Biden Fills Out Science Team with NOAA, DOE, and Diplomacy Picks
President Joe Biden is rounding out his science team. The White House yesterday announced nominees to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Office of Science, and the Department of State’s Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Science Affairs. At DOE, the Biden administration has turned to an outsider to lead its $7 billion research office, which is the single largest funder of the physical sciences in the United States and runs most of the nation’s x-ray synchrotrons and other big accelerator-based user facilities. Asmeret Asefaw Berhe, a soil scientist at the University of California (UC), Merced, has studied how soil processes can capture carbon, a process potentially key in fighting the build up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. She has won accolades for her work to promote diversity in science. Born in Eritrea, Berhe would become the first Black woman to lead the science office if confirmed by the Senate. ( Science Magazine - Apr. 23, 2021)
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Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on Foreign Influence in Biomedical Research
NIH Deputy Director for Extramural Research Michael Lauer, MD, testified on the NIH’s efforts to combat foreign influence in biomedical research in an April 22 hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee. Lauer testified that the NIH’s main areas of concern regarding foreign government influence on the NIH research enterprise are the failure of researchers to disclose outside funding from other organizations or foreign governments, “diversion of proprietary information included in grant applications or produced by NIH-supported biomedical research to other entities,” and a breach of confidentiality in the peer review system. Lauer reviewed the NIH’s actions to prevent these security issues, which include proactively addressing the research community, working with other federal research agencies through the Office of Science and Technology Policy to coordinate resources for grantees . . . . ( Association of American Medical Colleges - Apr. 23, 2021)
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Senate Reviews Bills to Address Competitiveness with China and Foreign Influence in U.S. Research
Senators worked to address competitiveness with China during a committee mark up and bill introduction during the week of April 19. [The] Senate Foreign Relations Committee . . . voted 21-1 during the April 21 markup to advance the Strategic Competition Act ( S. 1169), which higher education organizations including the AAMC have expressed concerns over. The AAMC joined the Association of American Universities, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and the American Council on Education in an April 20 letter opposing Sec. 138 of the bill, which would require the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) to review any proposed gifts and contracts of $1 million or more to U.S. research institutions. CFIUS is an interagency committee led by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and established to review transactions between U.S. businesses and foreign entities. ( Association of American Medical Colleges - Apr. 23, 2021)
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Biden’s Top Scientist Met Jeffrey Epstein Twice. It’s Now Complicating His Confirmation.
President Joe Biden’s nomination of Eric Lander to be his top science adviser has been delayed in part because of a Democratic senator’s concerns about meetings Lander and his colleagues had with Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier who was charged with sex trafficking in 2019 before his apparent suicide. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), the chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, has wanted more clarity on the extent of Lander’s associations with Epstein, according to an official familiar with the situation. Lander is the director of the Broad Institute of M.I.T. and Harvard and Biden’s pick to be director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, which the president for the first time has made a Cabinet-level post. He’s the only Cabinet nominee who has yet to be confirmed (Biden has not yet nominated an Office of Management and Budget director after he had to withdraw his first pick). ( Politico - Apr. 22, 2021)
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College Database Bill Raises Concerns About Student Privacy
The reintroduced College Transparency Act is receiving broad support across the political spectrum and from professional organizations, but opponents of the bill in higher education are concerned about how students’ information would be shared with the federal government. The bipartisan bill —spearheaded by Senator Bill Cassidy, a Republican from Louisiana —would create a student data system within the National Center for Education Statistics to track student outcomes at colleges throughout the United States. Colleges would be required to collect and submit data to the Department of Education regarding student enrollment, persistence, transfer and completion measures for all programs and degree levels. The data would also be disaggregated by demographics, including race and ethnicity, gender, and age. Lawmakers say the resulting database —which would be publicly available online —will help prospective students and their families better understand the return on investment for specific schools and programs. ( Inside Higher Ed - Apr. 26, 2021)
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FY 22 APPROPRIATIONS NEWS
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AAU, Associations Request Highest Possible FY22 CJS Allocation
On Tuesday, AAU [and Vanderbilt University] joined 110 research organizations, professional societies, universities, and private companies on a letter to leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to urge they provide the highest possible FY22 allocation for the agencies under the purview of the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Subcommittees. “Significant growth is urgently needed for CJS programs, which are vital to the advancement of science, technology, economic development, and criminal justice,” the letter notes. ( Association of American Universities - Apr. 23, 2021)
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