{"id":14378,"date":"2018-09-28T15:25:41","date_gmt":"2018-09-28T19:25:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=14378"},"modified":"2018-09-28T15:25:41","modified_gmt":"2018-09-28T19:25:41","slug":"september-28-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2018\/09\/28\/september-28-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Policy News: September 28, 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"

ESA Policy News<\/strong><\/h1>\n

In This Issue:<\/h1>\n

Reception Honors USGS Congressional Champions<\/a><\/strong>
\nRep. Vincente Gonzalez (D-TX) and Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) receive USGS Leadership Awards from the USGS Coalition.<\/p>\n

NSF Requires Grantee Organizations to Report Harassment<\/a><\/strong>
\nNSF releases final policy requiring institutions\u00a0to tell the agency if a PI receiving NSF funds is found guilty of harassment or has been suspended.<\/p>\n

Congress<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Congress finalized appropriations for the Department of Energy, Congressional Research Service reports posted online.<\/p>\n

Executive Branch<\/a><\/strong>
\nInterior Department formally rolls back methane rule, Forest Service moves to increase drilling and mining on national forest system lands.<\/p>\n

Courts<\/a><\/strong>
\nFederal court returns Yellowstone grizzly bears to the endangered species list.<\/p>\n

States<\/a><\/strong>
\nCalifornia commits to new climate targets and a satellite to monitor emissions, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission to hold lionfish summit.<\/p>\n

International<\/strong><\/a><\/strong>
\nEvidence that Parks Canada scientists are still \u2018muzzled,\u2019 UK to change agricultural subsidies scheme.<\/p>\n

Scientific Community<\/strong><\/a><\/strong>
\nAAAS allows its fellows to be removed for harassment, NAS holds event on sexual harassment in the sciences.<\/p>\n

Federal Register Opportunities<\/a><\/strong>
\nUpcoming meetings and other opportunities for public involvement.<\/p>\n

Register to Vote<\/a><\/strong>
\n2018 midterm elections are happening in November.\u00a0\u00a0Register to vote and learn more about voting policies and rights in your state at Rock the Vote.<\/a><\/p>\n

ESA In the News<\/u><\/a><\/strong>
\nView an up-to-date list of ESA\u2019s media coverage<\/p>\n

Reception Honors USGS Congressional Champions<\/a><\/h2>\n

After a summer of wildfires and volcano eruptions \u2013 and science to understand these natural hazards \u2013 congressional staff and policymakers gathered on Capitol Hill for an event recognizing USGS\u2019 important work and honoring two members of Congress for their support of the agency.<\/p>\n

Rep. Vincente Gonzalez (D-TX) received a USGS Leadership Award for sponsoring the Improvement of Mapping, Addresses, Geography, Elevation, and Structures or IMAGES Act (H.R. 4905<\/a>) and for his interest in responsibly addressing the country\u2019s national resources in the pursuit of energy development. The IMAGES Act aims to strengthen the USGS National Streamflow Information Program and benefit flood risk mapping and assessment. These efforts are especially important in areas like Gonzales\u2019 district in South Texas, which was affected by Hurricane Harvey and experienced \u2018historic\u2019 flooding in July 2018.<\/p>\n

Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-CO) also received a USGS Leadership Award for his work in seeking to reauthorize the National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program (NCGMP) by introducing the National Geologic Mapping Act Reauthorization Act (H.R. 4033<\/a>) and for his Natural Resources Committee work. The National Cooperative Geologic Mapping Program is a partnership between state governments, the federal government, the USGS, and universities that provides funds for the production of geologic maps. The program also provides, shares, and stores maps in the National Geologic Map Database<\/a>. NCGMP was most recently authorized in 2009 for 10 years.<\/p>\n

From the administration side, Tim Petty, the assistant secretary for water and science in the Department of the Interior and USGS Director James Reilly also joined the reception and highlighted the importance of USGS science for understanding natural resources and natural hazards.<\/p>\n

NSF Requires Grantee Organizations to Report Harrassment<\/a><\/h2>\n

The National Science Foundation released its final sexual harassment policy<\/a>. Starting October 2018, universities must report to NSF if a PI receiving NSF funds is found guilty of harassment of any kind or is suspended by the university or institution for any reason. The university would not lose NSF funding if another faculty member can serve as the PI for the grant. NSF only requires reports of harassment after an investigation is completed \u2013 universities do not have to tell NSF when a complaint has been filed or an investigation begins. The final policy is posted in the Federal Register<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Separately, House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA), the Chairwoman of the committee\u2019s Subcommittee on Research Technology, sent a letter<\/a> to the Government Accountability Office reiterating the committee\u2019s request that the GAO investigate federal agencies\u2019 handling of sexual misconduct in the sciences. The letter recommends that other science funding agencies enact policies similar to NSF\u2019s new policy. Smith and Comstock write that, based on the Science Committee\u2019s findings on this issue, the GAO should investigate procedures for sexual harassment training, the current advisor model for scientific training and education, and consequences for sexual misconduct.<\/p>\n

Congress<\/a><\/h2>\n

Appropriations: <\/strong>The president signed a minibus package of three appropiations bills, including a bill funding the Department of Energy Office of Science. The final bill includes $6.5 billion for the Office of Science \u2013 a 5.2 percent increase \u2013 and $705 million for Biological and Environmental Research, a 4.8 percent increase. The bill also increases funding for the Bioenergy Research Centers by 11 percent to $100 million.<\/p>\n

The bill directs DOE to set aside $40 million for the Terrestrial Ecosystems Science program. The budget report specifies that of this amount, $10 million goes to the Next Generation Ecosystem Experiments (NGEE) \u2013 Arctic, $5.8 million to NGEE-Tropics, $8.3 million goes to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory\u2019s Spruce and Peatland Responses under Changing Environments (SPRUCE) project, $6.8 million for the Watershed Function Science Focus Area, and $5.7 million is for Ameriflux Long-Term Earth Systems Observations. The Subsurface Biogeochemical Research program receives $22 million and Earth and Environmental Systems modeling receives $97 million.<\/p>\n

Congress approved a continuing resolution to fund other agencies of interest to ESA members at 2018 levels through the beginning of December.<\/p>\n

ESA continues to track the appropriations process on the\u00a0Federal Budget Tracker.<\/a><\/p>\n

Department of Energy Legislation:<\/strong> The House voted to approve the Department of Energy Research and Innovation Act (H.R. 689<\/a>).\u00a0This bill authorizes the programs of all six components of the Department of Energy\u2019s Office of Science. The Senate previously passed this legislation, and the\u00a0bill will become law once the president signs it.<\/p>\n

Climate Risk Disclosure Bill:<\/strong> Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has introduced<\/a> legislation that would require publicly traded companies to disclose information to investors and the public about the climate-related risks the company faces and how the company contributes to climate change. The legislation, called the Climate Risk Disclose Bill, is co-sponsored by seven other Senate Democrats including other likely presidential candidates Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY).<\/p>\n

Galveston Sea Turtle Facility:<\/strong> House Natural Resources Ranking Member Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) sent a\u00a0 letter<\/a> to the head of NOAA\u2019s National Marine Fisheries Service expressing concerns over plans to shut the Galveston Sea Turtle Research Center. According to Grijalva, NOAA plans to close the facility to\u00a0save $600,000 to $800,000 a year. NOAA describes the facility as the \u201conly facility of its kind and class in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Congressional Research Service (CRS):<\/strong> Many of the reports prepared by the CRS\u2019 nonpartisan subject matter experts are now publicly available online at crsreports.congress.gov<\/a>. A provision in the Fiscal Year 2018 appropriations bill required this change.<\/p>\n

Legislative Updates:<\/strong><\/p>\n