[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”WHITE HOUSE: OBAMA SOTU REFLECTS ON ACCOMPLISHMENTS, CALLS FOR COOPERATION“] For his final State of the Union address, President Obama sought a conciliatory and hopeful tone while requesting that Congress allay partisan tensions to reach consensus on advancing his remaining priorities. “Now, I understand that because it’s an election season, expectations for what…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS: WORLD LEADERS REACH FIRST EVER CLIMATE ACCORD“] On Dec. 12, over 190 countries of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change agreed to the first-ever international climate change agreement in Paris. The 31-page agreement sets a goal of limiting global temperature increases to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and pursues…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”HOUSE: ESA JOINS OTHER SOCIETIES IN DEFENDING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH“] ESA and six other leading science societies sent a letter to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) concerning his ongoing inquiries into the climate-change research of Thomas Karl and colleagues at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). At…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”NOAA: SCIENCE COMMITTEE CHAIR REQUESTS SCIENTISTS’ INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS“] On Nov. 4, House Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) sent a letter to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) requesting documents and communications between NOAA scientists whose research concludes there has been no pause in global warming. At the center of the…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”BUDGET: WHITE HOUSE, CONGRESS REACH TWO-YEAR BUDGET AGREEMENT“] The White House and Congressional leaders have finalized a budget deal that raises the debt limit and sets spending levels for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017. The bill passed the House Oct. 28 by a vote of 266-167. All voting Democrats were joined by 79…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”HOUSE: MCCARTHY DROPS OUT OF SPEAKERSHIP RACE“] On Oct. 8, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) dropped his bid to succeed John Boehner (R-OH) as Speaker of the House. With no clear successor in place, Boehner postponed the speakership election until further notice. McCarthy had undergone criticism for statements that linked the creation…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”CONGRESS: POPE CALLS ON LAWMAKERS TO AVERT ‘ENVIRONMENTAL DETERIORATION’“] On Sept. 24, Pope Francis spoke before a joint session of the United States Congress, advocating for compassion and equal opportunity for the underprivileged. He also urged Congress to take action to protect the earth and touched on the value of scientific discovery. While Pope…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”BUDGET: ESA JOINS ORGANIZATIONAL LETTER REQUESTING SEQUESTRATION RELIEF“] The Ecological Society of America was among 2,500 national, state and local organizations that signed a letter to Members of Congress requesting that they work to replace sequestration with a more balanced approach to deficit reduction. The letter comes as Congress debates how to continue funding…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”ARCTIC: OBAMA CALLS FOR CLIMATE ACTION AT ALASKA CONFERENCE“] On August 29, President Obama spoke before the conference on Global Leadership in the Arctic: Cooperation, Innovation, Engagement and Resilience (GLACIER) in Alaska where he discussed how climate change is impacting the Arctic and called on world leaders to join in global efforts to cut…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”WHITE HOUSE: COMPANIES UNITE WITH PRESIDENT OBAMA ON CLIMATE PLEDGE“] Thirteen of the largest companies in the United States are joining the Obama administration in the American Business Act on Climate Pledge: Alcoa, Apple, Bank of America, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, Cargill, Coca-Cola, General Motors, Goldman Sachs, Google, Microsoft, PepsiCo, UPS, and Walmart. The companies…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”APPROPRIATIONS: BILL FUNDING INTERIOR, EPA STALLS IN HOUSE“] On July 9, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) pulled the Fiscal Year 2016 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies appropriations bill over a contentious amendment related to the confederate flag. The appropriations bill funds the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the US Forest Service and most of…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”APPROPRIATIONS: WHITE HOUSE VOICES CONCERN WITH SENATE CJS BILL“] On June 24, the White House Office of Management and Budget submitted a letter to the Senate Appropriations Committee expressing concern with the Senate Commerce Justice and Science Appropriations Act of Fiscal Year (FY) 2016. Like official Statements of Administration Policy, the letters outline its…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”APPROPRIATIONS: HOUSE, SENATE CJS BILLS ADVANCE“] Over the past few weeks, the House and Senate have moved their Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS) appropriations bills, which include funding for key science agencies. The bills fund the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”RESEARCH: AMERICA COMPETES REAUTHORIZATION NARROWLY PASSES HOUSE“] On May 20, the US House of Representatives passed H.R. 1806, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act, by a vote of 217-205. No Democrats supported the bill and 23 Republicans broke with party leaders in voting against it. Sponsored by House Science, Space and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”SCIENCE: AMERICA COMPETES REAUTHORIZATION BILL HITS HOUSE FLOOR“] This week, the US House of Representatives will vote on H.R. 1806, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015. The bill is expected to pass along partisan lines in the early evening of May 20. The bill reauthorizes funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”HOUSE: SCIENCE COMMITTEE APPROVES AMERICA COMPETES REAUTHORIZATION“] On April 22, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee passed Chairman Lamar Smith’s (R-TX) bill to reauthorize the America COMPETES Act. The bill passed by a party-line vote of 19-16. H.R. 1806, the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act, would reauthorize funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF),…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”DROUGHT: CALIFORNIA ORDERS MANDATORY CUTS IN WATER USAGE“] On April 1, California Gov. Jerry Brown issued a landmark executive order requiring state residents to cut their water usage by 25 percent through February 28, 2016. The first-ever water restrictions target watering on lawns, campuses, cemeteries and golf courses. The order also instructs the California…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”BUDGET: HOUSE AND SENATE FY 2016 BUDGET PROPOSALS ADVANCE IN CONGRESS“] In late March, the House and Senate Budget Committees released their respective budgets for Fiscal Year 2016 that begins Sept. 30. The House passed its FY 2016 budget (H.Con.Res. 27) March 25 by a vote of 228–199. All Democrats opposed the House budget…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”APPROPRIATIONS: CJS SUBCOMMITTEE REVIEWS NSF FY 2016 BUDGET REQUEST“] On March 17, the Commerce Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing on the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Fiscal Year (FY) 2016 budget. The request is for $7.7 billion for the agency, a five percent increase over FY 2015. During the hearing, Chairman John…
[toggles title=”In This Issue”] [/toggle] [toggle title=”HOUSE: SCIENCE COMMITTEE REVIEWS NSF FY 2016 BUDGET REQUEST“] During a House Science, Space and Technology Committee hearing on the president’s FY 2016 budget request, Republicans questioned National Science Foundation (NSF) priorities. “Why does the administration increase funding for the Social, Behavioral and Economic (SBE) Science Directorate by over seven percent while proposing an…