Category: General

The UW Office of Federal Relations invites participation in a brown bag lunch to discuss our ongoing FY10 and anticipated FY11 federal strategies. The informal sessions serves as an opportunity to receive an update on developments in DC that impact the higher education community in general and our Institution in particular. Topics for discussion will include:

• Overview of the Federal Legislative (Policy and Appropriations) Process –As Necessary
• Update on the Ongoing Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriations Process
  o   UW Specific Projects
  o   Federal Agency/Program Funding Levels -of Interest to UW
• Update on Obama Legislative Agenda
  o   Student Aid
  o   Clean Energy
  o   Health Reform
• Preparation for the Fiscal Year 2011 Appropriations Process
  o   New Guidelines for Submitting UW Specific Appropriations Requests
  o   Agency/Programmatic Recommendations
  o   Timeline
• Advocacy Tools
  o   Federal Agenda Booklet
  o   DC Hill Visits
  o   Letters of Support to/from WA Delegation
  o   Campus/Site Visits by Members
  o   UW Office of Federal Relations
• Open Forum

Sessions:

UW Tacoma- Tuesday August 4th, 11:00am-12:30pm, UWT Cherry Parkes 206C

UW Seattle- Wednesday August 5th, 12:00pm-1:30pm, UW Seattle Gerberding 142

UW Bothell- Thursday August 6th, Time TBD, UWB Room TBD

The Office of Federal Relations will conduct these sessions periodically on the three campuses -as warranted by events in DC. Please note that our team will also be available for individual meetings – as necessary – during the August congressional recess and going forward.
 
If you plan to attend the brown bag discussion, please RSVP by Friday July 24 to jnurse@u.washington.edu.

Provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The President is championing a new climate of openness, collaboration, transparency and accountability in government, as well as respect for maintaining the integrity of science in governmental agencies. Your help is requested in developing guidelines to enable these goals to be achieved. For science to guide our government’s policy decisions, it is imperative that scientific data be credible and methodologies be transparent. The same goes for the selection of scientists and science policy experts for positions within the executive branch.

President Obama has recently asked the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to develop a comprehensive strategy to guarantee the highest level of scientific integrity in the executive branch. The OSTP is seeking your recommendations on a number of key principles:

• What are the best ways to measure the knowledge, credentials, experience and integrity of a candidate for a science and technology position in the executive branch?
• How can the integrity of scientific processes by assured? What are some good examples to learn from?
• What are the most effective processes and organizational structures for assuring that scientific and technological information is reliable? How can the processes and structures used in each case best be disclosed as part of the public record?
• What are the best ways to maximize the legitimate public release of scientific and technological information relied upon by agencies?
• How can agencies best ensure that they will know when scientific or technological integrity has been compromised?
• What are the best ways to make sure that the science and technology an agency relies on is reliable?

Many of you have first-hand experience grappling with these issues on a daily basis. I encourage each of you to seize this special opportunity to offer your input. The deadline for public comment is May 13. You can learn more about how to submit your comments to the OSTP by visiting www.ostp.gov and clicking on the “Scientific Integrity” link.

Provided by the National Humanities Alliance

NATIONAL HUMANITIES ALLIANCE TESTIFIES FOR INCREASED NEH FUNDING

On Thursday, April 23, National Humanities Alliance Vice President and American Council of Learned Societies President, Pauline Yu, testified before the House Interior, Environment, & Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee for increased funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Ms. Yu urged the Subcommittee to provide the National Endowment for the Humanities with funding of at least $230 million in Fiscal Year 2010, including an additional $50 million for competitive grant programs and $25 million for operating grants to state humanities councils, over the FY 2009 enacted level.

She cited the value of the humanities to our nation’s long-term economic well-being, and to our continued status as a world leader. She highlighted the demand for humanities grants by explaining how in FY 2008, applications for NEH grants in all programs represented $421 million in requested funds, more than three times the program dollars obligated for that year.  At the national level, only 16% of competitive, peer-reviewed project proposals were funded, compared to a 26% funding rate for merit-reviewed projects at the National Science Foundation (an agency similar to NEH in its connection to higher education and its mission to strengthen education and research at all levels in its sector). Continue reading “NHA Releases FY10 Budget Advocacy Update”

Before the commencement of the April District Work Period, Congress gave final approval to Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act. The bipartisan legislation reauthorizes the Corporation for National and Community Service for the first time since its inception in 2003 and significantly expands national service opportunities. See below for an overview of the legislation. President Obama has applauded the development, and is expected to sign the bill any day now.

H.R. 1388

Reauthorizes and Expands the Mission of the Corporation for National and Community Service, by: Continue reading “National Service Bill Awaits President Obama”

The University of Washington, along with over 200 institutions from around the United States, has endorsed an  Association for Public and Land-grant Universities’ (APLU) letter to President Barack Obama that commends the Administration’s pledge to provide increased federal resources for research and education in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. The APLU letter describes STEM investments as “critical to maintaining the nation’s global edge in technology and innovation.”

APLU letter to President Barack Obama