Senate Spending Bills Include Modest Increase for NSF, Interior Agencies<\/strong><\/a> States Challenge New Endangered Species Act Regulations in Courts<\/strong><\/a> Newest IPCC Report Highlights \u2018Unprecedented and Enduring Changes in the Ocean and Cryosphere\u2019<\/strong><\/a> Congress<\/strong><\/a> Executive Branch<\/strong><\/a> States Courts<\/strong><\/a> International<\/strong><\/a> Scientific Community<\/strong><\/a> Opportunities to Get Involved<\/strong><\/a> ESA In the News<\/strong><\/a> The Senate Appropriations committee released spending bills funding the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Interior Department, the EPA, the U.S. Forest Service and more. The government is currently funded through a continuing resolution, which keeps the government open through Nov. 21.<\/p>\n The full Senate has not voted on any fiscal year (FY) 2020 bills. The full House passed 10 out of 12 required spending bills during summer 2019.<\/p>\n Details of the appropriations bills passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee are found below.<\/p>\n National Science Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n Senate appropriators allocated $8.317 billion for NSF, a 3% increase<\/strong>. This amount includes $6.732 billion, a 3.7% increase for NSF\u2019s Research and Related Activities account, which funds most NSF grants. Congress does not determine funding levels for the individual NSF\u2019s directorates.<\/p>\n In total, Senate appropriators provide around $105 million for midscale research infrastructure, including $75 million for research infrastructure that costs between $20 million and $70 million. Funding midscale research infrastructure is one of NSF\u2019s 10 big ideas.<\/p>\n Senate appropriators reject NSF\u2019s proposal to decrease the number of Graduate Research Fellowships to 1,600 fellowships in FY 2020 and provide level funding for the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP), relative to FY 2019 levels. The GRFP typically provides around 2,000 awards a year.<\/p>\n Interior Department<\/strong><\/p>\n Overall, the Senate Appropriations bill provides $1.209 billion for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), a 4.22% increase<\/strong>.\u00a0Senators approve USGS\u2019s plan to restructure its mission areas. In this reorganization, the agency\u2019s Climate Adaption Science Centers and the agency\u2019s environmental health research programs are moved to the Ecosystems Mission Area.\u00a0The Climate Adaption Science Centers and the Cooperative Research Units receive flat funding at FY 2019 levels.<\/strong>\u00a0The appropriations committee report instructs that this funding should be used to keep all Climate Science Adaptation Centers open. USGS proposed closing the cooperative research units and consolidating the eight regional Climate Adaption Science Centers into three regional hubs in its 2020 budget request.<\/p>\n The National Park Service receives $3.36 billion, a 4.26% increase.<\/strong><\/p>\n The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service receives $1.63 billion, a 3.3% increase.<\/strong><\/p>\n The Bureau of Land Management receives $1.4 billion, a nearly 4% increase<\/strong>. The bill does not include funding for the BLM\u2019s plan to relocate its headquarters to Grand Junction, CO and move hundreds of jobs to locations across the West.<\/p>\n U.S. Forest Service<\/strong><\/p>\n The Senate Appropriations bill for the Forest Service includes $3.56 billion for Forest Service nonfire programs, a $474.575 million increase over FY 2019 levels.<\/strong><\/p>\n Senate appropriators mirror the House\u2019s proposal to create a new budget pool for Forest Service operational costs, such as utilities and information technology.\u00a0Forest Service Research and Development receives $257.64 million, approximately a $6 million increase<\/strong>\u00a0when taking into account the new operational costs pool.<\/p>\n Appropriators direct the Forest Service to provide $3 million to the Joint Fire Science Program from the research and development account. The Interior Department receives $3 million in dedicated funding for the Joint Fire Science Program.<\/p>\n EPA<\/strong><\/p>\n Overall, the Environmental Protection Agency receives $9 billion and the agency\u2019s science and technology programs are funded at $713 million, around a 1% increase. Again, appropriators reject a proposal from the administration to cut the agency\u2019s regional cleanup programs by 90%. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative receives $301 million, a 1% increase and the Chesapeake Bay Program receives $76 million, a $3 million increase.<\/p>\n NOAA<\/strong><\/p>\n In total, the Senate proposes a 1.62% cut for NOAA, bringing the agency\u2019s overall budget to $5.337 billion.\u00a0<\/strong>Within this amount, NOAA\u2019s research division receives a 1.17% increase and the National Sea Grant College Program\u2019s funding is increased by $7 million from $68 million to $75 million.<\/p>\n NASA<\/strong><\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Earth Science Division receives less than a 1% increase.<\/p>\n Attorneys General representing 17 states and the District of Columbia\u00a0filed a lawsuit<\/a>\u00a0challenging the Trump administration\u2019s changes to the Endangered Species Act regulations that were finalized in August 2019. Among other changes, the new rule allows the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service to incorporate economic considerations into listing decisions and reverse a long-standing rule that automatically gives threatened species similar protections as endangered species (see ESA Policy News, Sept. 9, 2019<\/a>).<\/p>\n Mirroring a similar lawsuit filed by environmental groups in August, the states\u2019 Attorneys General argue that the changes are \u2018arbitrary and capricious\u2019 under the Administrative Procedures Act and the administration failed to analyze the environmental impacts of the rule, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. The Attorneys General also claim that the new rules violate the Endangered Species Act itself.<\/p>\n Lawmakers on Capitol Hill remain interested in legislative changes to the Endangered Species Act. The House Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife considered a bill from full Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) to repeal the changes to the Endangered Species Act regulations during a\u00a0subcommittee hearing<\/a>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the Congressional Western Caucus released a\u00a0draft package of bills<\/a>\u00a0to overhaul the Endangered Species Act, including bills that would codify the new regulations into law. Other bills in the package would require data used in endangered species listing decisions to be made publicly available, limit the Interior Department\u2019s ability to designate private lands as critical habitat for endangered species and stop USFWS from listing species not found in the U.S. The Congressional Western Caucus is a bicameral group of legislators from 32 states, all but two of its 72 members are Republicans. The caucus introduced a similar package in 2018. Caucus Chairman Paul Gosar (R-AZ) said that the lawmakers will finalize and formally introduce the bills in a few months.<\/p>\n The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)\u00a0special report<\/a>\u00a0concludes that climate change has led to widespread losses of glaciers, snow cover and sea ice extent and the rate of ocean warming has more than doubled since 1993. These changes have serious economic and ecological consequences \u2013 altering species\u2019 ranges and abundance, accelerating sea-level rise and increasing CO2 levels in the oceans, leading to ocean acidification. Looking ahead, the report finds that 100-year flood events could occur annually by 2050 in major coastal cities, such as Miami and Los Angeles and the world could see 3.6 feet of sea-level rise by 2100.<\/p>\n Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) introduced resolutions (S.Res.342<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0H.Res.589<\/a>) to Congress recognizing the IPCC report and calling for \u201cocean-centric solutions to the climate crisis\u201d and an immediate reduction in greenhouse gas emissions to protect the oceans and cryosphere.<\/p>\n The report is the last of three IPCC special reports commissioned for the IPCC\u2019s sixth assessment cycle. It follows the\u00a0Special Report on 1.5 Degrees of Warming<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Special Report on Climate Change and Land<\/a>, as well as the\u00a0Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystems Services Global Assessment report.<\/a><\/p>\n Nominations:\u00a0The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee advanced the nomination of Aurelia Skipwith to be the director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service<\/strong>\u00a0along a party-line vote. Committee Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-DE) criticized Skipwith for not adequately responding to his questions about her previous work experience in agribusiness, particularly at Monsanto, and potential conflicts of interests in her current work in the Interior Department.<\/p>\n After the committee vote, the Guardian published an\u00a0investigation<\/a>\u00a0questioning Skipwith\u2019s ties to her fianc\u00e9\u2019s lobbying firm, which has worked on behalf of groups that oppose Endangered Species Act protections.<\/p>\n Diversity in STEM:<\/strong>\u00a0The full House approved the STEM Opportunities Act<\/strong>\u00a0(H.R. 2528<\/a>) that requires federal agencies to collect demographic data on grant recipients and STEM faculty; take other steps to implement evidence-based policies to increase the number of women, minorities and other groups underrepresented in STEM; and support these groups\u2019 success. Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) introduced similar legislation in previous sessions of Congress, but this is the first time that the bill has passed the House with bipartisan support. Science Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) is an original co-sponsor of the bill.<\/p>\n The same week, Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI) introduced a Senate version of the STEM Opportunities Act (S. 2579<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Health, Education, Labor and Pensions<\/a>) with the support of nine fellow Senate Democrats. Hirono and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) also introduced the Woman and Minorities in STEM Booster Act (S. 2578<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Health, Education, Labor and Pensions<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0H.R. 4528<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Science Committee<\/a>) that provides grants to programs dedicated to increasing women and minorities participation in STEM.<\/p>\n Federal Advisory Committees:\u00a0Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL), Rep. Paul Tonko (D-NY) and Rep. Mike Quiqley (D-IL) introduced the Preserve Science in Policymaking Act (H.R. 4557<\/a>).<\/strong>\u00a0This bill comes in response to a June 2019 executive order that directs federal agencies to eliminate one-third of their advisory committees. The legislation aims to prevent the President or agency heads from terminating advisory committees \u2014 if passed, the bill would only allow these committees to be eliminated if agencies receive legal authorization to do so from Congress or the agency\u2019s chief data officer, chief evaluation officer and chief information officer\u00a0unanimously\u00a0approve the committee\u2019s termination.<\/p>\n House Natural Resources Committee:<\/strong>\u00a0The full committee advanced a set of bills addressing coastal management, climate adaption and aquatic conservation Sept. 25.<\/strong><\/p>\n Other legislative updates<\/strong><\/p>\n See ESA\u2019s\u00a0Legislative Tracker<\/a>\u00a0for more updates on legislation relevant to the ecological community.<\/p>\n Nominations:\u00a0President Trump nominated Katharine MacGregor to serve as deputy secretary of the Interior<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 the position that Interior Secretary David Bernhardt vacated when he became secretary in April 2019. The deputy secretary is typically responsible for day-to-day management at the department. MacGregor has been a political appointee in the Interior Department since 2017 and previously worked as a Republican staffer for the House Natural Resources Committee.<\/p>\n Interior Department:\u00a0David Vela\u00a0replaced<\/a>\u00a0P. Daniel Smith as the National Park Service\u2019s acting director.<\/strong>\u00a0The Park Service has not had a Senate-confirmed director since the end of the Obama administration. President Trump nominated Vela to serve as Park Service director in 2018. His nomination failed when the 115th<\/sup>\u00a0Congress ended in January 2019. Trump has yet to renominate Vela in the 116th<\/sup>\u00a0Congress. Vela is a career Park Service employee \u2013 he was the superintendent of Grand Teton National Park and most recently, he has been working as the agency\u2019s acting deputy director for operations in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n Bernhardt extended Acting Bureau of Land Management Director William Perry Pendley\u2019s appointment through January 2020.<\/strong>\u00a0Pendley first joined the Interior Department in July 2019 and already has sparked controversy among lawmakers. Sen. Michael Bennett (D-CO) and 11 other Senate Democrats\u00a0asked<\/a>\u00a0Bernhardt to rescind Pendley\u2019s appointment, citing his advocacy for the widespread sale of public lands.<\/p>\n EPA:\u00a0The National Center for Environmental Assessment released an\u00a0external review draft<\/a>\u00a0of an integrated science assessment for ozone.<\/strong>\u00a0The 1,400 page document, prepared by dozens of EPA scientists and others, reviews the health and ecological impacts of ozone pollution to inform air quality regulations, updating the 2013 assessment. Its findings link ozone to respiratory and metabolic health effects (for example, diabetes) and cites newer evidence supporting \u201ca role for ozone in tree mortality and shifts in community composition of forest tree and grassland species.\u201d Now, the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee will meet to review the document in December 2019; however, a meeting date has not yet been announced.\u00a0Outside review comments<\/a>\u00a0on the document must be received by Dec. 2, 2019.<\/p>\n Advisory Committees:\u00a0The Commerce Department eliminated the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee,<\/strong>\u00a0which advised NOAA and the Interior Department on strengthening the nation\u2019s system of marine protected areas. The committee members included scientists and representatives of tribes, recreational fishing and conservation organizations. A Commerce Department representative\u00a0told the Hill<\/a>\u00a0that the cut is part of a June 2019 executive order requiring federal agencies to cut one-third of their advisory committees.<\/p>\n The full list of advisory committees impacted by the June executive order is not yet available. However, a separate\u00a0executive order<\/a>\u00a0issued Sept. 27 renewed the charters for 30 advisory committees, including the President\u2019s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and advisory committees for the Bears Ears, Gold Butte and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments, through September 2021.<\/p>\n NSF:<\/strong>\u00a0The National Science Board released the\u00a0third installment<\/a>\u00a0of its Science and Engineering Indicators 2020 report, examining the U.S. science and engineering workforce.<\/strong>\u00a0Report findings include significant increases in the number of women and minorities in science and engineering fields or with science degrees since the 1990s. The number of Ph.D.s employed as full-time faculty has declined, while the number of Ph.D.s in other academic positions such as research associates, adjunct appointments, and administrative positions rose over time.<\/p>\n Other 2020 reports cover trends in\u00a0K-12 student achievement in mathematics and science<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0science and engineering higher education<\/a>.<\/p>\n NIFA<\/strong>:\u00a0Only around 30 percent of agency employees\u00a0ordered<\/a>\u00a0to relocate to the Kansas City area accepted their new assignments, leaving the USDA\u2019s National Institute of Food and Agriculture severely understaffed and unable to deliver funds to colleges and universities.<\/strong>\u00a0Meanwhile, NIFA\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0the appointment of six new \u2018National Science Liaisons\u2019 who will continue to represent the agency\u2019s programs in Washington, DC.<\/p>\n Rusty Patched Bumblebee:<\/strong>\u00a0The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service\u00a0agreed<\/a>\u00a0in a settlement to designate critical habitat for the rusty patched bumble bee by the end of July 2021.<\/strong>\u00a0Environmental groups sued USFWS after it listed the species as endangered in January 2017, but did not designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act. The bee was the first native bee species added to the endangered species list in the continental US. Rusty patched bumblebee populations have declined an estimated 87% and the species\u2019 range has shrunk. Historically, the bee could be found in much of the Midwest and the northeastern US. Today, it is only found in Wisconsin, Minnesota and parts of Ontario.<\/p>\n Neonicotinoids:\u00a0The Center for Biological Diversity and the Center for Food Safety are challenging the Trump administration\u2019s 2018 decision to allow the use of neonicotinoids in national wildlife refuges in court.<\/strong>\u00a0The lawsuit claims that the decision violated the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act and National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act.<\/p>\n Tongass National Forest:<\/strong>\u00a0A federal judge in Alaska\u00a0moved<\/a>\u00a0to temporarily block a plan to log 42,500 acres of the Tongass National Forest<\/strong>. Around half of the proposed logging area is old-growth forest. Earthjustice and other environmental groups argued that the Forest Service did not adequately analyze the local environmental impacts of the timber sales, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act. The court will issue a final decision in the case by March 31, 2019.<\/p>\n National Monuments:<\/strong>\u00a0A U.S. District Court judge\u00a0rejected<\/a>\u00a0the federal government\u2019s attempt to dismiss lawsuits challenging President Trump\u2019s 2017 order shrinking the size of Bear Ears National Monument in Utah. This decision allows lawsuits filed by Native American tribes and environment, business and scientific groups challenging President Trump\u2019s order to proceed in the courts. The groups argue that the president does not have the legal authority to reduce the size of national monuments designated by other presidents under the Antiquities Act.<\/p>\n U.N. Climate Summit:<\/strong>\u00a0A few key takeaways and commitments emerged from the United Nations\u2019 \u201cClimate Action Summit\u201d in late September:<\/strong><\/p>\n Immigration<\/strong>:\u00a0House Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL) introduced the\u00a0Keep STEM Talent Act<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0which would exempt certain students who have received advanced degrees in STEM fields from American institutions from caps on the total number of individuals who can receive lawful permanent resident status in the U.S. This bill is the companion bill to a Senate bill (S. 1744<\/a>) introduced by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) earlier this year.<\/p>\n California:\u00a0State legislation\u00a0limiting<\/a>\u00a0the amount of groundwater that farmers can withdraw from their wells will take effect in January 2020.<\/strong>\u00a0The law, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, will gradually increase groundwater restrictions over the next 20 years with the overall goal of bringing groundwater aquifers to sustainability \u2013 meaning that withdraws will no longer cause \u201cchronic lowering of groundwater levels.\u201d The California State Assembly passed this bill in 2014.<\/p>\n Gov. Gavin Newsom (D)\u00a0vetoed<\/a>\u00a0a state bill intended to counter the Trump administration\u2019s regulatory rollbacks,<\/strong>\u00a0by adopting federal Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and Endangered Species Act regulations as they existed in January 2017 into state law.<\/p>\n PMF:\u00a0Applications for the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program are open through Oct. 17.<\/strong>\u00a0See the\u00a0PMF website<\/a>\u00a0for details on how to apply. Students who will graduate with any advanced degree by August 2020 are eligible to apply as well as anyone who has graduated with an advanced degree in the last two years. PMFs serve two-year appointments in the federal executive branch with opportunities to noncompetitively convert to a permanent federal position.<\/p>\n AAAS:<\/strong>\u00a0Applications for the AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship program are open through Nov. 1.<\/strong>\u00a0AAAS fellows serve in all three branches of the federal government for one year. The fellowship is open to Ph.D.\u00a0scientists at all career stages. See the\u00a0AAAS Fellowship website<\/a>\u00a0to apply.<\/p>\n NSF:\u00a0Applications are now open for the Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP),<\/strong>\u00a0which provides three years of funding for masters and Ph.D. students in STEM fields. Students who intend to enter a graduate program and current graduate students are eligible to apply. The application deadline for students in the life sciences and geosciences is Oct. 21. Deadlines for other fields are later in the same week. See the\u00a0program website<\/a>\u00a0for more information.<\/p>\n Awards:<\/strong>\u00a0Ecologist and past ESA president Terry Chapin will accept the Volvo Environmental Prize in Stockholm in Nov. 2019.<\/strong>\u00a0This prize honors indivduals who have made \u201coutstanding scientific discoveries within the area of the environment and sustainable development.\u201d\u00a0The\u00a0award announcement<\/a>\u00a0commends Chapin\u2019s work creating the concept of earth stewardship and his climate change research in the boreal forests of Alaska and Siberia. Chapin is an emeritus professor at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks.<\/p>\n Labor:<\/strong>\u00a0A proposed rule from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) declares that graduate students at private universities, including those who work as teaching and\/or research assistants, are not employees and therefore, not eligible to unionize.<\/strong>\u00a0In 2016, the NLRB ruled that graduate students at Columbia University could unionize, paving the way for graduate students at 12 universities to vote to unionize. The rule only applies to private universities \u2014 graduate students at public universities in states with collective bargaining for state employees are generally allowed to unionize.\u00a0The public comment period<\/a>\u00a0for the proposed rule closes Nov. 22.<\/p>\n Research Management<\/strong>: Science funder The Wellcome Trust, technology company Digital Science, the University of Sheffield and Leiden University launched the\u00a0Research on Research Institute<\/a>\u00a0(RoRI) Sept. 30.\u00a0The new consortium will conduct meta-research (research on research) and develop new meta-research tools, indicators and frameworks with the overall goal of advancing more strategic, open and inclusive research.<\/strong>\u00a0RoRI\u2019s\u00a0press release<\/a>\u00a0announcing the launch notes that public funding agencies from eight countries and the African Academy of Science have expressed interest in joint the RoRI consortium.<\/p>\n With the launch, RoRI released its first two\u00a0working papers<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 \u201cThe 21st century Ph.D.\u201d and \u201cSupporting priority setting in science using research funding landscapes.\u201d<\/p>\n UCS:<\/strong>\u00a0Former members of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) Particulate Matter Review Panel will meet in Washington, DC Oct. 10-11.<\/strong>\u00a0EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler disbanded the panel, which was tasked with providing outside scientific advice on particulate matter to inform air quality regulations, in October 2018.\u00a0The scientists will review two draft documents that they would have reviewed as CASAC advisers \u2014 the Integrated Science Assessment for Particulate Matter and the Policy Assessment for the Review of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Particulate Matter.<\/strong>\u00a0The Union of Concerned Scientists is supporting the scientists\u2019 travel costs and hosting the meeting, but the former science advisers are not paid for this work. The event will be live-streamed and there is an opportunity to submit written or oral in-person comments during the meeting. See the\u00a0meeting website<\/a>\u00a0for more details.<\/p>\n Law:<\/strong>\u00a0The Brennan Center for Justice\u2019s\u00a0National Task Force on Rule of Law & Democracy<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a bipartisan group led by former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara and former EPA Administrator and former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman \u2013 released its new\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0responding to executive branch abuses in two critical areas: (1) scientific research in government and (2) the filling of senior administration positions with qualified people.<\/p>\n The proposals in the new report include requiring agencies to create and adhere to scientific integrity standards; prohibiting politically motivated manipulation and suppression of research; fixing the Federal Vacancies Reform Act to prevent the president from cutting the Senate out of the appointments process; and adopting additional statutory qualifications for some senior executive branch positions.<\/p>\n Public Meetings, many of which are live-streamed:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nNSF receives 3% increase.<\/p>\n
\nHouse Natural Resources Committee pushes a bill to reverse regulations; Congressional Western Caucus releases draft legislation to codify the new rules.<\/p>\n
\nU.N. report finds the rate of ocean warming has double since 1993.<\/p>\n
\nThe full House passes STEM Opportunities Act.<\/p>\n
\nNOAA advisory committee eliminated.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/a>California groundwater restrictions to start in January 2020.<\/p>\n
\nUSFWS agrees to designate critical habitat for bee species.<\/p>\n
\nFinancial commitments, pledges to achieve net-zero emissions announced during U.N. climate summit.<\/p>\n
\nAAAS, PMF and NSF GRFP fellowships applications open.<\/p>\n
\nFederal Register opportunities.<\/p>\n
\nView an up-to-date list of ESA\u2019s media coverage.<\/p>\nSenate Spending Bills Include Modest Increases for NSF, Interior Agencies<\/a><\/h2>\n
States Challenge New Endangered Species Act Regulations in the Courts<\/a><\/h2>\n
Newest IPCC Report Highlights \u2018Unprecedented and Enduring Changes in the Ocean and Cryosphere<\/a><\/h2>\n
Congress<\/a><\/h2>\n
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Executive Branch<\/a><\/h2>\n
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International<\/a><\/h2>\n
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Scientific Community<\/a><\/h2>\n
Opportunities to get involved <\/a><\/h2>\n
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