The DC Digest

Duke Government Relations

Duke in DC's Top News Today:

A Group of Senators Reintroduced the Endless Frontiers Act
President Biden's Education Nominees Advance to Full Senate Approval
White House Announces Several Key Science Nominations
The Key Thing to Know About Duke's Advocacy on Federal Immigration Policy
Tweet of the Week!

Research

The latest updates on legislation and regulations that impact Duke's research enterprise.

AAU's resources on science and security legislative actions in 116th Congress

CONGRESS REINTRODUCES ENDLESS FRONTIERS ACT

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Todd Young (R-IN), Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), and Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) introduced a new version of the bipartisan Endless Frontier Act this week.

“This legislation will enhance American competitiveness with China and other countries by investing in American innovation, building up regions across the country to lead in the innovation economy, creating good-paying American manufacturing and high-tech jobs, and strengthening America’s research, development, and manufacturing capabilities,”

-- Sen. Schumer

New Frontier

CNSF SENDS LETTER TO APPROPRIATIONS LEADERS REQUESTING $10 BILLION IN FY22 FOR NSF

The Coalition for the National Science Foundation (CNSF), of which Duke is a member, sent a letter on Monday to leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies requesting at least $10 billion in FY22 appropriations for the National Science Foundation (NSF). The letter encourages Congress to make bold investments in the agency to help advance domestic innovation and to keep pace with investments other countries are making in research and development.

Science Request

Biden Administration

Biden-Harris Transition Appointees & Nominees

SENATE HELP COMMITTEE ADVANCES KVAAL AND MARTEN'S NOMINATIONS TO FULL SENATE VOTE

Yesterday, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee voted to approve two of President Biden's picks for the education department - James Kvaal for Under Secretary of Education and Cynthia Marten for Deputy Education Secretary, reported by POLITICO Pro. Both Kvaal and Marten now proceed to a full Senate vote for their confirmation.

WHITE HOUSE ANNOUNCES KEY SCIENCE NOMINEES

Yesterday, the White House announced several key nominations important to the scientific committee. Notably, Asmeret Berhe was nominated for Director of the Office of Science at the Department of Energy (DOE) and Rick Spinrad was nominated for Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Science Building

Immigration

The latest updates on legislation and regulatory actions related to immigration that are relevant to Duke.

NAFSA resources on COVID-19 restrictions on U.S. visa and entry

KEY THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT DUKE'S ADVOCACY ON FEDERAL IMMIGRATION POLICY

As we near the end of April and the conclusion of the spring 2021 semester, we are also approaching the 100th day in office for President Biden. While his administration has been vocal about working to reverse many immigration policies of the Trump administration, much of the work in this area takes time. Given this, the link below provides a review of where things stand right now on several key immigration priorities for Duke in the 2021-2022 academic year.

Visa Visa

USCIS SEEKING COMMENTS ON HOW IT CAN REDUCE ADMINISTRATIVE AND OTHER BURDENS WITHIN REGULATIONS

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is seeking comments from the public on how USCIS can reduce administrative and other barriers and burdens within its regulations and policies. The notice says this will help the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identify improvement for USCIS, including for educational institutions.

The Comment Section

CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH THE NEW ADMINISTRATION AND CONGRESS?

HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT FEDERAL ISSUES IMPACTING DUKE?

Join Duke’s Office of Government Relations Fridays at 10:00 am for Federal Forum, weekly virtual office hours for members of the Duke community where you can hear OGR staff give a quick rundown of the latest news out of DC of most relevance to Duke, then field questions, provide connections to resources and more! Register in advance to receive the Zoom link and, if possible, include issues you'd like to discuss.

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TWEET OF THE WEEK!

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