{"id":17186,"date":"2020-10-26T14:45:02","date_gmt":"2020-10-26T18:45:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=17186"},"modified":"2020-10-26T14:45:02","modified_gmt":"2020-10-26T18:45:02","slug":"policy-news-october-26-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2020\/10\/26\/policy-news-october-26-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"Policy News: October 26, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

In This Issue:<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Trump Administration Seeks to Restrict Student Visas<\/strong><\/a>
\nComments on this proposed rule close today.<\/p>\n

US Global Change Research Program Requests Nominations for Authors of the Fifth National Climate Assessment by Nov. 14<\/strong><\/a>
\nThe request for author nominations is one of the first steps towards publishing a national climate assessment in 2022.<\/p>\n

Congress<\/strong><\/a>
\nHouse Natural Resources Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) introduces oceans-focused climate bill.<\/p>\n

Executive Branch<\/strong><\/a>
\nPresident Donald Trump signs \u201cTrillion Trees\u201d executive order.<\/p>\n

Courts<\/strong><\/a>
\nFederal judge invalidates land management plans approved by de facto Bureau of Land Management head William Perry Pendley.<\/p>\n

States<\/strong><\/a>
\nThe Columbia River Gorge Commission approves new management plan.<\/p>\n

Scientific Community<\/strong><\/a>
\nNSF requests ideas for its convergence accelerator program.<\/p>\n

Register to Vote and Request an Absentee Ballot<\/strong><\/a>
\nEarly and vote-by-mail has already started across the country. Visit Vote.org for information about early voting.<\/p>\n

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

Opportunities to Get Involved<\/strong><\/a>
\nFederal Register opportunities.<\/p>\n

Trump Administration Seeks to Restrict Student Visas<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nA new proposed rule from the Department of Homeland Security\u00a0would establish<\/a> fixed terms of four years for student visas. Under current rules, student visas are issued for the duration of a student\u2019s degree program. If this proposed rule is finalized, students would have to re-apply for a visa every 2-3 years \u2013 even if, for example, they have not received their degree.<\/p>\n

The comment period for this proposed rule closes today, Oct. 26. ESA members can leave their comments on this rule and its wide-ranging impact of the scientific enterprise, either directly on through the\u00a0Federal Register<\/a>\u00a0or through a\u00a0comment tool<\/a>\u00a0developed by the American Physical Society. Personalized responses will have a greater impact.<\/p>\n

ESA submitted\u00a0comments<\/a>\u00a0urging with the Department of Homeland Security to withdraw this proposed rule, stating that this proposed rule will degrade the quality of U.S. science.<\/p>\n

US Global Change Research Program Requests Nominations for Authors of the Fifth National Climate Assessment by Nov. 14<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nThe US Global Change Research Program (USGRP) issued a\u00a0solicitation<\/a>\u00a0for authors and scientific\/technical inputs for the fifth National Climate Assessment, which is scheduled to be released in 2022. The program is looking for experts in the natural and social sciences from all non-governmental sectors to be chapter lead authors and technical experts. For more information about the kinds of expertise sought, see the\u00a0Federal Register Notice<\/a>.<\/p>\n

At the same time, USGRP is seeking scientific and technical climate science reports and studies to contribute to the National Climate Assessment. This includes information about societal drivers, vulnerability, impacts and responses.<\/p>\n

Author nominations<\/a>\u00a0are due by 11:59pm on Saturday, Nov. 14. For best consideration,\u00a0submit<\/a>\u00a0scientific and technical information by 11:59pm on Saturday, Nov. 14.<\/p>\n

The announcement came after an\u00a0E&E News\u00a0<\/em>report that the federal government is slow-walking the production of the next National Climate Assessment. Donald Wuebbles, a University of Illinois climate scientist and an author of the 2018 National Climate Assessment, told\u00a0E&E News<\/em>\u00a0that the administration has delayed issuing a call for scientific contributors to the assessments.<\/p>\n

The federal government issued the most\u00a0recent National Climate Assessment<\/a>\u00a0in late 2018. At the last minute, the Trump administration moved the report\u2019s release to the day after Thanksgiving to bury the report. The Global Change Research Act requires the government to issue an assessment every four years. The next assessment is due in 2022.<\/p>\n

The US Global Change Research Program released the\u00a0proposed themes and framework<\/a>\u00a0for the next national climate assessment in July 2020.<\/p>\n

Congress<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nHouse Natural Resources Committee:<\/strong>\u00a0Committee Chairman Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) and House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis Chairwoman Kathy Castor (D-FL)\u00a0introduced<\/a>\u00a0the Ocean Based Climate Solutions Act (H.R. 8682<\/a>). This over 300-page sweeping bill bans new offshore oil and gas development and requires shipping vessels to report carbon emissions. Among other provisions, it also creates a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) blue carbon grant program for projects to protect and restore blue carbon ecosystems and sets a national policy to conserve 30% of the oceans by 2030. Grijalva hopes to hold a committee hearing for the bill before the end of the year, but he did not commit to passing this bill out of committee before the end of Congress\u2019s current session.<\/p>\n

Diversity and Inclusion:<\/strong>\u00a0Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) introduced a bill (H.R. 8595<\/a>) to cancel President Donald Trump\u2019s September executive order \u201cCombating Race and Sex Stereotyping.<\/a>\u201d This order forbids federal agencies and contractors from holding diversity trainings featuring \u2018divisive concepts\u2019 or \u2018stereotyping\u2019 or \u2018scapegoating\u2019 based on race or sex.\u00a0ESA and over 40 other scientific societies and organizations\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0to Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought in early October, urging the administration to rescind this order, citing the need for diverse perspectives and talents in the scientific enterprise. Beatty\u2019s legislation has 26 co-sponsors, all Democrats. House Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) is a co-sponsor.<\/p>\n

See ESA\u2019s\u00a0Legislative Tracker<\/a>\u00a0for more updates on legislation relevant to the ecological community.<\/p>\n

Executive Branch<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nWhite House:<\/strong>\u00a0President Donald Trump signed an\u00a0executive order<\/a>\u00a0establishing a One Trillion Trees Interagency Council. Under the order, the council would be tasked with coordinating US involvement in this effort and creating a methodology to track efforts under the initiative. The interagency council would be chaired by the secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior. The council would also include the Environmental Protection Agency administrator, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the secretaries of Energy and State and other agency heads.<\/p>\n

President Trump announced that the US would join the World Economic Forum\u2019s One Trillion Trees Initiative in January 2020. This executive order mirrors a part of Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-AR) \u2018s Trillion Trees Act (H.R. 5859<\/a>).<\/p>\n

White House:<\/strong>\u00a0A new\u00a0executive order<\/a>\u00a0creates a \u201cSchedule F\u201d employment category that would give agency heads sweeping authority to fire career federal workers. The line between political and career employees would be blurred.<\/p>\n

E&E News<\/em>\u00a0reports, \u201cThe order calls government management practice \u201cinadequate\u201d and directs agencies to review within 90 days employees who supervise attorneys, draft regulations or work on policy, and determine whether to classify them under a new \u201cSchedule F\u201d category.<\/p>\n

James Goodwin, an analyst at the Center for Progressive Reform, noted that the order would give agency heads \u201cmammoth power\u201d \u2013 seemingly a shift from the status quo that relies on the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs to ensure that policymaking aligns with the president\u2019s priorities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coast Guard:\u00a0<\/strong>A new report<\/a>, Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Strategic Outlook, from the U.S. Coast Guard calls on the international community, distant water fleet (DWF) states, coastal nations and the fishing industry to collectively improve transparency and accountability for DWF fleets that fish on an industrial scale far from their home country. China and Taiwan DWF fleets account for 60 percent of the IUU fishing done in other countries\u2019 waters.<\/p>\n

NOAA collects and provides information to the Coast Guard about the sustainability of harvested and farmed fish around the globe. Its\u00a0Fish Watch website<\/a>\u00a0reports, \u201cNOAA Fisheries estimates that the United States imports more than 80 percent of the seafood we eat. A significant portion of imported seafood is caught by American fishermen, exported overseas for processing, and then reimported to the United States. Because of our interests both as a seafood-consuming nation and a fishing nation, it is critical that NOAA take an active role in shaping the conservation and management of international fisheries.\u201d<\/p>\n

EPA:<\/strong>\u00a0Administrator Andrew Wheeler\u00a0appointed<\/a>\u00a0John Graham to be the chairman of the EPA\u2019s Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Graham is a professor of public and environmental affairs at Indiana University and served as the head of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs during the George W. Bush administration. This office oversees federal regulations. Former SAB Chairman Michael Honeycutt stepped down from the board. Under Honeycutt\u2019s leadership, the SAB often clashed with the administration over EPA rules such as the new Waters of the US rule and the proposed Transparency in Science rule.<\/p>\n

Wheeler and his predecessor at the EPA, Scott Pruitt, have shifted the SAB\u2019s membership to include more industry scientists. Pruitt also appointed Barbara Beck, a toxicologist for the environmental and risk sciences consulting company, to be the SAB\u2019s vice chair.\u00a0Pruitt also added Kenneth Mundy to the SAB. Mundy is an epidemiologist who has conducted research funded by the American Chemistry Council and appeared as Republican witness before the House Science Committee. The American Chemistry Council represents chemical companies.<\/p>\n

During a trip to Florida, Wheeler announced that the EPA is moving towards banning the use of iragol in boat paints. An EPA ecological risk assessment found that this chemical is harmful to freshwater and marine plants and causes coral bleaching. This interim decision is open for public comment on\u00a0Regulations.gov<\/a>\u00a0through Dec. 22, 2020.<\/p>\n

Courts<\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

BLM:<\/strong>\u00a0A federal judge in Montana\u00a0invalidated<\/a>\u00a0three Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land management plans covering federal lands in Montana. This ruling comes after a judge determined that William Perry Pendley has been illegally heading the Bureau of Land Management and that his term exercising the authority of the director of the BLM violates the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. Montana Governor Steve Bullock (D) challenged land management plans approved by Pendley in his state after this decision. Conservation groups say this decision could lead to further challenges around recent BLM decisions. Pendley remains at the BLM despite the legal challenges to his appointment.<\/p>\n

Supreme Court:<\/strong>\u00a0The high court\u00a0will consider<\/a> a lawsuit from the Sierra Club and other organizations, alleging that the Trump administration illegally used funds appropriated to the Department of Defense to build a wall on the US Mexico border. Congress allocated $1.375 billion to the Defense Department to build the wall, but the agency spent $2.5 billion on the wall.<\/p>\n

States<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nPacific Northwest:<\/strong>\u00a0Columbia River Gorge Commission\u00a0approved<\/a>\u00a0a revised management plan for the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area. The new plan expands requirements for stream buffers to protect salmon and includes a new chapter about climate change.<\/p>\n

Scientific Community<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nNSF:\u00a0<\/strong>The Fall 2020 BIO Advisory Committee meeting will be held on October 29 \u2013 30, 2020 and available for viewing on YouTube. Agenda items will include a directorate business update, status update on the research community\u2019s adaptations to the COVID-19 pandemic, BIO\u2019s recent investments in integration across the biological sciences, a joint session on strategies for broadening participation with the Committee on Equal Opportunities in Science and Engineering, discussion with the NSF Director, and BIO\u2019s investments in collections. For more information and the YouTube links, visit the\u00a0BIO AC event page<\/a>,<\/p>\n

The NSF Convergence Accelerator issued a\u00a0Dear Colleague Letter (NSF-21-012): Request for Information (RFI) on Future Topics for the NSF Convergence Accelerator program<\/a>\u00a0to capture national-scale societal impact ideas from the global community for fiscal year 2022. The RFI is the kickoff of the Convergence Accelerator\u2019s ideation process. Selected ideas will be asked to submit a conference proposal to further develop the proposed idea and gather insights into a final report to help NSF determine convergence research topics for 2022.<\/p>\n

NAS<\/strong>: The Committee on Women in Science, Engineering and Medicine will hold a series of webinars examining the impact of COVID-19 on women in STEM fields Nov. 2-9. These webinars will be based on papers commissioned as part of a National Academies report. For more information and to register, visit the\u00a0event page<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Register to Vote<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nThe 2020 elections are happening this November, with early voting and vote by mail already happening now. On a national level, the presidency, all seats in the House of Representatives and a third of the seats in the Senate will be contested. Several state governorships and many other state and local elections will also be contested. Be sure you are registered to vote in time to participate!\u00a0\u00a0Learn more about voting policies and rights in your state and register to vote at Rock the Vote<\/a>,\u00a0a nonprofit dedicated to engaging young people in politics.<\/p>\n

Voting procedures and requirements for requirements for requesting an absentee ballot during the coronavirus pandemic vary by state. Visit your state board of elections website or\u00a0Vote.org<\/a>\u00a0for deadlines and to request a ballot.<\/p>\n

What We\u2019re Reading<\/strong><\/h2>\n