{"id":18083,"date":"2021-05-17T16:33:50","date_gmt":"2021-05-17T16:33:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=18083"},"modified":"2021-05-17T17:02:26","modified_gmt":"2021-05-17T17:02:26","slug":"policy-news-may-17-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2021\/05\/17\/policy-news-may-17-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Policy News: May 17, 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

In this issue:<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Katherine S. McCarter Graduate Student Policy Award Recipients Virtually Visit the Hill to Advocate for Science Funding and Research Relief\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>
\nStudents requested $10.2 billion in federal funding for the National Science Foundation in FY 2022.<\/p>\n

House and Senate Committee Approve Competing Proposals to Increase Funding for the National Science Foundation<\/a><\/strong>
\nNSF for the Future and Endless Frontiers Act advance in Congress.<\/p>\n

Congress<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Senate confirms deputy secretary of Agriculture.<\/p>\n

Executive Branch<\/a>
\n<\/strong>EPA receives 100 nominations for the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee.<\/p>\n

States<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Idaho governor signs a bill to reduce wolf populations by 90%.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

International<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Scientific Community<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Federal Register opportunities<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

Graduate Student Policy Award Recipients Virtually Visit the Hill to Advocate for Science Funding<\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nTwenty-four ESA members and graduate students in ecology participated in virtual Hill visits, as a part of the 2021 Katherine S. McCarter Graduate Student Policy Award. Before the Hill visits, students received policy and communications training, networked with ESA members working in policy and workshopped their messages with each other and ESA staff. This year\u2019s award recipients are:\u00a0Evelyn M. Beaury\u00a0<\/strong>(University of Massachusetts Amherst),\u00a0Gabriel R. Chavez<\/strong>\u00a0(University of Colorado Denver),\u00a0Daniel J. Desautels\u00a0<\/strong>(Emory University),\u00a0Brooke Eastman<\/strong>\u00a0(West Virginia University),\u00a0Emily A. Geest<\/strong>\u00a0(Oklahoma State University),\u00a0Sara L. Hamilton<\/strong>\u00a0(Oregon State University),\u00a0Katherine Hayes<\/strong>\u00a0(University of Colorado Denver),\u00a0Julia L. Indivero\u00a0<\/strong>(University of Washington),\u00a0M. Inam Jameel\u00a0<\/strong>(University of Georgia),\u00a0Sarah M. Klionsky\u00a0<\/strong>(University of Connecticut),\u00a0Jasmine Kreig<\/strong>\u00a0(University of Tennessee, Knoxville),\u00a0Michael W.D. McCloy\u00a0<\/strong>(Texas A&M University),\u00a0Zechariah Meunier\u00a0<\/strong>(Oregon State University),\u00a0Micah C. Miles\u00a0<\/strong>(University of Georgia),\u00a0Zachary J. Miller\u00a0<\/strong>(University of Missouri),\u00a0Castilleja F. Olmsted\u00a0<\/strong>(University of Pittsburgh),\u00a0Melinda Paduani\u00a0<\/strong>(Florida International University),\u00a0Aradhana J. Roberts\u00a0<\/strong>(Lund University),\u00a0Milica Radanovic\u00a0<\/strong>(Washington State University),\u00a0Kate Ritzel<\/strong>\u00a0(George Mason University),\u00a0Gregor-Fausto Siegmund\u00a0<\/strong>(Cornell University) and\u00a0Jewel Tomasula\u00a0<\/strong>(Georgetown University).<\/p>\n

Students met with 25 congressional offices to request $10.2 billion in federal funding for the National Science Foundation in Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 and robust funding for all scientific research programs.<\/p>\n

The meetings came shortly after the White House released the first details about its FY 2022 budget. Congress, particularly on the House side, is just beginning to develop the FY 2022 federal budget, so these visits were timely.<\/p>\n

The GSPA participants shared personal stories of how federal funding makes their research possible, emphasized the importance of federal funding for their institutions, and described how federal investments in scientific research benefit the Members of Congress\u2019 districts and states. They also discussed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their research careers. We look forward to seeing how the GSPA experience shapes their future career choices. Many GSPA alumni pursue fellowships and careers in the\u00a0federal government.<\/p>\n

House and Senate Committees Approve Competing Proposals to Increase Funding for the National Science Foundation<\/strong><\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nThe Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved the Endless Frontiers Act (S. 1260<\/a>) after lengthy debate and significant amendments. The Endless Frontiers Act is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Todd Young\u2019s (R-IN) proposal to increase competitiveness with China by creating a new technology directorate at the National Science Foundation and authorizing $100 billion in NSF over five years.<\/p>\n

Most significantly, lawmakers approved an amendment from Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM) that reduces spending for the proposed NSF technology directorate and redirects $19 billion to the Department of Energy\u2019s National Laboratories. Lujan, Sen. James Risch (D-ID) and other Senators from states with national laboratories have expressed concerns<\/a> that the NSF technology directorate will unnecessarily duplicate and undermine the work of the national laboratories. Sen. Young called this amendment a \u201cpoison pill\u201d amendment.<\/p>\n

The Senate Commerce Committee also amended the Endless Frontiers Act to add several standalone STEM bills including the RISE Act (S. 289<\/a>), the Combatting Sexual Harassment in Science Act and the Rural STEM Act. The RISE Act authorizes additional funding to science agencies to cover research disruptions and delays caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The Rural STEM Education Act (S. 1374<\/a>) directs NSF to fund STEM education research focused on rural areas and efforts to increase rural students\u2019 participation in STEM. The Combatting Sexual Harassment in Science Act (S. 1379<\/a>) creates an inter-agency working group to coordinate federal science agency efforts to reduce the prevalence of sexual harassment involving grant personnel and creates a competitive grant program at NSF for research about harassment and the development and assessment of policies, procedures, trainings and interventions intended to address and reduce harassment.<\/p>\n

The full Senate will likely consider the Endless Frontiers Act later this week and vote on the bill later this month, where it could possibly be combined with the Strategic Competition Act and Safeguarding American Innovation Act. Universities and the scientific community have criticized both of these research security bills as overly restrictive and harmful to international collaboration in research. It is also unclear how the Endless Frontier Act will be funded or if appropriators will provide amounts close to the authorized funding levels in the bill. Another scenario would see Congress funding the Endless Frontiers Act as part of a larger infrastructure bill package. President Joe Biden included $50 million for an NSF technology directorate in his infrastructure plan.<\/p>\n

The House Science, Space and Technology Committee also held a subcommittee markup for the NSF for the Future Act (H.R. 2225<\/a>) and advanced the legislation to the full Committee. The NSF for the Future Act is the House Science Committee\u2019s alternative to the Endless Frontiers Act. It creates a new Science and Engineering Solutions Directorate within NSF and authorizes funding for this directorate at $1 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2022. Lawmakers recommend increasing funding for this directorate by 50 percent each year. The directorate\u2019s budget reaches $5 billion in FY 2026. Before the subcommittee hearing, ESA and 29 other scientific societies and organizations endorsed the NSF for the Future Act. ESA cited<\/a> the diversity and equity provisions in the bill and a section expanding the Graduate Research Fellowship Program.<\/p>\n

Congress<\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nSenate Commerce Committee:<\/strong> The Committee voted to advance the Bolstering Long-term Understanding and Exploration of the Great Lakes, Oceans, Bays and Estuaries (BLUE GLOBE) Act (S. 140<\/a>), which is sponsored by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). This bill directs the Interagency Ocean Observation Committee, the Federal Geographic Data Committee and the Interagency Committee on Committee on Ocean and Coastal Mapping to expand their ocean and Great Lakes monitoring and data collection collaboration and efforts. It also adds advancing or applying emerging technologies to the goals of the NOAA Cooperative Institutes. The bill creates a new ocean innovation prize, and tasks the National Academy of Sciences with assessing the potential for an Advanced Research Project Agency\u2013Oceans (ARPA-O).<\/p>\n

The Committee also approved the American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act (S. 497<\/a>) which establishes an advisory committee of representatives of the fishing industry, recreational fishing community and fisheries science community to determine how grants for fisheries research, funded by fishery import duties, should be distributed. The lead sponsors for this bill are Sens. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA).<\/p>\n

Senate confirms Bronaugh as USDA deputy chief<\/strong><\/p>\n

By Ryan McCrimmon, PoliticoPro, 5-13-2021<\/em><\/p>\n

The Senate on Thursday confirmed Jewel Bronaugh as deputy secretary of the Agriculture Department, making her the first Black woman to hold the No. 2 position at USDA.<\/p>\n

Key context:<\/strong> The chamber approved Bronaugh\u2019s nomination on a voice vote after an easy confirmation hearing<\/a> last month before the Senate Agriculture Committee, where she was widely praised by lawmakers in both parties. She was previously Virginia\u2019s agriculture commissioner.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer extensive experience shows she is more than capable of handling the significant responsibilities that come with the role,\u201d ranking member John Boozman (R-AR) said in a statement. \u201cDeputy Secretary Bronaugh is positioned for success at the department, and I look forward to working with her to help meet the needs of our farmers, ranchers and foresters.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next: <\/strong>Once she is sworn in, Bronaugh will help Secretary Tom Vilsack carry out several administration priorities, including distributing pandemic relief to farmers and hungry families; enlisting the agriculture industry in the fight against climate change; and bringing greater equity to USDA programs after decades of discrimination against farmers of color.<\/p>\n

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