Reintroduced RISE Act Includes Critical Relief for American Research Enterprise
Reps. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Fred Upton (R-MI), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Anna Eshoo (D-CA), and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH) reintroduced the “Research Investment to Spark the Economy Act,” or RISE Act, along with 77 original cosponsors. A companion measure has also been reintroduced in the Senate by Senators Markey (D-MA), Tillis (R-NC), Peters (D-MI) and Collins (R-ME). The AAU-endorsed measure would authorize approximately $25 billion in relief funding to support the nation’s research workforce and offset costs related to laboratory closures and lost research productivity resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. [Reps. Jim Cooper (D-TN05) and Steve Cohen (D-TN09) are co-sponsors of the bill.] ( Association of American Universities - Feb. 5, 2021)
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U.S. Scientists Want Congress to Look into Complaints of Racial Profiling in China Initiative
Scientists and civil rights organizations are ramping up pressure on Congress and President Joe Biden’s administration to examine whether the U.S. government has been unfairly targeting Chinese-American researchers in an effort to protect government-funded research from foreign influences. This week, they asked a prominent member of Congress to hold a hearing on a U.S. law enforcement initiative that has resulted in criminal or civil charges against prominent U.S. academic scientists engaged in work with Chinese institutions. They see the hearing—which could occur as early as next month—as a possible first step toward satisfying a second request, directed to Biden last month, to reform or dismantle the Department of Justice’s (DOJ’s) China Initiative, begun in 2018. ( Science Magazine - Feb. 5, 2021)
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Biden Signs Memo to "Revitalize and Modernize" National Security Workforce
President Joe Biden yesterday signed a national security memo on “Revitalizing America’s Foreign Policy and National Security Workforce, Institutions, and Partnerships,” which calls for “a bold and sustained effort to revitalize and modernize the national security workforce, ensuring that it reflects the full diversity of the United States, and renewing and modernizing our national security institutions and partnerships.” The memo will establish an interagency working group “to develop proposals to recruit, retain, and support national security professions, including creating additional pathways for Americans with skills in critical areas such as cyber, technology, and science, technology, engineering, and math to engage in public service.” A fact sheet about the memo can be found here. ( Association of American Universities - Feb. 5, 2021)
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Education Department Disproportionally Selected Black, Hispanic Students for Audit
The U.S. Department of Education disproportionately selected Black and Hispanic students for financial aid audits over the last decade, The Washington Post reported after an analysis of federal data. After students turn in their Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the department selects some for verification, asking them to further prove that the information on their application is accurate. The process, meant to reduce fraud and ensure the integrity of taxpayer dollars, can be time-consuming and is mostly assigned to poorer students. In the 2019-20 academic year, the department received FAFSA forms from 18 million applicants. Roughly one-quarter were selected for verification. Somewhere between 11 and 25 percent of students selected for an audit drop out of the process, a phenomenon known as “verification melt.” ( Inside Higher Ed - Feb. 8, 2021)
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