associate director for fusion at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, and includes the director of the U.S. ITER project and experts from universities and the utility industry.

‘White Privilege’ Training Barred at Labs Following White House Memo

The White House Office of Management and Budget issued a memorandum on Sept. 4 directing federal agencies to cease all spending on employee training involving “critical race theory,” concepts such as “white privilege,” or the idea the U.S. is an “inherently racist or evil country.” The directive follows efforts by conservatives, particularly activist Christopher Rufo and Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO), to track and protest such trainings across federal agencies and institutions, including at Sandia and Argonne National Labs. It is not yet clear how large the memo’s effect will be on diversity, equity, and inclusion training as a whole, but it does suggest that to date “millions” have been spent on sessions the Trump administration deems tantamount to “divisive, anti-American propaganda.” Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette welcomed the memo on Twitter, noting he had already initiated an investigation of the Sandia training and “put our labs, plants, and sites on notice that taxpayer dollars are not to be squandered on trainings that divide our workforce, rather than unite it.” Its new crackdown notwithstanding, DOE has recently sought to step up its efforts at the national labs to foster diverse and equitable research environments.

Scientific Societies Endorse Call for Study on Racism in Academia

More than 70 scientific societies, including AIP, sent a letter to House Science Committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) last week expressing support for her recent request that the National Academies conduct a study on the “influence of systemic racism in academia.” Johnson has also sponsored an amendment to pending appropriations legislation that would allocate $1.5 million for the study. In endorsing her proposal, the societies wrote that the disproportionate rates of death and illness from COVID-19 among communities of color “illustrates with new urgency the need to foster a diverse and inclusive scientific workforce to tackle these and other challenges from a wider range of perspectives.” They added, “While efforts to increase diversity in the scientific workforce may have produced incremental change, we have yet to see large-scale results … We are hopeful that a comprehensive study by the National Academies will yield the data and tools that the academic community needs to pursue evidence-based changes leading to more rapid progress.”

US Ratchets Up Scrutiny of Ties to China

Reuters reported last week that the White House Office of Management and Budget has instructed federal agencies to catalogue any spending that “would overall contribute to Chinese GDP or technical capacities,” or that is focused on increasing U.S. competitiveness against China in key technology sectors. It also seeks information on funding of activities in China by the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Titled “Strategic Competition with China Crosscut,” the document sets a Sept. 21 deadline for responses and does not offer details on how the data will be used. Separately, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced last week that the U.S. will prevent Chinese diplomats from visiting universities or local government officials without prior approval on the grounds that U.S. diplomats have faced similar restrictions in China. In interviews with conservative media outlets, Pompeo also faced questions about whether the administration plans to implement blanket restrictions on Chinese students and researchers coming to the U.S. as a sanction for alleged espionage. Pompeo told one journalist, “I don’t want to get in front of decisions that the president is evaluating. Look, not every Chinese student who is here is working on behalf of or at the direction of the Chinese Communist Party, but it’s something President Trump has taken a serious, serious look at.“ Early this summer, Trump prohibited the issuance of visas to certain Chinese graduate students and researchers deemed to have past or current ties to organizations affiliated with China’s military, and Chinese scholars have faced more aggressive searches at airports when departing the U.S.

Watchdog’s Ears Up Over Defense Contractors’ Discretionary R&D

The Government Accountability Office released a report on Sept. 3 that reviews the Department of Defense’s spending on “Independent R&D” (IR&D) projects, which are proposed and undertaken by contractors and reimbursed by the department. Counted as an indirect cost on contracts, funding for IR&D is intended to encourage private industry to take the initiative in identifying work of likely benefit to DOD. However, although DOD typically spends between $4 billion and $5 billion on such projects each year, GAO finds the department has little sense of how they fit in with its technology goals. The office points out that while DOD does not seek “complete alignment” between IR&D and its top priorities, 38% of the 2,242 IR&D projects completed in fiscal year 2018 aligned with the 10 modernization priorities the department focused on that year. Study lead Tim DiNapoli remarked in an interview, “We’re not making a judgment on that because it’s just a single data point. But I think the real value ... would be to collect that data over time.”

Physicist Congressman Rallies Nobel Laureates for Biden

A group of 81 winners of Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, and medicine endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden for president last week, writing in their announcement, “At no time in our nation’s history has there been a greater need for our leaders to appreciate the value of science in formulating public policy. During his long record of public service, Joe Biden has consistently demonstrated his willingness to listen to experts, his understanding of the value of international collaboration in research, and his respect for the contribution that immigrants make to the intellectual life of our country.” The endorsement was organized by Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL), a physicist and former senior staff member at Fermilab.

Events This Week

Monday, September 7

Labor Day

Tuesday, September 8

Wednesday, September 9

National Academies: “Panel on Review of the Material Measurement Laboratory at NIST: Fiscal Year 2020,” kickoff meeting (continues through Friday) National Academies: Space Weather Operations and Research Infrastructure Workshop, part two (continues through Friday) Secure World Foundation: 2nd Summit for Space Sustainability (continues through Friday) DOD: AI Symposium and Exposition (continues Thursday) Defense News: “Tomorrow’s World Order Amid Great-Power Competition” (continues Thursday) National Academies: “Radioactive Sources: Applications and Alternative Technologies” 10:00 am - 3:45 pm Senate: “Vaccines: Saving Lives, Ensuring Confidence, and Protecting Public Health” 10:00 am, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (430 Dirksen Office Building) World Resources Institute: “Climate Action 2.0: Sparking an Era of Transformational Climate Leadership” 10:00 - 11:00 am Stanford Cyber Policy Center: “Navigating U.S.-China Technology Futures” 10:00 - 11:00 am House: Consideration of the “DOE Organization and Management Improvement Act” and 37 other bills 11:00 am, Energy and Commerce Committee House: “The Impact of the COVID-19 Crisis on University Research” 11:30 am, Science Committee Baker Institute: “Diversity in Science and Engineering” 1:00 - 2:00 pm

Thursday, September 10

NSF: Polar Programs Advisory Committee meeting (continues Friday) DOE: “Department of Exploration! Because You Can’t Get to Space without the U.S. Department of Energy” 11:00 am - 12:15 pm NASA: Science Mission Directorate Town Hall 12:00 pm Journal of Science Policy and Governance: “Advancing Your Science Policy Career” 12:00 - 1:00 pm ITIF: “Growth With the Right Balance: The Future of the Federal Energy RD&D Budget” 12:00 - 1:15 pm House: “Machines, Artificial Intelligence, and the Workforce: Recovering and Readying Our Economy for the Future” 1:00 pm, Budget Committee NASA: Science Advisory Committee meeting 1:00 - 5:00 pm DOE: “Quantum InnovationXLab Series: Financial Services” 1:30 - 2:45 pm National Academies: “Teaching K-12 Science and Engineering During a Crisis” 2:00 - 3:00 pm Bipartisan Policy Center: “Natural Climate Solutions for Economic Recovery” 3:30 - 4:30 pm

Friday, September 11

Monday, September 14

OSA/APS: Frontiers in Optics conference (continues through Thursday) OSA: Quantum 2.0 conference (continues through Thursday) URSA: Lunar Exploration Analysis Group meeting (continues through Wednesday) National Academies/IIASA: “The Science-Policy-Society Interface” 1:00 - 2:30 pm National Academies: “Assessment of NASA Aeronautics University Leadership Initiative Virtual,” meeting eight 2:00 - 5:30 pm Senate: “2020 Global Nuclear Threats Update” 6:00 pm, Foreign Relations Committee Closed to the public

Opportunities

AIP Accepting Nominations for International Leadership Medal

The American Institute of Physics is accepting nominations for the 2020 John Torrence Tate Medal for International Leadership in Physics. Established in 1959, the medal is awarded every two years to non-U.S. citizens for their leadership, research contributions, and service to the international physics community. The award also includes a $10,000 prize. Nominations are due Oct. 1.

AAAS Annual S&T Policy Forum Goes Virtual

The American Association for the Advancement of Science’s annual Science and Technology Policy Forum will be held as a free virtual event this year on Oct. 13 to 14. The forum will cover “major current challenges affecting science, policy, and society, as well as their intersectionality,” with a focus on the COVID-19 pandemic, its impact on the research community, and the “ongoing worldwide demonstrations against racial injustice and police violence.” Registration for the event closes Oct. 12.

Nominations Sought for New Chemical Sciences Study

The National Academies is accepting nominations of individuals to serve on a study committee that will “assess how investments in long-term fundamental research in the chemical sciences have contributed to such goals as national security, environmental sustainability, thriving manufacturing industries, and energy-technology development.” The committee will also explore strategies for “targeted research investments in the chemical sciences by both the public and private sectors to stimulate economic growth.” Nominations are due Oct. 2.
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.

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