With Republicans on the Verge of Congressional Control, Science Is on the Line
In this year’s midterms, the future of federal science policy is in Republicans’ crosshairs. Some of the most vocal critics of scientists and science agencies like the NIH and the CDC, including Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, are poised to ascend to powerful committee chairmanships that will enable them to conduct sweeping investigations and put health officials on public trial. The new chairmanships could also give them the ability to tighten the purse strings for health agencies’ budgets —and to deny funding outright for new Covid-19 measures or other Biden health priorities. At the same time, some of the Republican party’s biggest defenders of science and science policy are poised to retire. The agenda reflects building GOP frustration over what many conservative lawmakers argue is unbridled Covid-19 spending and unfettered federal power during the pandemic. It stands in stark contrast to the broad, bipartisan support that science agencies enjoyed before the pandemic . . . . ( STAT - Nov. 1, 2022)
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AAU, Associations Submit Comments on Draft Standardized Disclosure Forms
AAU, AAMC, ACE, APLU, and COGR submitted a memorandum with joint comments to the National Science Foundation yesterday on standardized disclosure forms and materials created by the National Science and Technology Council as part of the Biden administration’s implementation of National Security Presidential Memorandum-33. The NSF is stewarding the forms and has provided additional information about them on its website. The associations’ memo also urged the NSF, the NSTC, and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to ensure that the common forms have limited variance among agencies, that there is a “transparent and uniform process” for updating the forms, and that they clarify key terms related to the types of information that must be reported. COGR also submitted additional detailed comments to the NSF regarding the common forms. ( Association of American Universities - Nov. 1, 2022)
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AAU, Associations Urge Lawmakers to Pass the Building Civic Bridges Act
AAU joined ACE and 29 other organizations in sending a letter to leaders of the House and Senate education and labor committees urging them to pass the bipartisan Building Civic Bridges Act ( H.R. 6843/ S. 4530). Sponsored by Rep. Derek Kilmer (D-WA) and Rep. Andy Barr (R-KY) in the House and Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) and Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) in the Senate, the Building Civic Bridges Act would create an Office of Civic Bridgebuilding within AmeriCorps to support programs that would help Americans bridge political and ideological divisions. The office would provide competitive grants to nonprofits, universities, and other community groups to initiate programs that would help facilitate conversations between people from diverse backgrounds and varying political perspectives. The act would also fund research on political and social polarization and on approaches to strengthen social cohesion and improve intergroup relations. ( Association of American Universities - Nov. 1, 2022)
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Big Tech Cites National Security in Push for Immigration Changes
Policy leaders in Big Tech have revved up a push for Congress to pass immigration changes before the end of the year, with a pitch aligning those policies to the national security concerns that sparked a recently enacted science and technology funding law. Tech leaders say they hope to persuade Congress to follow up the law passed three months ago, which aims to reinvest in domestic semiconductor manufacturing and scientific research, with measures to draw the foreign talent to U.S. businesses that they say is needed to make that happen. Congress came close earlier this year to including some immigration measures in the science and technology law. The House’s version included provisions that would have created a startup visa program and eased the visa process for foreign citizens with high-level science degrees—but they did not survive negotiations with the Senate over the scope of the bill. ( Roll Call - Oct. 31, 2022)
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Florida Trustees Select Sasse as President
Ben Sasse, a Republican senator from Nebraska, will soon leave Washington, D.C., for an environment that may be almost as political as Congress: Florida higher education. The University of Florida’s Board of Trustees unanimously approved Sasse as the next president of UF Tuesday. Sasse faced campus protests and a vote of no confidence in the search process, which left the Nebraska senator as the sole finalist. Critics questioned his stance on LGBTQ+ issues, abortion rights and other matters, as well as his qualifications. While the board largely focused its questions on Sasse’s vision for the University of Florida, concerns about his views on social issues and his limited academic experience were front and center during the public comments section of Tuesday’s meeting. ( Inside Higher Ed - Nov. 2, 2022)
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