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Category: Federal Agency Developments

Biden Repeals EO on Diversity Trainings

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President Biden has repealed a Trump-administration Executive Order 13950 requiring all new and amended federal government contracts to include language prohibiting the contractor from implementing any workplace training that endorsed what the Order deemed “divisive concepts,” including that an individual, by virtue of his or her race or sex, is prone to behaviors that are inherently racist or sexist.

Biden’s Executive Order repeals the Trump order in its entirety and affirms it is the policy of the federal government to “pursue a comprehensive approach to advancing equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.”

More details here.

Agencies Begin to Fill Leadership Positions

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A number of agencies have started naming individuals for key positions within their ranks.

The Department of Energy released a slate of individuals for senior positions earlier today, which is available here.  The Department of Interior also publicly released yesterday  a number of names tapped for leadership posts in the agency.

We will continue to post other agency staffing announcements on our site.

 

 

JCORE Publishes Report on Research Security, White House Issues Accompanying Memo

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The National Science and Technology Council Joint Committee on the Research Environment, Subcommittee on Research Security released its final report Recommended Practices for Strengthening the Security and Integrity of America’s Science and Technology Research Enterprise. The report is developed by the Subcommittee, in coordination with the National Security Council, and aims to protect US research integrity and the R&D enterprise.

The document outlines several recommended practices for research organizations based on the following high-level objectives:

Demonstrate organizational leadership and oversight;
Establish an expectation of openness and transparency;
Provide and share training, support, and information;
Ensure effective mechanisms for compliance with organizational policies; and
Manage potential risks associated with collaborations and data.

The full report is available here. In addition, the President issued National Security Presidential Memorandum 33, available here, outlining guidance for agencies to implement best practices.  A fact sheet on the memo is available here.

Dept. of Education Publishes Final Rule on Religious Liberty

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In a press statement, the US Department of Education announced the publication of the final rule Improving Free Inquiry, Transparency, and Accountability at Colleges and Universities. The rule will be effective 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

The final rule intends to “ensure that public institutions of higher education uphold fundamental rights guaranteed by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and that private institutions of higher education adhere to their own policies regarding freedom of speech, including academic freedom”.

Among other things, the press statement outlines major aspects of the rule, including :

  • Requires that public institutions must comply with the 1st Amendment as a requirement to receive Department grants.
  • Clarifies how private institutions may demonstrate they are controlled by a religious organization for the purposes of Title IX.
  • Ensures equal treatment of religious student organizations at public colleges and universities.
  • Revises regulations governing some discretionary grant programs under Titles III and V of the Higher Education Act of 1964, as amended. The rule more narrowly tailors the prohibition on the use of these grants to religious instruction, religious worship, or proselytization.

The full press statement and link to fact sheet is available here.

 

New DARPA Director Announced

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Yesterday the Department of Defense announced Dr. Victoria Coleman will be the new Director of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). She is an expert in artificial intelligence and has until now been the CEO of Atlas AI. Dr. Coleman is the third woman to ever hold the position. Full story here.