FY 22 APPROPRIATIONS NEWS
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More Than 200 House Members Request FY22 Funding for NIH of at Least $46.1 Billion
Last week, a bipartisan group of more than 200 House of Representatives members sent a letter to House Appropriations Committee leadership requesting that the NIH receive “at least $46.1 billion” for FY22. “We are at the tip of the iceberg of new life-saving innovations,” the letter asserts. “Imagine what we can accomplish with continued robust investments in medical research, from making strides to combat antimicrobial resistance, to harnessing the power of personalized medicine to treat disease, and more. The critical investments we make in biomedical research are our nation's best hope in finding cures, prevention measures, and treatments for diseases that affect millions of Americans.” [Tennessee Reps. Jim Cooper (D-TN05) and Steve Cohen (D-TN09) signed onto this letter at Vanderbilt's request.] ( Association of American Universities - May 5, 2021)
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House to Advance Appropriations Bills in June, July
The House Appropriations Committee and its subcommittees are planning to mark up the 12 spending bills to fund the government for the 2022 fiscal year in June, with floor passage expected in July. President Biden has requested $1.5 trillion in spending for the year, including a 16 percent increase in nondefense spending and a 1.7 percent boost for defense funds. The overall request is 8.4 percent higher than current spending, not including emergency COVID-19 funds. Biden has yet to roll out a full budget proposal, which would include plans for mandatory programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, as well as a 10-year spending plan. That request is expected in the coming weeks. The House version of the bills will include a reintroduced version of earmarks, known as "congressionally directed spending," which are specific requests for funding projects from members. ( The Hill - May 6, 2021)
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Republican Senators Oppose Amnesty for Nondisclosures
A group of Republican senators wrote to Attorney General Merrick Garland Thursday opposing a possible amnesty program that would allow scholars to report past foreign funding without penalty and saying they expect the Department of Justice to announce such an amnesty program in the coming weeks. The Wall Street Journal reported in January that Justice Department officials were considering an amnesty initiative that would allow researchers to report past foreign funding they’d received without fear of being punished of previous nondisclosures. Under the auspices of its China Initiative, the Justice Department is prosecuting more than a dozen academics, mostly of ethnic Chinese heritage, who are accused of failing to disclose foreign funding or affiliations on federal grant applications or other federal forms. ( Inside Higher Ed - May 7, 2021)
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Biden Cabinet Nominee's Meetings with Epstein in 2012 Spanned 90 Minutes, Document Reveals
Biden Cabinet nominee Eric Lander’s past meetings with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein spanned approximately 90 minutes over two events in the spring of 2012, according to a document obtained by Politico. Lander, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology biology professor and President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the White House tech policy office, has faced scrutiny from Democratic and Republican lawmakers alike over a pair of events he attended nearly a decade ago with Epstein and other prospective donors. The document reveals details that largely align with Lander and the White House’s descriptions of the meetings as brief interactions, including during his recent nomination hearing. But the controversy could still imperil his confirmation, which has also faced questions about allegations he downplayed female scientist's contributions to his field and about other past interactions with controversial figures. ( Politico - May 6, 2021)
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Pentagon Leaders Emphasize Role of Emerging Technologies in Battle
The top two leaders in the Pentagon in some of their first major public speeches shared visions for a Department of Defense that heavily relies on emerging technologies and creating new strategies to use them. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin emphasized the need to depart from previous ways of waging war and focus on new, technology-driven tools and strategies . . . . The same message was echoed later that same day by Deputy Secretary Kathleen Hicks, who said that the department must “aggressively take steps to be a data-centric organization” and create new ways to use data in the field and in command centers. “Our fiscal year [2022] budget will provide early insight into our strategic approach,” Hicks said at the Aspen Security Forum. “It will support defense research, development, test and evaluation funding. This will lead to breakthrough technologies that drive innovation and underpin the development of next-generation defense capabilities.” ( FedScoop - May 5, 2021)
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Title IX Public Hearing Scheduled for June
The Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights will hold a virtual public hearing on improving Title IX enforcement beginning June 7. The hearing is scheduled to last until June 11. The department is seeking public comments on what it can do to ensure schools and colleges are providing learning environments free of sexual harassment and assault and have grievance procedures that lead to "fair, prompt, and equitable" resolutions. The public can also comment on what role the department can play in addressing discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in educational environments. Registration for the hearing is currently not open, and a date for registration to begin has not been scheduled. ( Inside Higher Ed - May 7, 2021)
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Promoting Financial Transparency for Students
Four bipartisan bills were introduced in Congress last week that all aim to increase the transparency of information that students receive about the cost of and payment for college throughout their postsecondary education —a change that experts and advocates say would be helpful but still wouldn’t solve the student debt crisis . . . . [T]he Net Price Calculator Improvement Act, the Understanding the True Cost of College Act . . . the Know Before You Owe Federal Student Loan Act . . . [and] the Student Loan Disclosure Modernization Act . . . would provide clearer information about college finances to students, beginning with their search of prospective schools and continuing until they graduate. Congress has already made part of the financial aid process easier by passing legislation in December that will simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid from 108 to 36 questions. ( Inside Higher Ed - May 6, 2021)
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DHS to Suspend New Fingerprint Requirement for Spouses of H-1B Visa Holders
The Department of Homeland Security will suspend a requirement that some spouses of immigrants legally employed in the U.S. submit new fingerprints to renew their visas. The requirement, put in place by the Trump administration in 2019, had resulted in tens of thousands of immigrants losing their work permits amid visa processing delays. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the DHS agency that handles legal immigration, said in a court filing Monday night that it will lift the requirement for two years beginning May 17. The Trump administration, in introducing the rule, had said new fingerprints were necessary to ensure immigrant spouses weren’t misrepresenting themselves. USCIS said in a statement that it would make more information about the change public in the coming days. ( The Wall Street Journal - May 4, 2021)
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