Senate Democrats Say US Needs to Boost Tech Investments to Stay Competitive
The U.S. needs to boost its investments in tech advancements in order to stay competitive on a global market, three Senate Democrats said Friday at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES). Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said one of his priorities for the year is pushing for investments in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, advanced engineering and synthetic biology. Warner said the U.S. should take action on those technologies in the vein of investments it made last year when passing the CHIPS and Science Act. But he said the country largely took reactionary steps with that bill’s investments in domestic chip manufacturing and argued that moving forward Congress should be at the forefront of domestic technology investments “instead of coming in after the fact.” ( The Hill - Jan. 6, 2023)
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Intelligence Agencies Urged to Expand S&T Engagement
The National Academies released a report last month that identifies shortcomings in the ability of U.S. intelligence agencies to stay abreast of the latest advances in science and technology. The report’s primary recommendation is for the director of national intelligence to elevate attention to S&T across the intelligence community by appointing a chief technology and innovation officer, who would focus in part on coordinating R&D efforts across agencies and with outside organizations. Broadly, the report observes that the culture of secrecy at intelligence agencies can hamper access to cutting-edge research and it urges more engagement with researchers who primarily work in unclassified settings. It specifically proposes that intelligence agencies consider establishing more rotational positions that bring in scientists from academia and industry, including at the unclassified and secret levels since higher-level clearances can confer lifelong publication restrictions. ( American Institute of Physics - Jan. 9, 2023)
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State Department Creates Emerging Technology Envoy Office
The State Department announced last week it has established an Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology as part of a broader “modernization agenda” Secretary of State Antony Blinken is pursuing focused on technology diplomacy. The office’s aim is to be a “center of expertise and energy to develop and coordinate critical and emerging technology foreign policy, and to engage foreign partners on emerging technologies that will transform our societies, economies, and security—including biotechnology, advanced computing, artificial intelligence, and quantum information technologies.” The department has not announced who will be the special envoy but appointed as deputy envoy Seth Center, who previously worked as a historian at the National Security Council and as a senior adviser to the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence and the Special Competitive Studies Project. ( American Institute of Physics - Jan. 9, 2023)
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NIST Seeks Input on Governance of the National Semiconductor Technology Center
The National Institute of Standards and Technology is looking to create a governance framework for the National Semiconductor Technology Center after the passage of two recent pieces of semiconductor legislation. As stated in the sources sought notice, the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors for America Act was passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2021 to restore U.S. semiconductor manufacturing leadership, and the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 provided more authorities and approximately $50 billion in funding for domestic semiconductor production. Accordingly, one of several initiatives established under the laws is the National Semiconductor Technology Center, or NSTC, designed “to conduct research and prototyping of advanced semiconductors…and technology, to strengthen the economic competitiveness and security of the domestic supply chain.” The center will operate as a consortium with private sector, Energy Department and National Science Foundation participation. ( Nextgov - Jan. 9, 2023)
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What’s in Biden’s New Student Loan Repayment Plan? Here’s What We Know.
Federal student loan borrowers could pay less money toward their debt and shorten the path to forgiveness under the terms of the Biden administration’s revamped income-driven repayment plan, according to the Education Department. The department released details of the proposed plan Tuesday, nearly five months after President Biden announced it alongside his program to forgive up to $20,000 in federal student debt per borrower. While the fate of the debt relief program rests in the hands of the Supreme Court, higher education advocates have been clamoring for information about the proposed repayment plan that some say could radically change the way borrowers pay off their debt. There are already four repayment plans that cap monthly bills to a percentage of a borrower’s earnings. Rather than create another, the Biden administration wants to amend an existing plan, known as Revised Pay As You Earn or REPAYE, and phase out new enrollment in the others. ( The Wall Street Journal - Jan. 10, 2023)
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Foxx Wins Chair of House Ed and Workforce Committee
Representative Virginia Foxx is returning to the top post on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce following a vote of the Republican steering committee Monday evening. Foxx, a North Carolina Republican who has previously chaired the committee and served as the ranking member during the last Congress, won the gavel over Representative Tim Walberg of Michigan. Both had to make their cases to the steering committee Monday. Foxx has promised to oppose many of the Biden administration’s education policies, including student loan debt relief policy changes. She and other Republican lawmakers have criticized the state of free speech on college campuses. Foxx said in a statement that she would seek to protect the rights of workers, job creators, students and parents as chairwoman. ( Inside Higher Ed - Jan. 10, 2023)
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HEROES Act at Center of Debt-relief Legal Fight
When the Biden administration heads to the U.S. Supreme Court in February to defend its student loan forgiveness plan, arguments will likely focus on whether a nearly 20-year-old law passed in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks allows Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to forgive some student loans. The legality of using the Higher Education Relief Opportunities for Students Act of 2003 to forgive up to $20,000 of federal student loans for eligible Americans in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has already been the subject of numerous court filings and amicus briefs. Critics of the administration argue the debt-relief plan is executive overreach, while supporters say a plain-text reading of the statute provides all the authorization needed. Clarity—one way or the other—is expected when the Supreme Court weighs in on two cases challenging the Biden administration’s debt relief. Oral arguments are scheduled for Feb. 28. ( Inside Higher Ed - Jan. 10, 2023)
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Groups Seek Details on FAFSA Simplification Timeline
The Department of Education is supposed to release an updated version of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid in October, but organizations representing financial aid officers and college access groups are seeking to confirm that timeline. The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and the National College Attainment Network wrote to the White House and the department last month to ask whether the administration could confirm that the 2024–25 FAFSA will be ready Oct. 1, as currently planned. The organizations have not yet received an answer to the letter, which was made public this month. The letter was sent before the fiscal year 2023 federal budget was released and subsequently signed into law. That budget does not provide additional funding for the Office of Federal Student Aid, which could hamper the office’s work on simplifying the FAFSA and on other projects. ( Inside Higher Ed - Jan. 9, 2023)
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FY 24 APPROPRIATIONS NEWS
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Senators Seek Funding Boost for NASA and NSF Astrophysics Programs
Five senators are asking the White House to add at least $300 million in the next budget proposal for NASA and the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support priorities from the astrophysics decadal survey. The Dec. 21 letter, released Jan. 5 by one of the signatories, Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), asked the directors of the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy to include “specific, increased funding” for NASA and NSF astrophysics programs in the fiscal year 2024 budget request under development. The senators asked for at least $150 million in additional funding for NSF astronomical sciences to support design work for new observatories. They also asked for $150 million for NASA astrophysics to fund technology development for future space telescopes. The senators argued that the additional funding will help keep the United States the “global leader” in astronomy amid competition from other countries. ( SpaceNews - Jan. 6, 2023)
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These Republicans were Selected to Chair House Committees after Speaker Battle Delay
After a historic and prolonged battle over the Speakership, House Republicans on Monday moved to wrap up some unfinished organizing business that was put on hold due to opposition to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)—including picking who will lead key panels. A three-way race for the powerful tax-writing [Committee on Ways and Means] emerged after longtime former Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas) retired. [Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.)] is a close McCarthy ally, and had been in negotiations last week to strike a deal with the hardline conservatives for Speaker. He opted against a potential run for Senate in the 2022 cycle as he announced a bid for the powerful chairmanship [, and ultimately won the gavel]. [Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.)] beat out Rep. Dan Crenshaw (Texas) to fill a vacancy [for the Committee on Homeland Security] created by former Rep. John Katko (N.Y.) retiring from Congress. Green told reporters that he plans to have two full-time committee staffers working from the U.S.-Mexico border. ( The Hill - Jan. 10, 2023)
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