Congress<\/strong><\/a> Executive Branch<\/strong><\/a> Courts<\/strong><\/a> International<\/strong><\/a> Scientific Community<\/strong><\/a> ESA In the News<\/strong><\/a> Opportunities to Get Involved<\/strong><\/a> <\/a> The House Appropriations Committee began releasing their fiscal year (FY) 2021 funding bills the week of July 13. The bills mainly provide small increases for ecological science agencies, in line with an agreement that capped spending for non-discretionary, non-defense spending at a one percent increase for FY 2021. The full House Appropriations Committee plans to approve all 12 spending bills by the end of next week. House leaders are expected to bring most of the spending bills to the full House for a vote by the end of July.<\/p>\n The full House Appropriations Committee approved an amendment to the Interior and Environment spending bill prohibiting the Environmental Protection Agency from finalizing, implementing or enforcing its \u201cTransparency in Science\u201d rule. This proposed rule would\u00a0prohibit the EPA from using scientific studies where the underlying data are not publicly available. ESA has\u00a0opposed<\/a>\u00a0the \u2018Transparency\u2019 rule since the administration first released this rule in 2018.<\/p>\n It is not clear when the Senate will release its spending bills. Lawmakers are likely to resort to a short-term stopgap spending bill, known as a continuing resolution, to avoid a government shutdown when the fiscal year starts Oct. 1, 2020.<\/p>\n Highlights of the House bills for agencies of interest are below and will be added to the\u00a0ESA federal budget tracker<\/a>:<\/p>\n House Democrats Outline Climate Action Plan<\/strong><\/p>\n House Democrats and the Select Committee on the Climate Crisis released a staff\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0outlining their policy recommendations for addressing climate change. It is unlikely that any of the major elements of the report will become law during the current session of Congress. Still, House Democratic leaders say that the plan represents their aspirations if Democrats gain control of the White House or the Senate.<\/p>\n The report calls for a 45% reduction in carbon dioxide levels from 2010 levels by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. This goal includes a Clean Energy Standard requiring net-zero emissions in the electricity sector by 2040. The plan also calls for protecting 30% of the countries\u2019 lands and water by 2030 and net-zero emissions on public lands by 2040.<\/p>\n Other recommendations include sustained and increased funding for climate science and education programs across the federal agencies and dedicated US funding for International Panel on Climate Change assessments. Committee staff recommend codifying the US Global Change Research Program\u2019s authority to include the full range of scientifically derived climate scenarios in its National Climate Assessments. This recommendation comes in response to reports that the Trump administration directed federal agencies not to include 100-year climate projections in the next National Climate Assessment. The report also endorses reinstating the Office of Technology Assessment, which advised Congress on science and technology issues until Congress disbanded it until in the 1990s.<\/p>\n The plan urges Congress to make environmental justice a cornerstone of climate and environmental policy. It endorses House Natural Resources Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ)\u2019s Environmental Justice for All Act (H.R. 5986<\/a>).<\/p>\n On the climate adaptation side, the report recommends that Congress create and fund a National Climate Adaptation Program to \u201chelp states, tribes, and localities prepare for the effects of climate change.\u201dCongress also should re-establish the New Deal-era Civilian Conservation Corps and create a \u2018Climate Resilience Service Corps\u2019 to complete ecosystem restoration work and help communities adapt to climate change. Other recommendations include establishing an interagency working group to develop and implement a national landscape conservation strategy and increase the funding for states, tribes, and territories to manage and recover Species of Greatest Conservation Need.<\/p>\n House Passes Infrastructure Bill<\/strong><\/p>\n The Moving Forward Act (H.R. 2<\/a>) passed the full House. It is an omnibus infrastructure bill that includes watershed restoration programs, a wildlife corridor program, climate programs and more (see\u00a0ESA Policy News, June 29, 2020<\/a>). Lawmakers included amendments adding the Recovering America\u2019s Wildlife Act (H.R. 3742<\/a>) and the Bird-Safe Buildings Act (H.R. 919<\/a>) to the infrastructure bill.The Recovering America\u2019s Wildlife Act provides an additional $1.4 billion in dedicated funding to state and tribal fish and wildlife agencies to implement state wildlife action plans and conserve at-risk species. The Bird-Safe Buildings Act requires the federal government to incorporate bird-safe building materials and design features, to the maximum extent possible into public buildings constructed, acquired, or significantly altered by the General Services Administration.<\/p>\n Other amendments allow federal agencies to consider the threat of invasive species before ordering a fish ladder to be constructed into a dam and authorize a US Fish and Wildlife Service grant program for fish and wildlife habitat restoration projects in the Chesapeake Bay watershed.<\/p>\n Legislative updates:<\/strong><\/p>\n See ESA\u2019s\u00a0Legislative Tracker<\/a>\u00a0for more updates on legislation relevant to the ecological community.<\/p>\n <\/a> Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology\u00a0filed<\/a>\u00a0a lawsuit challenging the policy in the courts. The universities say that the policy is designed to pressure universities to hold in-person in the fall, regardless of public health risks and the regulations violate the Administrative Procedures Act. Cornell University, Stanford University, the University of California system and other universities are supporting Harvard and MIT\u2019s lawsuit through friend of the court briefs. Johns Hopkins University filed a similar lawsuit in another district court.<\/p>\n ESA and over 60 scientific societies\u00a0requested<\/a>\u00a0that ICE withdraw the regulation immediately. The American Association of Universities and the American Council on Education both condemned the regulations, calling them \u201ccruel and misguided\u201d and doing \u201cmore harm than good.\u201d<\/p>\n On Capitol Hill, 130 House Democrats signed on to a\u00a0Dear Colleague letter<\/a>\u00a0opposing the regulation. The US Chamber of Commerce also denounced the policy, citing the impact on businesses and the economy.<\/p>\n White House:<\/strong>\u00a0The President\u2019s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology issued a set of recommendations to federal government and the scientific enterprise related to the \u201cIndustries of the Future<\/a>\u201d and STEM education:<\/p>\n EPA:<\/strong>\u00a0An agency policy suspending enforcement of environmental laws during the coronavirus pandemic will end Aug. 31. The EPA announced this directive in March 2020, the end date for the policy was not determined at the time. According to documents\u00a0acquired<\/a>\u00a0by the Hill, around 350 facilities have used this policy to forgo water pollution monitoring requirements during the pandemic.<\/p>\n NOAA:<\/strong>\u00a0The U.S. Global Change Research Program is seeking public comment on the proposed themes and framework of the Fifth National Climate Assessment as presented in a Federal Register notice. The Global Research Change Act, passed in 1990, requires the U.S. Global Change Research Program to complete a National Climate Assessment every four year. The\u00a0most recent assessment<\/a>\u00a0was released in November 2018. Comments can be\u00a0submitted<\/a>\u00a0on GlobalChange.gov through Aug. 10, 2020.<\/p>\n <\/a> Dominion Energy and Duke Energy\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0July 5 that it will no longer pursue the Atlantic Coast pipeline, which would have carried natural gas from West Virginia to Virginia and North Carolina due to legal ambiguities. The decision comes after the US Supreme Court overturned a 4th<\/sup>\u00a0US Circuit Court Appeals decisions blocking the company from building the pipeline underneath the Appalachian Trail. The companies cited other court challenges, including a US District Court for the District of Montana decision that put a nationwide freeze on new Army Corps of Engineers wetland dredge-and-fill permits for pipeline projects and public opposition to the project in its announcement.<\/p>\n In response to the Montana District Court decision, the Supreme Court allowed the Army Corps of Engineers to resume its wetland dredge and fill permit programs for new pipeline projects while the high court reviews the district court\u2019s decision. However, in the same decision, the Supreme Court\u00a0blocked<\/a>\u00a0the Keystone XL pipeline from receiving a dredge-and-fill permit.<\/p>\n Separately, a judge on the US District Court for the District of Columbia\u00a0shut down<\/a>\u00a0the Dakota Access Pipeline and required Energy Access to empty the pipeline. This follows March ruling that the Army Corps of Engineers must complete an environmental impact statement for the pipeline.<\/p>\n Grizzly Bears:<\/strong>\u00a0A ruling by the 9th<\/sup>\u00a0Circuit of Appeals\u00a0upheld<\/a>\u00a0Endangered Species Act protections for Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem grizzly bears. This decision affirms a 2018 federal court decision that stopped the US Fish and Wildlife Service from removing grizzly bears from the federal list of endangered species. In this case, the Northern Cheyenne and Crow tribes and environmental groups argued that the USFWS failed to analyze the impact of delisting Yellowstone grizzly bears on the entire population of the species.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n IPBES:<\/strong>\u00a0A draft scoping report for the international organization\u2019s thematic assessment of the underlying causes of biodiversity loss and the determinants of transformative change and options for achieving the 2050 vision for biodiversity (transformative change assessment) is\u00a0open<\/a>\u00a0for external review through Aug. 28, 2020. The aim of opening the scoping report to review is to increase the report\u2019s relevance to policy by engaging governments and stakeholders early in the process of defining the policy questions that the assessment will address. Reviewers can register online\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n UN:\u00a0<\/strong>A new\u00a0report<\/a>\u00a0from the Environment Program and the International Livestock Research Institute warns that future outbreaks of zoonotic disease like COVID-19 are likely, identifies the causes of this trend and makes recommendations to prevent outbreaks. The trends driving the emergence of zoonotic diseases include increased demand for animal protein, a rise in unsustainable farming, higher use and exploitation of wildlife and the climate crisis.<\/p>\n <\/a> NASEM:<\/strong>\u00a0The Polar Research Board is\u00a0looking<\/a>\u00a0for experts to contribute to a \u201cmid-term assessment\u201d determining the National Science Foundation and the scientific community\u2019s progress is meeting research goals identified in a 2015 report \u201cA Strategic Vision for NSF Investments in Antarctic and Southern Ocean Research.<\/a>\u201d\u00a0The board is looking for individuals with expertise in, among other subjects, cryospheric science, oceanic, atmospheric, and climate sciences and biology and life sciences.\u00a0Nominations<\/a>\u00a0will be accepted July 20, 2020.<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/a> Opportunities for Public Comment and Nominations:<\/strong><\/p>\n Visit this page on ESA\u2019s website for updates on opportunities from the Federal Register<\/a>,\u00a0including upcoming meetings and regulations open for public comment.<\/p>\n ESA\u2019s policy activities work to infuse ecological knowledge into national policy decisions through activities such as policy statements, Capitol Hill briefings, Congressional Visits Days, and coalition involvement. Policy News Updates are bi-monthly summaries of major environmental and science policy news. They are produced by the Public Affairs Office of the Ecological Society of America.<\/p>\n Send questions or comments to\u00a0 Alison Mize, director of public affairs,\u00a0Alison@esa.org<\/a>\u00a0or Nicole Zimmerman, public affairs manager,\u00a0Nicole@esa.org<\/a><\/p>\n
\n\u2013 House Appropriators Release Fiscal Year 2021 Spending Bills for Science Agencies
\n\u2013 House Democrats Outline Climate Action Plan
\n\u2013 Full House Passes Infrastructure Bill<\/p>\n
\nICE regulations suspend visas for international students attending universities that become online-only amid the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
\nDominion Energy and Duke Energy cancel Atlantic Coast Pipeline.<\/p>\n
\nU.N. Environment Program warns that future outbreaks of zoonotic disease like COVID-19 are likely.<\/p>\n
\nJASON provides recommendations to universities resuming research activities during COVID-19.<\/p>\n
\nView an up-to-date list of ESA\u2019s media coverage.<\/p>\n
\nFederal Register opportunities.<\/p>\nCongress<\/h2>\n
\nHouse Appropriators Release Fiscal Year 2021 Spending Bills for Science Agencies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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Executive Branch<\/h2>\n
\nImmigration:<\/strong>\u00a0New regulations from Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE)\u00a0prohibit<\/a>\u00a0international students in the US under F-1 and M-1 nonimmigrant student visas from staying in the country if their universities become online-only in the fall in response to the coronavirus pandemic. A statement from ICE says that students will be subject to \u201cremoval proceedings\u201d if they do not transfer to an institution with in-person classes or leave the country voluntarily.<\/p>\n\n
Courts<\/h2>\n
\nPipelines:<\/strong> A spate of decisions canceled or delayed the Keystone XL, Dakota Access and Atlantic Coast pipelines.<\/p>\nInternational<\/h2>\n
Scientific Community<\/h2>\n
\nCOVID-19<\/strong>:\u00a0JASON, a group of top scientific advisors to government agencies, released a self-initiated report\u00a0Managing the Risk From COVID-19 During a Return to On-Site University Research<\/a>. The report recommendations include that universities provide high quality masks to research personnel, implement extensive contact tracing procedures and test personnel daily once inexpensive, rapid virus testing becomes available.<\/p>\nWhat We\u2019re Reading<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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ESA In the News<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nESA regularly issues press releases to the media about journal articles and other Society news. Press coverage is kept up-to-date on our \u201cIn the News\u201d page.\u00a0Check out news stories here<\/a>.<\/p>\nESA Correspondence to Policymakers<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Opportunities to get involved\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nVirtual public meetings and conference calls:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n
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