The DC Digest

In Today's Issue:

Speaker Nancy Pelosi Appoints 7 Democrats to a House Panel to Provide Oversight on the Administrations COVID-19 Response Efforts
House Letter Calls for Emergency Funding to the U.S. Research Enterprise
NIH Announces $1.5 Billion Initiative to Accelerate COVID-19 Testing
Notice of Extended Waiver of Patent-Related Deadlines Under the CARES Act
National Academics & NSF Create Network to Connect Decision Makers with Social Scientists on Pressing COVID-19 Questions
DOE Office of Science Graduate Research (SCGSR) Program is Accepting Applications, Deadline Extended to May 20
The Coalition for National Security Research (CNSR) Submits Recommendations to House and Senate for FY21 Defense Appropriations Bill
COVID-19 Research Resources for the Duke Community
Tweet of the Week! - NSF Rapid Response Grant

PELOSI APPOINTS 7 MEMBERS TO PANEL ON COVID-19 RESPONSE
Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday appointed 7 Democratic members to a newly created House panel to provide oversight on the Trump administration's COVID-19 response efforts. She named Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) to lead the committee and selected 6 additional members: Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Maxine Waters (D-CA), Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), Jaime Raskin (D-MD), Bill Foster (D-IL) and Andy Kim (D-NJ). It is unclear whether House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) will name any Republican additions to the panel.

Pelosi's Point

HOUSE LETTER CALLS FOR RELIEF TO THE U.S. RESEARCH ENTERPRISE
A bipartisan group of 178 representatives, including 5 from North Carolina, sent a letter to House leaders urging them to include $26 billion in supplemental funding for scientific and medical research in the forthcoming Phase Four COVID-19 relief package. Reps. David Price (D-NC), G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), Alma Adams (D-NC), George Holding (R-NC) and David Rouzer (R-NC) were among the NC congressional delegation who signed their support. This critical funding will help support the research workforce across North Carolina and important science already in the pipeline.

Research Relief

NIH ANNOUNCES $1.5 B INITIATIVE TO ACCELERATE COVID-19 TESTING
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Wednesday announced a new $1.5 billion initiative to rapidly develop coronavirus diagnostics, an effort it says will result in the development of "millions of tests per week," by late summer or fall this year. The agency's efforts rely on a national COVID-19 testing challenge, where scientists and inventors will compete for a share of a $500 million pool earmarked for diagnostic development. Successful entrants will eventually be paired with manufacturers and business experts who can help to quickly scale up production of any tests developed during the project.

Shark Tank

NOTICE OF EXTENDED PATENT-RELATED DEADLINES
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), under the CARES Act, is further extending the time to file certain patent-related documents or fees that would otherwise have been due on or after March 27, 2020. USPTO also is clarifying the relief available for patent applicants or patent owners who were unable to timely submit a filing or payment due to COVID-19.

Nilla Waivers

NATIONAL ACADEMIES, NSF CREATE NETWORK TO CONNECT DECISION MAKERS WITH SOCIAL SCIENTISTS ON COVID-19 QUESTIONS
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine and the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced the formation of a Societal Experts Action Network (SEAN) to connect social and behavioral science researchers with decision-makers who are leading the response to COVID-19. SEAN will respond to the most pressing social, behavioral and economic questions that are being asked by federal, state and local officials by working with appropriate experts to quickly provide actionable answers.

Social Q's

DOE SCGSR PROGRAM EXTENDS APPLICATION DEADLINE
The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science Graduate Student Research (SCGSR) Program has extended its application deadline to May 20. The goal of the SCGSR program is to prepare graduate students for science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) careers critically important to the DOE Office of Science mission, by providing graduate thesis research opportunities at DOE laboratories.

Applied Science

CNSR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FY21 DEFENSE APPROPRIATIONS BILL
The Coalition for National Security Research (CNSR), of which Duke is a member, offered recommendations for the upcoming FY21 Defense appropriations bill to both House and Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittees. The coalition urges congressional leaders to increase Defense Science and Technology funding and recommends emergency appropriations for various programs to help combat COVID-19 and prepare for future pandemics.

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-WA) also went on record this week stating that while COVID-19 has impacted the legislative process for the FY21 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), he does not intend to produce a pared-down bill.

Lawmakers Push On

FEDERAL COVID-19 INFO FOR THE DUKE COMMUNITY
Federal agencies continue to release updated guidance and other information related to COVID-19. The Association of American Universities (AAU), of which Duke is a member, also created a page for frequently asked questions about federal guidance on coronavirus. The Duke community can also access resources and additional relevant updates related to research operations on the Duke Research Agency-Specific COVID-19 Updates page.

Duke Research COVID-19 Updates

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