On May 26, 2009, the Department of Education announced that it will hold three public hearings and related forums around the country to gather public suggestions on several higher education issues. The Department will also be conducting forums after each of the three hearings to discuss: (1) how changes to the Department’s financial aid communications and processes (including the Free Application for Federal Student Aid) could improve college planning, preparation and access; and (2) how best to leverage federal postsecondary programs to foster student educational persistence and degree attainment. The dates and locations for these meetings are listed below. Continue reading “Department of Education to Hold Public Hearings on Higher Education Issues”
Month: May 2009
AAU Issues Comments on Draft NIH Stem Cell Guidelines
The Association of American Universities (AAU) has provided comment on proposed NIH Stem Cell Guidelines (see below).
May 27, 2009
AAU President Robert M. Berdahl yesterday submitted AAU’s comments on proposed guidelines for human embryonic stem cell research funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The AAU letter praises President Obama’s March 9, 2009 Executive Order removing Bush Administration constraints on stem cell research, commends NIH for issuing draft guidelines for such research promptly, and expresses support of the proposed guidelines.
The letter also raises several concerns, including the following:
- It recommends that stem cell lines derived before August 9, 2001, that are currently eligible for NIH funding not be subjected to retroactive consent and approval processes and that they remain eligible for federal funding.
- It recommends that stem cell lines derived under appropriate guidelines after August 9, 2001, and before the effective date of the new regulations also not be subjected to retroactive consent and approval processes and that they be made eligible for federal funding going forward.
- It expresses disappointment that the proposed guidelines unnecessarily limit federal support to research on cell lines derived from surplus in vitro fertilization embryos, making lines derived by other methods—such as somatic cell nuclear transfer—ineligible for federal funding.
- It recommends that NIH rely on institutional assurances and material transfer agreements in regulating the research use and sharing of cell lines, and that review and approval by institutional review boards of such lines or transfers not be required.
Legislative Outlook
The House and Senate are adjourned for Memorial Day Recess and will reconvene next week. It is expected that the various House Appropriations subcommittee will begin markups of FY10 spending bills when the chambers recovene. House leaders want to pass all 12 fiscal 2010 appropriations bills before the start of the August recess, leaving eight weeks of session to complete their work. Senate leaders also seek to move appropriations bills to conclusion by the August recess. However, if recent history is a guide, Senate consideration of FY10 appropriations bills will spill into the fall. In addition to FY10 appropriations, Congressional leaders also want to pass an overhaul of the health care insurance system overhaul, student aid reform, and climate change legislation by year’s end.
NSF to Move to Fastlane Only
NSF Dear Colleague Letter
Dear Colleagues:
Due to an expected increase in Grants.gov submissions relating to the processing of Recovery Act proposals, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has authorized agencies to use alternative methods for proposal submission and acceptance. As you know, NSF is able to accept directly its full complement of proposals, both regular submissions and those additional proposals anticipated under the Recovery Act, using our long-established FastLane capabilities for proposal submission and acceptance. Therefore, in order to assist Grants.gov in the effort to alleviate system strain and increase system capacity, proposers will now be required to prepare and submit proposals to NSF through use of the NSF FastLane system.
Effective immediately, new funding opportunities issued by NSF will exclusively require the use of FastLane to prepare and submit proposals. In addition, NSF plans to revise existing funding opportunity documents to reflect this change and to remove all active application packages from Grants.gov APPLY. NSF will continue to post information about available funding opportunities to Grants.gov FIND.
Detailed instructions regarding the technical aspects of proposal preparation and submission via FastLane are available at: http://www.fastlane.nsf.gov/.
If you have any questions regarding this change, please contact the Policy Office on 703.292.8243 or by e-mail to policy@nsf.gov.
Best,
Jean Feldman
Head, Policy Office
Division of Institution & Award Support
Office of Budget, Finance & Award Management
The Week on Capitol Hill — May 25-29
Congress is on Memorial Day recess until Monday, June 1st.