The University of Washington has published our 2021 Federal Agenda outlining our top priorities for the coming year. Our agenda reflects a commitment to service, excellence, and innovation, taking into account the unique challenges of the past year.
We are proud of our longstanding partnership with the federal government and look forward to further collaboration in 2021.
As of Thursday, March 12th, the Office of Federal Relations strongly advises members of the UW community not to travel to Washington, DC for meetings. The US Capitol complex is closed to the general public through April 1st, and most offices in the area, including the Office of Federal Relations, are instituting telework policies. Our office is unable to schedule in-person meetings, or attend in-person meetings on behalf of the University. This is a fluid situation, and we will post updated information as it becomes available.
We are happy to try and arrange conference calls to discuss issues of relevance to UW.
For university-wide updates, please go to https://www.washington.edu/coronavirus/
Here is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team has enjoyed reading this week.
California to Allow Athletes to Profit from Image: California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law a bill which would allow athletes at California universities to enter into brand deals, and profit from their image and likeness. The NCAA objects to this move, arguing that it would eliminate amateurism from college athletics and create an unfair recruiting advantage. The bill will go into effect in three years, which allows time for the NCAA to mount a response. Visit LA Times for the full story.
NIH Weighs in on Foreign Influence: In an interview with Science, NIH Director of Extramural Research Michael Lauer offered his description as to how the US research enterprise is undermined by foreign influence. According to Lauer, this involves a two-pronged approach of infiltrating grant proposals and setting up overseas shadow labs. The US Government considers the breach of scientific research to be a national security concern, and warns researchers of failure to disclose ties to foreign institutions. Recent crackdowns on undisclosed foreign influence have left several institutions in hot water, and resulted in the dismissal of a number of faculty around the country. Of primary concern is China and the Thousand Talents Program, which leads some to argue that undue scrutiny is being placed on ethnically Chinese researchers. For the full story see Science Magazine.
Word of Impeachment Gets Louder: The US House of Representatives’ impeachment inquiry into President Trump, based on a whistleblower complaint and accusations of quid pro quo, is getting more intense. Trump confidant Rudy Giuliani has been issued a subpoena, the whisteblower is expected to testify before the House Select Committee on Intelligence, and there is further accusations of involvement against members of Trump’s cabinet. The President has lashed out at top Democrats, highlighting strong partisan divides which could potentially distract from other key issues. You can find the latest updates at The Washington Post.
Supreme Court Upholds Internet Deregulation: On Tuesday the US Supreme Court voted to uphold a ruling repealing net neutrality regulations. The Court found that the FCC was within its’ authority to deregulate internet service providers. This decision earmarks a major victory for the Trump Administration, and could potentially allow internet providers to block content or charge premium prices for accessing certain websites. The Court did also find the FCC cannot bar state and local governments from passing their own regulations, so the debate will likely continue at the local level. For the full story, see The New York Times.
Harvard Wins Controversial Affirmative Action Case: A Federal Judge in the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled in favor of Harvard University, curtailing a highly controversial court case against affirmative action. The case was brought forth by a group representing Harvard-rejected Asian-American students. The group claims that the Harvard admissions process is racist in favor of Black and Hispanic students. Judge Allison D. Burroughs ruled that Harvard adhered to the constitutional standard for considering race in admissions. Race may be considered, however it must be one of many factors, and racial quotas are prohibited based on legal precedent. Universities nationwide have been watching this case closely, as college admissions processes have come under scrutiny in light of recent corruption scandals. Read more at The New York Times.
Happy Election Day!
In a much hyped and talked about mid-term election, Americans are going to the polls for some exciting local and national races. Will the Democrats win the House? How many new Members of Congress will Washington state have? Will the Republicans gain seats in the Senate? Will most of our nation’s governors be in the Democratic party? We will start to find out tonight. However, given the peculiarities and peccadilloes of each state’s elections laws, we might not know who has won many elections for weeks.
Washington state has some very interesting races being watched on the national stage, and with Congressman Reichert’s retirement, we will have at least one new Member of Congress representing WA-08. Track the results for all Washington races here.
For national races, the New York Times will has it’s very popular Needle on their home page tracking election results again this year. CNN will also have live updates. The Washington Post also has a fun tracker. Do not expect poll returns until later in the day. The Times has a story on when polls close.
For those of you that have been intensely interested in this election (Beto! Stacey Abrams! Dino Rossi!) just keep in mind, the forecasts and models were very wrong last year. It’s raining in every state east of the Mississippi River, and that’s sure to impact turnout.
For those intensely interested in what’s happening across the country at every level, here’s a handy-dandy election tracker that has all high-target political races this election.
Federal Relations will update this post as necessary throughout the day and have an election recap tomorrow.