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.

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.

The $50 million for the Puget Sound Partnership is an increase of $30 million over the current budget. It’s part of the $32 billion Interior and Environmental Appropriations Bill approved Oct. 29. The bill now goes to the president.

As the Puget Sound Partnership begins implementing its “action agenda,” those overseeing the restoration want to ensure the steps being taken are based on the best possible scientific and technological understanding, says Baker. That’s the idea behind the institute.

“The independence of universities, combined with the unique academic culture of convening experts, puts us in a key position to provide elected leaders and policy makers responsible for the restoration and protection of the Puget Sound ecosystem with expert advice based on sound scientific information and principles,” Baker wrote in the proposal for the institute.

One key institute activity will be to convene leading authorities from a diversity of disciplines to conduct commissioned reviews and evaluations and provide consensus-based information to the State Legislature, agencies and other interested groups. The institute also will form working groups to synthesize available scientific information and identify research needs as they emerge.

“UW faculty regularly participate in similar activities addressing national and global concerns, now the institute will help focus their efforts and those of other scientists on the needs of Puget Sound,” says Stephanie Harrington, assistant dean of the College of the Environment.

The institute will be governed by a standing advisory board of senior policy makers, scientists and staffed by an executive director, an assistant and a few program mangers.

Offices for the Puget Sound Institute will be located in the Center for Urban Waters building now under construction in downtown Tacoma.

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.

House and Senate conferees on the fiscal year 2010 Energy and Water Appropriations have approved a conference agreement. The conference agreement reconciles differences in the bills produced by the individual chambers and now must go back for final approval, which is expected. Within the legislation is support for two important University of Washington projects: $880,000 for the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, and $1 million for the Washington Biofuels Industry Development project. Additional items of importance in the conference report include:

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy- $2.2 billion, $314 million above 2009, to increase investments in technologies that use energy more effectively and produce clean, inexpensive energy from domestic sources.

• Solar Energy: $225 million for research, development, and demonstration projects to make solar energy more affordable.
• Biofuels: $220 million for grants to improve production of alternative fuels such as cellulosic ethanol
  and biodiesel.

Office of Science- $4.9 billion, $131 million above 2009, for scientific research critical to addressing long-term energy needs. This funding, in addition to the $4.8 billion appropriated in fiscal year 2009 and $1.6 billion in the Recovery Act, exceeds the goals in the America COMPETES Act.

• Basic Energy Sciences: $1.6 billion for basic research primarily on materials sciences and on chemical
  sciences, energy biosciences and geosciences. This work places heavy emphasis on advancing the frontiers of using ever-faster tools, including $394 million in the Advanced Scientific Computing Research program, to better understand ever-smaller and more detailed phenomena.
• Applied Research: $2.4 billion for Nuclear Physics, High Energy Physics, Biological and Environmental Research, and Fusion Energy Sciences.
• Energy Innovation Hubs: Funding for three of the proposed eight Energy Innovation Hubs (at $22 million each) in the following areas: Fuels from Sunlight; Energy Efficient Building Systems  Design; and Modeling and Simulation.
• RE-ENERGYSE: Funding was not provided for the newly proposed RE-ENERGYSE education program.

Full Energy and Water Conference Report

The House of Representatives has passed all of its 12 FY10 spending bills. However, progress in the Senate has been slow, largely due to negotiations over health care reform and consideration of judicial nominations.  The Senate has only passed 5 spending bills, none of which have officially gone to House-Senate conference. Additionally, some reports have stated that the House of Representatives will not go to conference until the Senate acquiesces on a request to convert all earmarks targeted towards for-profit entities into competitive opportunities.

The House Appropriations Committee was able to provide the Department of Energy Office of Science funding of $4.9 billion, the same as the President’s budget request and an increase of $171 million over last year.  The Administration’s new initiatives, the Energy Innovation Hubs and the Re-ENERGYSE energy education program, received partial funding by the House Committee.  In the Senate, the Appropriations Committee cleared their bill yesterday and provided a similar increase for the DOE Office of Science. They provided funding for three Innovation Hubs but did not fund the Re-ENERGYSE program.
 
In terms of the comprehensive energy and climate authorization bills, the House passed its bill, the American Clean Energy and Security Act (HR 2454), in late June. House Leadership made agreements for votes up until the end, reaching a final vote of 219 to 212.  The most important R&D provisions in HR 2454 are the 1.5 percent of the climate mitigation credit allowances that were allotted for research and development and related activities. The House bill has been sent to the Senate for consideration, with most of the interested Senate committees with scheduled to hold hearings this month and mark up in early September.  Senate Leadership has asked that all Committee markups be completed by September 28.

Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Summary

House Energy and Water Appropriations Summary

Congress is currently focused on a war supplemental spending bill, health care reform, energy/climate change, and to a lesser degree student aid reform. However, the FY10 appropriations bills are moving forward in the House of Representatives. Twelve appropriations bills fund the function of the federal government, with often unrelated agencies bundled into a single spending bill. On Tuesday, the full House Appropriations Committees cleared the Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) appropriations bill after subcommittee passage late last week. CJS funds some agencies critical to higher education, such as NASA and NSF. The Interior-Environment Subcommittee on Appropriations, chaired by our own Norm Dicks, passed its bill yesterday. The bill provides funding for important agencies such as the NEH, NEA and EPA. Up next this week is the Agriculture appropriations bill. Subcommittee and full committee mark ups will continue in the House through July 21st. The Senate schedule is unclear at this time.

After a bill is marked up in subcommittee it is then considered by the full Appropriations Committee, and then the full chamber. Each chamber produces a bill and the differences are worked out by conferees from both chambers, before moving to final passage and signature by the President.

House and Senate leaders say they hope to approve each appropriations bill prior to the beginning of the new fiscal year on October 1.  However, given President Obama’s active agenda, it remains possible that all of the bills will be rolled into an omnibus package at the end of the fiscal year and/or that a short-term continuing resolution (temporary funding mechanism) will be necessary -both of which we have in seen in recent years past.

Overview: FY10 Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Bill

CJS Highlights

• $6.9 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), $446 million above the current FY2009 level and $108 billion below the Administration request.
• $114.29 million for the NSF Major Research Equipment and Facilities account, $3 million below the President’s request.
• $18.2 billion for NASA, $483 million above the current level and$483 million below the request.
• $781 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), $57.5 million below FY2009 levels and $65 million below the Administration request. Within NIST, the bill would fund the Technology Innovation Program at $70 million.
• NOAA would be funded at $4.6 billion, $238 million above the current level and $129 million above the request.

Overview: FY10 Interior-Environment Appropriations Bill

Interior-Environment Highlights

• $170 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), which is $15 million above FY09 funding.  The measure provides the same budget level and increase for the National Endowment for the Arts.
• $232 million, $39 million above 2008, for programs to address global climate change. This includes: $16 million to implement the Energy Independence and Security Act, including $10 million to meet its requirement that the U.S. produce 36 billion gallons of renewable fuels by 2022; and $3 million for carbon sequestration research (such as pumping emissions from coal power plants underground) at the US Geological Survey; $50 million for EPA’s Energy Star program which saves consumers $14 billion a year in energy costs by letting them know appliances’ energy efficiency; $10 million for new grants at EPA to encourage local communities to find ways to cut their greenhouse gas emissions; $6.5 million to continue development of a Greenhouse Gas Registry, a first step in controlling greenhouse gasses; and $68 million for priority climate change research at the US Geological Survey.
• $4 million for the UW led Puget Sound Ecosystem Research Initiative

Puget Sound Ecosystem Research Initiative - University of Washington (Seattle, WA)

The Puget Sound Ecosystem Research Initiative (PSERI) is a council formed to, in close coordination with the Puget Sound Partnership (PSP), focus regional, national, and international scientific talent on issues critical to maintaining the health of the Puget Sound. With the requested funding the PSERI will conduct research and coordinate existing research to support efforts to restore the health of the Puget Sound. In addition to research, the funding will allow the University of Washington to create research panels to review existing research to determine the best available science to inform the work of the Puget Sound Partnership.

Amount Requested: $2,130,000

Institute for Simulation and Interprofessional Studies (ISIS) - University of Washington (Seattle, WA). 

Project Description- The Institute for Simulation and Interprofessional Studies (ISIS) provides targeted, intensive re-training programs for military personnel who return from deployment and need to recertify in their specialty in order to practice in WA State, and also for military personnel needing first-time WA State medical certification. ISIS is uniquely positioned to provide training, evaluation, and curricula to meet DoD needs and is currently working in partnership with Madigan Army Medical Center to develop these programs. Through ISIS, University of Washington School of Medicine has established this regional model of distributed medical education for skills training that will eventually form a national model for civilian practice as well as the large scale model for military needs.

Amount Requested – $6,380,000

House of Knowledge – University of Washington (Seattle, WA)

The House of Knowledge will aid the University of Washington in becoming a model for utilizing research partnerships with tribal nations to strengthen programs in health, environment and economic vitality.  As such, the University is in an enviable position to demonstrate effective ways to diversify its campus. These efforts to do so include a thoughtful and deliberate process to add a longhouse-style building which would serve as a multi-service learning and gathering space for Native American students, faculty and staff, and others of various cultures and communities..  The facility would assist in the advancement of knowledge of the indigenous cultures of the region. The facility and its programming would provide an imaginative environment of the original inhabitants of the area and promote inter-cultural exchange and diversity.

Amount Requested: $1,000,000

Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center - University of Washington (Seattle, WA) 

The Northwest Marine Renewable Energy Center is a partnership between Oregon State University (OSU) and the University of Washington (UW).  OSU will direct the Center and focus its efforts on applied research for wave energy.  The UW will focus on research specific to tidal energy.  The two universities will leverage their expertise and experience to accelerate the development of ocean energy. The NW Center will build on existing strengths and will develop knowledge and expertise in the following program areas: advanced forecasting technologies (wave); device and array optimization (wave and tidal); collaboration and optimization among marine and other renewable sources (wave and tidal); facilities serving as an integrated Center for US and international developers (wave and tidal); compatibility of marine power technologies and systems with the environment, fisheries and other marine resources (wave and tidal); and increased reliability and survivability of marine power technologies (wave and tidal).

Amount Requested: $1,200,000

FY2010 UW Projects Advanced by Senator Murray

Project Title:  Institute for Simulation and Inter-Professional Studies (ISIS)
Recipient:       University of Washington
Amount:         $6,380,000
Location:        Seattle, WA

Purpose: This funding would enhance medical simulation technologies and expand health care skills training through a collaboration between Madigan Army Medical Center at Fort Lewis, University of Washington and other regional Universities.

Importance: This would improve the quality of medical education for Army and civilian health care providers and thereby enhance health care and safety for servicemembers and civilians.

Project Title:  Puget Sound Ecosystem Research Initiative
Recipient:       University of Washington
Amount:         $2,130,000
Location:        Seattle, WA

Purpose:  This funding would be used toward creation of the Puget Sound Ecosystem Research Initiative, which would provide a forum for top research scientists to contribute to and engage in the work of the Puget Sound Partnership.

Importance:  This Initiative would advance the work of the Puget Sound Partnership to restore and protect the Puget Sound ecosystem and ensure implementation of the Partnership’s Action Agenda, which would allow for continued efforts to clean up Puget Sound and protect economic development in the area.

Project Title:  University of Washington Bothell Nursing Faculty Consortium Training Program
Recipient:       University of Washington
Amount:         $500,000
Location:        Bothell, Washington

Purpose:  This money will support the expansion of the University of Washington Bothell’s nursing program to encompass several additional community and technical colleges.

Importance:  The University of Washington Bothell Nursing Consortium project is aimed at addressing the increased need for nurses by increasing the number of master’s prepared nursing faculty available to teach in Washington’s community and technical colleges. This will be accomplished through the development of a consortium of associate degree nursing programs.

Project Title: University of Washington Integrated Transportation Lab and Research Program – WA
Recipient: University of Washington
Amount: $2,000,000
Location: Seattle, WA

Purpose: This provides start-up funding for a research program at the University of Washington that would provide an integrated facility to enhance research addressing transportation problems and solutions for the future.
 
Importance: Developing a dedicated research lab and program to address future transportation needs will augment access to the most up-to-date and relevant research to policy makers and industry professionals as decisions regarding congestion relief, safety, transit development and freight mobility are being made.

Project Title: Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center
Recipient: University of Washington, Oregon State University
Amount: $5,000,000

Location: Seattle, Washington and Corvallis, Oregon

 Purpose: Using this funding, the University of Washington and its partners would continue research on tidal energy, which has the potential to be a carbon-neutral power source. 

Importance: This project would help to determine the potential of a power source that could be predictable and reliable and help to diversify the country’s energy portfolio.

Project Title: Washington State Biofuels Industry Development
Recipient: University of Washington
Amount: $1,000,000

Location: Seattle, Washington

Purpose: The University of Washington would utilize this funding to create processes to convert biomass sources into transportation fuels.

Importance: This project would explore the potential to diversify our country’s energy portfolio, slow global warming by decreasing carbon emissions, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil sources.

Members of Congress receive appropriations requests from many of their constituents and must then decide which projects to advance in the process. Projects selected by individual Members of Congress are then forwarded on to one of twelve appropriations subcommittees. Member of the House of Representatives were required to post their FY10 appropriations requests on their websites by April 3rd. UW FY10 projects selected by state of Washington House members are listed below. At this stage, the selection of projects is by no means a guarantee of funding. Rather, the advancement of projects by Members to the subcommittees is an important step in securing requested funding. The FY10 appropriations process will likely unfold over the course of the summer and fall.  

Projects requested for the University of Washington by House Members:

Rep. Baird

• PSERI- $2.13 million
• CINTRAFOR (collaborative effort with WSU)- $787,912

Rep. Dicks

• Center for Human Rights, University of Washington- $500,000
• Center for International Trade in Forest Products (CINTRAFOR) (collaborative effort with WSU)- $475,000 
• ISIS- $5.8 million
• PSERI- $4 million

Rep. Hastings

• CINTRAFOR (collaborative effort with WSU)- $1 million

Rep. Inslee

• Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center- $1.2 million
• UW Bothell Nursing Faculty Consortium Training Program- $500,000

Rep. Larsen

• Washington Agricultural Competitiveness (CINTRAFOR)(collaborative effort with WSU)- $1 million

Rep. McDermott

• Institute for Simulation and Interprofessional Studies (ISIS)- $6.38 million
• House of Knowledge: A Longhouse-style Facility at the University of Washington- $1 million
• WA State Biofuels Industry Development- $1 million
• Puget Sound Ecosystem Research Initiative (PSERI)- $2.13 million
• Integrated Transportation Lab and Research Program- $2 million
• Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center-  UW and OSU are requesting $5 million total. However, the UW share of the total would be $1.2 million
• UW Bothell Nursing Faculty Consortium Training Program- $500,000

Rep. Reichert

• WA State Biofuels Industry Development- $1 million

Rep. Smith

• ISIS- $6.38 million
• PSERI- $2.13 million
• WA State Biofuels Industry Development- $1 million