July 7, 2011
Last week the National Science Board (NSB) issued new draft criteria for the peer review of proposals submitted to the National Science Foundation (NSF). The two “merit review” criteria of the last 14 years – intellectual merit and broader impact – remain, but they are now framed by a preamble that offers a set of… Read More
June 30, 2011
Congressional Schedule: The House is in recess this week and the Senate is scheduled for recess next week (week of July 4th). The House has another recess scheduled for the week of July 18th, and both chambers have recess scheduled for the month on August (August 8th through September 6th). Debt Negotiations Continue: Yesterday, President… Read More
June 24, 2011
US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced the availability of up to $175 million in livability grants to help urban, suburban and rural communities develop transit options to better connect people to where they live, work and play. Local transit agencies will be able to compete for livability dollars from the pool of up to… Read More
June 24, 2011
Calendar: The House is preparing to begin its Fourth of July holiday recess today and is slated to return July 5, while the Senate remains in session throughout next week before their scheduled recess during the week of July 4th. Deficit Negotiations Stalled: Attempts by Congress and the White House to broker a budget deal… Read More
May 13, 2011
The Department of Education has cancelled their FY11 FIPSE grant process due to lack of funds. The following explanation is posted on the Department’s website: “Congressional action on the FY 2011 budget substantially reduced funds available for grants from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, including new grants under the Comprehensive Program. Therefore, no… Read More
April 29, 2011
Today, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated the preliminary injunction entered by the district court and ruled in favor of the National Institutes of Health and the Administration’s policy on human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). The ruling states the following: “We conclude the plaintiffs are unlikely to prevail… Read More
April 14, 2011
NOTE: NASA numbers have been corrected to reflect an increase in funding over FY10, not a decrease as reported on the original post. I apologize for any inconvenience. The FY11 continuing resolution (CR) negotiated last Friday to fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year would reduce federal spending by about $38.5… Read More
March 12, 2011
Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee revealed the details of the next short-term continuing resolution (CR), which would keep the federal government funded through April 8th. The current CR expires on March 18th. The new spending measure would cut another $6 billion below current levels. The package would fulfill the Republican leadership’s commitment to cut $2 billion… Read More
February 14, 2011
Today, President Obama released a $3.73 trillion budget request for FY12. The White House estimates that the request and projections for spending in the out-years would reduce the deficit by more than $1 trillion over the next decade. Despite reductions in overall spending, the request contains significant increases for research and development as well as some education programs…. Read More
January 31, 2011
As part of the Obama Administration’s innovation agenda, the White House today announced the launch of the Startup America Partnership, a “public/private effort to promote entrepreneurship with new initiatives to encourage private sector investment in job-creating startups and small firms.” The effort “brings together an alliance of the country’s most innovative entrepreneurs, corporations, universities, foundations,… Read More
