Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee announced that they will markup the PATENT Act on Thursday. The House Judiciary Committee is still on hold on the Innovation Act.
Category: Congressional To Do
Alexander and Murray Release HEA Working Groups
Today, HELP Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) announced several bipartisan, full committee staff working groups to address four major issues related to the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act.
The working groups will examine the following topics:
- Accountability
- Accreditation
- College Affordability and Financial Aid
- Campus Sexual Assault and Safety
Senators Alexander and Murray are developing a bipartisan committee process to work towards the ninth reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). These working groups, with public meetings, are a series of hearings. Thus far, the HELP Committee has held three hearings and will hold additional hearings to inform their process as they work to produce legislation in committee this fall.
The bipartisan staff meetings are open to all members of the Senate education committee.
Senate Releases “COMPETES” Bill
On Wednesday afternoon, as the House was working on passing its version of America COMPETES, Senators Lamar Alexander (R-TN), Chris Coons (D-DE), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Corey Gardner (R-CO), Diane Feinstein (D-CA), and Martin Heinrich (D-NM) today introduced the energy portion of America COMPETES. To give some perspective of the heavy hitters sponsoring this legislation, Senator Alexander is the Chair of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which has jurisdiction over several broader sections of COMPETES, including NSF. Alexander was an active participant in the passage of the original Competes Act that was enacted in 2007 (PL 110-69).
The Senate measure is expected to be taken up by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee (ENR) this summer as part of a broad energy package that the Chairwoman of that Committee, Lisa Murkowski, hopes to advance. The Ranking Member of the Committee, Maria Cantwell, is also a cosponsor of the legislation. Further, Senator Alexander chairs the Energy-Water Appropriations Subcommittee and Senator Feinstein is the ranking Democrat on the panel.
Highlights of the bill include:
- a five-year authorization for both the Office of Science and ARPA-E
- funding for the Office of Science would increase about 4 percent annually, for a total of increase of about 22 percent over five years
- funding for ARPA-E would also increase about 4 percent each year, for a total of increase of about 22 percent over five years
COMPETES Passes the House
After an interesting debate, the House narrowly passed HR 1806 – the America COMPETES Reauthorization of 2016 but a vote of 217-205. The bill was largely along party line vote with all Democrats and 23 Republicans voting against the measure. Earlier this week, the White House issued a veto threat.
As previously discussed, the bill authorizes science programs across the federal government, boosts funding for the National Science Foundation and the Energy Department’s Science office while cutting funds for climate and renewable energy research. It also bars DOE research from being used in any federal regulations. Only six of the twelve amendments stood for floor votes when debate ended and most of the Democratic measures failed. Most amendments passed via voice vote, including a Democratic amendment to reauthorize DOE’s Energy Innovation Hubs. Later, however, efforts to scrap language requiring NSF grants to include a “national interest” justification, and Science Committee ranking member Eddie Bernice Johnson’s attempt to rewrite the bill entirely, failed.
A Democratic amendment that sought to continue allowing DOE to produce drop-in biofuels with the Pentagon failed more narrowly than the overall bill passed: 208-215.
Other amendments that passed included:
- A measure from Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) that would add $5 million for manufacturing partnerships by decreasing funding for the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by the same amount
- An amendment from Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) creating workshops to instruct teachers in robotics and other STEM-related learning.
- An amendment by Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) that would allow House and Senate leaders to appoint members to several science advisory boards in the bill.
Earlier in the day, the House also passed HR 880 – the American Research and Competitiveness Act of 2015, which would permanently extend the R&D tax credit.
Both measures now move to the Senate.
House CJS Report Filed
The House Appropriations Committee is expected to consider and mark up the FY16 Commerce, Justice, State bill on Wednesday morning. The Committee made the committee report public today for a more detailed look inside the thought process of the House Appropriations Committee.