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Posted by Jonathan Nurse on November 5, 2009 at 3:32 pm 

Today, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee approved its climate change mitigation legislation -despite a boycott of the markup by the minority party. Republicans wanted more analysis from the EPA on the impacts of the legislation. The Senate bill, which requires 60 votes on the floor to move to a final vote, will likely require significant modification to pass.

Senators Kerry (D-MA), Graham (R-SC), and Lieberman stated today that they intend to work on a compromise with business groups and the White House that can garner 60 votes. The three offered few details on what the essential elements of a compromise bill would include.

Of note to our community in the legislation:

Investments in Advanced Energy Research and Development- 4% (compared to 1.5 % in House legislation) of distributed allowances in 2012 and 2013, 2% in 2014 and 2015, and 1.7% of allowances in subsequent years will be allocated for research on advanced energy technologies, including funding for applied research at “Clean Energy Innovation Centers” at research universities and institutions.

Posted by Maggie Mount on November 5, 2009 at 1:40 pm 

On October 7^th, Dr. Joel Berg, Chairman of Pediatric Dentistry, testified before the Oversight and Government Reform’s subcommittee on Domestic Policy.  The hearing was held to examine the steps that state Medicaid programs have taken to improve access to and utilization of dental services by Medicaid eligible children.  Dr. Berg addressed his testimony to the academic and peer-reviewed research that has been conducted on the State of Washington Access to Baby and Child Dentistry program, and the administration of the program.  While he was here he was also able to meet with Senator Murray, Representative McDermott, and a member of Representative Reichert’s office.

Brad Portin, Director and Professor of Education at UW Bothell, was in DC mid-October to attend an educational conference.  While he was here, he met with a staff member in the Office of Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (member of the House Education & Labor Committee) to urge support for the Department of Education’s School Leadership Program, make recommendations for the anticipated reauthorization of “No Child Left Behind” legislation, and discuss the ongoing learning needs of teachers to more effectively meet the needs of diverse students.

Kenyon Chan, Chancellor of the UW Bothell campus, and Kelly Snyder, Director of Government and Community Relations at the Bothell campus, were both in DC October 20-22 to meet with Members of Congress and organizations of higher education.  They were able to meet with Senators Murray and Cantwell, Congressmen Inslee, Dicks, and McDermott, and professional staff from the offices of Congressmen Larsen, Reichert, and Smith.  They also had meetings at the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Education, and Diverse:  Issues in Higher Education.  They were able to discuss projects underway at the Bothell campus and learn of possible intersections with federal priorities and opportunities.

Also on October 20^th, Dr. Paul Ramsey, Dean of the School of Medicine, was in DC with J. Shan Mullin, Vice Chair of the UW Board of Medicine.  They met with both Senators and several members of the House to provide an update on how health reform may affect academic health centers and graduate medical education, as well as on UW’s plans to “grow” medical education opportunities in Spokane.

President Mark Emmert completed the visitors to DC.  He was in town to attend the National Security higher Education Advisory Board meeting.  He also had a meeting at The Chronicle of Higher Education, and attended a University Leaders Roundtable Discussion with India Prime Minister Sibal.

Note:  If you are planning a trip to Washington, DC, please contact the Office of Federal Relations (202.624.1420) for assistance in setting up appointments to meet with Members or staffers of the Washington delegation.  We’re happy to help.

Posted by Jonathan Nurse on November 5, 2009 at 11:06 am 

UW’s newly-formed Puget Sound Institute to advise in the clean-up of the Sound
By Sandra Hines

News and Information

The $50 million appropriated by Congress last week to the Puget Sound Partnership for the clean-up of Puget Sound includes $4 million for the UW to launch an institute to provide expert advice about the Sound, based on the best-available science, to the partnership, policy makers and citizens.

The newly funded UW Puget Sound Institute is designed to be the bridge between the scientific community and those charged with restoring and protecting Puget Sound, says Joel Baker, UW Tacoma professor and science director of the Center for Urban Waters. The initiative is a partnership between the center and the UW’s new College of the Environment. Among other things the institute will convene panels of experts, much as the National Research Council does. Read more

Posted by Maggie Mount on November 2, 2009 at 2:09 pm 

Floor Action

The Senate will convene at 2:00 pm to consider HR 3548, Unemployment Aid, a homebuyer tax credit and corporate tax provisions.  Later in the week the Senate may consider two FY 2010 spending bills:  Military Construction-VA and Ecommerce-Justice-Science.

The House meets on Monday to consider pending legislation, including S 509, a bill to authorize a major medical facility project at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical in Walla Walla.  The bill was introduced by Senator Patty Murray in March and was passed by the Senate on July 15.  Tuesday and later in the week the House will consider HR 3639, Consumer Protection; HR 2868, Chemical Facility Security; and HR 3962, Affordable Health Care.

The House and Senate are scheduled to meet for a joint session on Tuesday at 10:00 am to receive Her Excellency, Doctor Angela Merkel, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Markups and Hearings of Interest

On Tuesday the Senate Commitee on Environment and Public Works will mark up legislation on clean energy jobs (S 1733).  On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committe will mark up, among other items, legislation on free flow of information; personal data privacy and security; medical bankruptcy fairness; and human rights enforcement.

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will hold a hearing on Tuesday on the increasing health care costs facing small businesses. 

The House Committee on Appropriations’ Subcommittee on Labor-HHS-Education  will hold a briefing on Wednesday at 10:00am on H1N1 influenza pandemic.

Source:  CQ Today Print Edition

Posted by Jonathan Nurse on October 30, 2009 at 2:58 am 

**Chart Updated 11/1**

The FY10 appropriations process is moving slowly towards conclusion, and will likely end with the outstanding bills being lumped together into a “mini-bus.” Given that the new fiscal year begins each year on October 1st and several spending bills remain incomplete, Congress recently passed a second continuing resolution (CR) that is currently funding government operations at FY09 levels. The current CR runs through December 18th.

Bill	House  Committee	Full House	Senate Committee	Full Senate	House Conference	Senate Conference	President
Agriculture	6/18	7/9	7/7	8/4	10/7	10/8	10/21
Commerce, Justice, Science	6/9	6/18	6/25	11/5
Defense	7/22	7/30	9/10	10/6
Energy and Water	7/7	7/17	7/9	7/29	10/1	10/15	10/28
Financial Services	7/7	7/16	7/9
Homeland Security	6/12	6/24	6/18	7/9	10/15	10/20	10/28
Interior, Environ.	6/18	6/26	6/25	9/24	10/29	10/29	10/31
Labor-HHS-Education	7/17	7/24	7/30
Leg. Branch	6/12	6/19	6/18	7/6	9/25	9/29	10/1
Military Con.-VA	6/23	7/10	7/7
State-For. Ops.	6/23	7/9	7/9
Transpo.-HUD	7/17	7/23	7/30	9/17

Posted by Jonathan Nurse on October 28, 2009 at 2:13 am 

Today, the leadership in Congress announced that a second continuing resolution (CR) lasting until December 18th will be attached to the Interior-Environment Appropriations bill conference report -as appeared likely earlier this week. It is expected that the measure will pass by the end of the week. Since the end of the fiscal year was September 30th and all appropriations bills were not passed on-time, Congress passed a CR to keep the government operating. A CR is a stopgap measure that funds the government at the previous year’s appropriations level. The CR will give Congress more time to complete the remaining 7 appropriations bills. With the passage of the joint Interior/Environment-CR measure later this week, Federal Relations expects support for the Puget Sound Ecosystem Research Initiative.

Agency Items of Note from the Interior-Environment Conference Report:

• $167.5 million for the NEH and the same for NEA; an increase of 8% over FY09
• $846 million for EPA S&T; an increase of 7% over FY09
• $1.112 billion for USGS; an increase of 6.5% over FY09 

Posted by Maggie Mount on October 26, 2009 at 1:37 pm 

On the House and Senate Floors

The House is expected to consider a bill to reauthorize Small Business Administration programs and the conference report on the fiscal 2010 Interior-Environment spending bill.  

The Senate is expected to hold a procedural vote Tuesday on a bill to extend unemployment aid. 

Both the House and the Senate are expected to pass a stopgap spending bill to keep the government funded into next month.

Committee Activity

House Financial Services will mark up legislation on Tuesday on private fund investment, investor protection, an Office of Insurance Information, and a draft bill on accountability and transparency in rating agencies.  House Natural Resources on Wednesday will mark up wilderness and land bills. 

Also on Wednesday, the House Oversight and Government Reform will hold a hearing on executive pay proposals for recipients of federal bailout dollars. 

In the Senate, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources will hold a hearing on Wednesday on the role of natural gas in mitigating climate change, and the Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on Wednesday on preventing health care fraud.

Posted by Christy Gullion on October 26, 2009 at 6:27 am 

The House and Senate continue to negotiate a health care reform bill, which has left some open time for both chambers to consider FY10 appropriations bills.  The first order of business this week will be to extend the current continuing resolution (CR) for most federal agencies since the current CR expires on Saturday, October 31st.

FY10 Appropriations

Last week congressional leaders discussed including the extension into the conference report on the Interior-Environment appropriations bill, similar to how the original one-month CR was added in conference to Legislative Branch spending bill.  They decided against this path forward likely because the Interior bill may face controversy over unrelated provisions.  The CR extension is expected to go to December 15th, a little more than a week before Christmas.  To date, Congress has completed action on just four of the 12 spending bills for the fiscal year that began on October 1 (Agriculture, Energy & Water, Homeland Security, and Legislative Branch).  The UW has secured two earmarks in the Energy & Water bill.  The first is a $1 million mark for biofuels work and the second is $880,000 for accelerating research on tidal energy production.

The Interior-Environment appropriation bill is scheduled for House action this week if an agreement can be reached on one controversial provision related to EPA regulation of vessel emissions on the Great Lakes.  The UW College of the Environment stands to gain a $4 million earmark in that bill to conduct, compile, and disseminate research on how best to restore and protect the Puget Sound.

The House is also scheduled to consider a bill that would reauthorize Small Business Administration (SBA) programs that provide entrepreneurs with access to capital.  The legislation is a combination of eight bills that would extend some stimulus programs that allowed the SBA to increase loans, provide more capital to low-income areas and renewable-energy industries, and make loan guarantees to small health care firms purchasing health information technology.

The Senate may try to take up the Commerce-Justice-Science bill after pulling it from floor consideration last October 13^th after Democrats failed to come up with enough votes to limit debate and amendments to the bill.  One amendment that is holding up progress would require the 2010 Census to include questions about citizenship and immigration status, which is opposed by the Obama Administration.

Meanwhile, the Senate will focus on the economy this week and try to finish a bill that would extend unemployment benefits.  The measure would provide an additional 14 weeks of benefits to unemployed individuals nationwide and would give six more weeks on top of that to states with a three-month average unemployment rate of at least 8.5 percent.  The Senate may also take up its FY10 Military Construction-VA appropriations bill.

Because the appropriations process has been slow this fall, mostly due to the health reform debate, Congress is now thinking that a year-end omnibus bill may be necessary to complete the remaining FY 10 appropriations bills.  Additionally, the remaining appropriations measures may be used to enact further legislation to help the unemployed and boost job creation.

Health Reform

Debate on health care reform is not expected to begin until next week at the earliest, as Democratic leaders in both chambers are still trying to finalize the legislation they intend to bring to the floor. The House hopes to release their renegotiated health reform measure this week so that they can vote on the package by November 6^th.  It is possible, that the House will work through that weekend and into Monday and Tuesday before taking a small break for Veterans Day. 

Unveiling the bill would answer questions about the shape of the public option and clear the way for final decisions on how to raise revenue to pay for it.  While House liberals are looking for a public plan based on Medicare rates, House Leaders are leaving room for moderates’ preferred version after Senate Democrats indicated they were likely to include a public option in their overhaul.  Leaders still have a few thorny issues to resolve before they introduce a bill, such as questions about abortion services, insurance for immigrants, cost of medical devices, and hospital payments.

Meanwhile, the Senate continues to work on merging the two reform bills from the Senate Finance and HELP committees, and appears to be moving toward a stronger public option than currently included in the Senate Finance Committee bill.  Senate Democratic leaders have other issues to resolve, including whether the final bill would include an employer mandate; a long-term insurance program for those who become disabled; financing to make up for revenue lost by increasing the value of plans considered high cost that would be taxed under the bill; and how to make premiums more affordable since individual coverage will be required by law.

Energy and the Environment

The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee will hold three days of hearings this week on a revised draft of climate change legislation the panel is looking to mark up soon.  On Tuesday, the committee will hear from five administration officials – Energy Secretary Chu, Interior Secretary Salazar, Transportation Secretary LaHood, EPA Administrator Jackson, and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Chairman Wellinghoff.

Last week, the House passed legislation that would lead to the creation of a federal research strategy for solar energy.  The bill (HR 3585) directs the Energy Department to establish a Solar Technology Roadmap Committee, which would develop a comprehensive federal solar research plan.  Bill supporters noted rapid growth in solar manufacturing by European nations and China in recent years.  The bill would authorize $350 million for the Energy Department in fiscal 2011, rising to $550 million in fiscal 2015, for a total of $2.25 billion over the five-year period.  Some members expressed concerns about the high cost of the bill even while supporting the underlying goals.   

The roadmap committee created by the bill would include at least 11 members appointed by the Energy secretary within four months of the bill’s enactment.  At least one-third of the members — but not more than half — would be required to come from the solar industry.  The bill also would require the appointment of a chairman from outside the federal government.  Within 18 months of enactment, the committee would be required to chart a course for research, development, and demonstration activities between the federal government and the private sector.  The Energy secretary would be directed to award merit-based grants for projects, with an emphasis on solar manufacturing research performed by industry-led consortia.

FY11 Appropriations

Today is the deadline for submitting proposals for the FY11 federal agenda.  Proposals will be reviewed and evaluated over the next several weeks.  In January 2010, the Office of Federal Relations will share the results of that work when we present our FY11 Federal Agenda.  If you have any questions about this process, please contact me or Jonathan Nurse.

Posted by Jonathan Nurse on October 21, 2009 at 4:42 am 

The U.S. Department of State is seeking feedback on proposed regulatory changes in its Exchange Visitor Program, which effects foreign faculty, researchers, and students.  The proposed rules, which are open to public comment through November 23, 2009, amend Subpart A, General Provisions, of the J exchange visitor regulations. The notice can be found at: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-22822.htm.

Posted by Maggie Mount on October 19, 2009 at 11:18 am 

In the House

The House reconvenes on Tuesday at 2:00 pm for legislative business.  On Wednesday, and the balance of the week, the House is expected to vote on a bill to authorize HIV/AIDS treatment programs, as well as a Coast Guard authorization and a bill to boost solar technology research.

House Committees

On Tuesday, the Committee on Financial Services marks up a bill to establish a consumer financial protection agency (HR 3126).

On Wednesday,  Science and Technology will mark up a bill on fire grants (HR 3791) and on natural hazards reduction programs (HR 3820); Agriculture will mark up a bill to regulate over-the-counter derivatives (HR 3795); Armed Services will hold a hearing on US military redeployment from Iraq.

On Thursday, Veterans’ Affairs Health Subcommittee will mark up a bill addressing programs for homeless veterans (HR 2504, HR 2559, HR 2735, HR 3796, and HR 3073); and Financial Services will mark up a draft bill to overhaul the regulation of capital markets

In the Senate

The Senate convenes at 2:00 pm today to take a a bill affecting Medicare physician pay (S 1776).  The tentative schedule for the remainder of the week includes a bill on Homeland Security spending (HR 2892); Defense authorization (HR 2647); and unemployment insurance (HR 3548).

Senate Committees

On Tuesday, Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will hold a hearing on the housing market.

On Wednesday, Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing on the H1N1 flu response; and Energy and Natural Resources will hold a hearing on greenhouse gas emissions allowances.

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