{"id":18145,"date":"2021-06-14T16:03:56","date_gmt":"2021-06-14T16:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/?p=18145"},"modified":"2021-09-01T19:45:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-01T19:45:02","slug":"policy-news-june-14-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esa.org\/esablog\/2021\/06\/14\/policy-news-june-14-2021\/","title":{"rendered":"Policy News: June 14, 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Senate Passes U.S. Innovation and Competition Act<\/a><\/strong>
\nBill increases authorized funding for the National Science Foundation to $29 billion by FY 2026.<\/p>\n

Biden\u2019s First Reg Agenda Lays Out Plan to Roll Back Trump Environmental Rules<\/a><\/strong>
\nFederal agencies plan to reverse National Environmental Policy Act rules and more.<\/p>\n

Scientist Elected to Congress<\/a><\/strong>
\nEnvironmental policy expert is elected to the seat vacated by Interior Secretary Debra Haaland.<\/p>\n

Congress<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Senate holds confirmation hearing for Bureau of Land Management director nominee.<\/p>\n

Executive Branch<\/a>
\n<\/strong>EPA announced plans to repeal and replace the Trump administration\u2019s Navigable Waters Rule. US Fish and Wildlife Service reverses Endangered Species Act rules.<\/p>\n

Courts<\/a><\/strong>
\nAppeals court rules that US Fish and Wildlife Service improperly denied protections for Pacific walruses.<\/p>\n

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

International<\/a>
\n<\/strong>IPCC and IPBES released joint workshop report.
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

Scientific Community<\/a>
\n<\/strong>Nobel Prize recipients urge G7 leaders to take transformative action to address climate change.<\/p>\n

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

Senate Passes U.S. Innovation and Competition Act<\/h2>\n

<\/a>
\nAfter extensive floor debate and over 500 proposed amendments, the full Senate voted 68-32 to pass the \u00a0U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (S. 1260<\/a>), formerly known as the Endless Frontier Act. The final bill includes just eight additional amendments, each of which added language to the bill but did not modify any of the initial provisions of the bill introduced by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in mid-May 2021. This bill creates a new technology directorate at the National Science Foundation and increases NSF\u2019s overall authorized funding level to $29 billion by fiscal year (FY) 2026.<\/p>\n

Before floor debate, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee approved amendments to the original bill that brought total funding for the proposed NSF \u00a0Technology Directorate from $100 billion by FY 2026 to $29 billion and redirected $17 billion from the NSF Technology Directorate to the Department of Energy Office of Science. The Committee also added several standalone STEM bills, including the Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act (S. 289<\/a>), the Combating 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Amendments approved on the Senate floor include an amendment from Sen. Christopher Coons (D-DE) creating a Foundation for Energy Security and Innovation. The Foundation would channel private investment into the Department of Energy\u2019s research programs. This amendment mirrors Coons\u2019 Partnerships for Energy Security and Innovation Act (S. 1359<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The updated authorization bill only increases approved funding levels for NSF. Congress would need to provide funding for NSF through the annual appropriations process or special legislation.<\/p>\n

Now, it is up to the House of Representatives to pass their own NSF reauthorization bill. The House will likely consider the NSF for the Future Act (H.R. 2225<\/a>) as a package with other reauthorization bills for science agencies, including the DOE Science for the Future Act (H.R. 3593<\/a>). The House Science Committee will consider <\/a>the NSF for the Future Act and the DOE Science for the Future Act June 15. The full House could consider these bills at the end of June. It is not yet clear when the entire House will consider these bills.<\/p>\n

ESA has endorsed<\/a> the NSF for the Future Act and issued an action alert<\/a> encouraging individual members to sign on to a scientific community letter supporting the NSF for the Future Act.<\/p>\n

See also:<\/p>\n