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House to Start Debate on Infrastructure Bill Today

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After nonstop negotiations with different factions of her own party late last week and through the weekend, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) scheduled the floor debate on the bipartisan infrastructure package f to start today.

The House leadership finds itself in a tough spot, as a group of Democratic progressives have insisted that they would not vote for the infrastructure legislation that was passed by the Senate on a bipartisan basis without a commitment to bring up a larger $3.5-trillion budget reconciliation package.  At the same time, a group of moderates have  balked at the size of the reconciliation package while supporting the infrastructure deal.  Progressives fear that moderates will walk away from the larger bill if they get to vote on the infrastructure package first.  Pelosi had earlier committed to bringing up the $1.5-trillion infrastructure bill for a floor vote today.  Vote to pass the bill, assuming there are enough votes, is currently scheduled for Thursday.

Read more about the situation here and here.

Biden Releases Infrastructure Proposal

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As anticipated, the Biden Administration released today an initial set of documents related to its much-discussed “infrastructure plan” earlier today.

The proposal  released today addresses both physical infrastructure and as well as “human” infrastructure issues, such as workforce development.  A second set of proposals, designed to target needs in the areas of education and healthcare, is expected to the released later this spring.

Examples of areas of interest to UW and higher education include the following:

  • $180 billion in new R&D spending
  • $50 billion for new NSF Technology directorate for work in new fields like:
    • semiconductors and advanced computing; advanced energy, biotech
  • $50 billion for semiconductor research and manufacturing
  • $30 billion for R&D/ innovation opportunities in rural communities
  • $40 billion for research infrastructure, including “brick-and-mortar” facilities and computing capabilities and networks
    • To be funded through agencies across the government
    • 50% would be reserved for MSI, and would create a new Climate Lab at an HBCU
  • $12 billion for community college facilities and technology, to be funded through states
  • $100 billion for broadband
  • $35 billion in clean technology and clean energy research / innovations, including:
    • Creating ARPA-C
    • $15 billion for R&D in climate priority demonstration projects, in fields like:
      • Utility-scale energy storage, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, advanced nuclear, rare earth element separations, floating offshore wind, biofuel/bioproducts, quantum computing, and electric vehicles
  • $10 billion in R&D investments for MSIs
  • $15 billion to create up to 200 centers of excellence at MSIs to serve as research incubators for grad fellowships and other opportunities
  • $20 billion regional innovation hubs to create at least 10 hubs to, further among other goals, link urban and rural communities
  • $14 billion for NIST to connect government, academia, and industry to address future competitiveness needs

Examples of other elements of the proposal include:

  • $621 billion in transportation infrastructure projects, such as:
    • $115 billion for bridges, highways, roads, and main streets
    • $85 billion for public transit
    • $80 billion for passenger and freight rail
    • $174 billion for the electric vehicle market and infrastructure
    • $25 billion for airports
    • $25 billion for regional projects that are too big to be financed by a single entity
    • $17 billion for waterways, ports, ferries
    • $20 billion to connect communities physically cut off from economic opportunities

Pay-fors

  • The plan proposes to change a number of tax provisions and seeks to raise $2 trillion over 15 years.

The White House fact sheet on the proposal is available here.

The release of the proposal is just the first step in the process of trying to push through and fund a set of infrastructure plans.  How Congress chooses to engage with and respond to the the Biden requests remain to the be seen.  Office of Federal Relations will continue to provide additional details about the proposal as they become available.

Senate Passes COVID Relief Bill, Sends It Back to House for Final Clearance

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After a marathon session during which scores of amendments were considered and voted on, the Senate finally cleared its COVID relief bill on Saturday by a vote of 50 to 49.  The Senate made a number of modifications to the House-passed measure, meaning that this version must now be sent back to the House for its approval before it can become law.  With the current set of enhanced federal unemployment benefits running out next Monday, the goal of the Congressional Democrats and the Biden Administration is to have President Biden sign the final bill into law by Sunday.

Read more about the Senate changes and next steps in the process here, here, here, and here.

UW Statement in Response to Claim by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

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From UW News:

The following is a statement from the University of Washington in response to allegations U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made during a speech at Georgia Tech on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020:

This is the latest false statement and shameful deflection from an administration whose State Department and Department of Education took no effective action on behalf of Vera Zhou in response to the University’s requests, and now wishes to shift attention from that failure. That the Secretary of State would think a university has more power in this situation than the United States government is bizarre. That he would single out a staff member by name is unbecoming of the office and his statement is flatly wrong. While several UW offices have been in contact with Vera throughout her experience, no staff in the UW Office of Federal Relations has had direct contact with Vera or her family.

The University of Washington has been deeply concerned for Vera’s safety and well-being throughout her ordeal, and was relieved to hear of her safe return. We cannot even begin to imagine the turmoil this has caused in the lives of Vera, her mother and other loved ones.

However, the notion that the UW did not act on Vera’s behalf is completely untrue and the insinuation that the University allowed financial interests of any kind to interfere with its handling of this situation is outrageous. We have no record of contact from any State Department official to the UW President’s Office (or elsewhere in our Administration) that indicates anything regarding a negotiation with a Chinese institution, nor would we balance a student’s well-being against any financial concern. We have no idea what “multimillion-dollar deal” is being referenced.

The issues at hand rest directly with the federal government, not the UW, though we endeavored to provide Vera support regardless of the circumstances. The UW consulted directly with the U.S. State Department on opportunities for federal intervention, which they reported were extremely limited due to her status as a Chinese citizen. We understand the Department of Education’s billing servicer was unwilling to make changes to Vera’s loan, despite being provided information about her extraordinary circumstances. The UW was in regular communication with Vera in the Fall of 2019 to advise her on additional options to try for resolution.

UW staff in the offices of Global Affairs, Student Life and Student Fiscal Services have connected with Vera and her mother on several occasions to proactively express how happy we were to hear she was home, answer questions and provide her with guidance regarding her concerns, and to help provide as smooth a transition whenever and wherever she decided to continue her education. Since Vera’s return to the U.S. and the state of Washington, our staff have been in regular contact during her enrollment at a community college, advising her on financial aid options still available to her.

And, we can confirm that as of this quarter, Vera is again enrolled at the UW.

 

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House Appropriations Process Marches On

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The FY2021 appropriations process continues to march on in the House, for now, with two more bills slated for committee action today. This afternoon, the Appropriations Committee is scheduled to take up the Labor-HHS-Education and Energy and Water Development bills.

Labor-HHS-Education

As part of the  overall level of $47 billion for NIH, the Labor-HHS-Education bill would fund:

  • HIV/AIDS Research at $3.1 billion
  • Alzheimer’s research at $2.9 billion

In addition, AHRQ would be funded at $343 million

Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA) Title VII health professions and Title VIII nursing  programs would be funded at $512.5 million and $270.0 million, respectively.

The Labor-HHS report also includes the following language with respect to the reporting of foreign gifts that meet certain criteria:

Disclosure of Foreign Gifts and Contracts.—The Committee reminds colleges and universities receiving Federal funds that section 117 of the HEA requires institutions to disclose certain gifts from or contracts with foreign entities and that the Department makes such information publicly available on its website. The Committee directs the Department to work with institutions to improve the reporting process. Disclosure requirements increase transparency and help protect our national security and academic integrity.

In addition to the funding levels for the programs we reported on last week, the House bill would also fund Title VI International Education programs at $80.3 million (an increase of $4.2 million), GAANN at $24.0 million (an increase of $1 million), and the Institute of Education Sciences at $630.5 million (an increase of $7 million).

Energy and Water

The Energy and Water Development bill under consideration today calls for $2.85 billion for the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EER&E) programs, an increase of $58 million.  Within EER&E, renewable energy programs would see a cut of $4 million and would be supported at $638 million.

The bill calls for ARPA-E to be funded at $1.02 billion, which represents an increase of $35 million.

The Office of Science would see $7.05 billion under this bill, an increase of $50 million.  Following programs within Science would be funded in the following manner:

  • Advanced Scientific Computing–  $1.02 billion (+$35 million)
  • Basic Energy Sciences– $2.24 billion (+$29 million)
  • Biological and Environmental Research–  $760 million (+$10 million)
  • Fusion– $680 million (+$9 million)
  • High Energy Physics– $1.08 billion (+$5 million)
  • Nuclear Physics– $715 million (+$2 million)