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News and updates

News and updates

House Republicans Expected to Vote on Debt Ceiling Bill Today

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House Republicans are expected to bring their proposal to raise the debt ceiling to the House floor for a vote today. Assuming no Democrats vote in favor, Speaker McCarthy can only afford to lose four Republican votes due to the slim majority in the House. The debt ceiling is the cap for how much the U.S. government can borrow from the Treasury to fulfill its financial obligations. The U.S. technically hit its debt limit at the end of January leading the Treasury to use “extraordinary measures” to be able to continue paying. Once these measures run out, the U.S. could default on its debt with extreme consequences to the global economy, however both Democrats and Republicans have stated that they are committed to avoiding this fate, requiring them to come to agreement on raising the debt ceiling.  

The Republicans are expected to bring their bill to the floor which raises the debt ceiling in conjunction with spending cuts and a series of other GOP priorities. The bill is not expected to go to the Senate even if it passes the House, but rather is part of Speaker McCarthy’s strategy to bring President Biden to the table and strengthen the Republican stake in negotiations. The most recent discussion between the two on the issue was back on February 1st. Read more about this here and follow live updates here.  

House E&C Subcommittee Hearing: Federal Funding for a Strong Health Workforce

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Last week, the House Committee on Energy & Commerce’s Subcommittee on Health held a hearing entitled “Examining Existing Federal Programs to Build a Stronger Health Workforce and Improve Primary Care”. The Subcommittee heard from Carole Johnson, an Administrator for the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), on the state of HRSA programs today that support the overall health ecosystem from workforce development to flexibilities within the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. For context, the hearing memo cites the expected workforce shortage of “17,210 primary care physician full-time equivalents (FTE) and a 20 percent decrease of behavioral health workers by 2030“, demonstrating the urgency for continued federal support.

Washington’s Representative McMorris Rodgers, Chair of the House E&C Committee, expressed her support for considering 8 different bills, including the Strengthening Community Care Act of 2023, which reauthorizes the Community Health Center Fund and National Health Service Corps; the Teaching Health Center Graduate Medical Education program; and the National Nursing Workforce Center Act of 2023, among others. As Congress gears up to develop its budget for fiscal year 2024, this hearing helped bring to the forefront the need to continue funding programs that strengthen U.S. public healthcare systems.  

Read and watch Chair Rodgers’ opening statement here, and read more about the full hearing and proposed legislation here.  

Graduate Student & Professional Senate Leaders Take D.C.

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This week, four graduate student leaders from UW’s Graduate Student & Professional Senate (GPSS) visited Washington D.C. to meet with Congressional staff and advocate for their priorities as graduate students across the country and in Washington specifically. The annual trip to D.C. was put on hold the past few years due to the pandemic, making this year’s visit a great opportunity to reconnect with offices in person and update them on graduate student concerns. The group, which included A.J. Balatico (GPSS President), Kaustubh Yadav (GPSS and SAGE Communications Director), Janis Shin (TABS Chair), and Ella Spurlock (GPSS Exec Senator, Science and Policy Chair), met with 11 of the Washington delegation’s offices where they discussed support for higher education, international students, and research opportunities and advocated for efforts to diversify academic pipelines, ease the visa processes for international students, and expand direct financial support to graduate students. 

 

President Cauce Visits with Washington Congressional Delegation

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UW’s President Ana Mari Cauce visited DC last week for an exciting and jam-packed day, meeting with the members of the Washington Congressional delegation in the Senate and House of Representatives. President Cauce discussed a wide range of topics including updates on the exciting research and studies going on at the university as well as UW’s 2024 goals while thanking our WA delegation for their continued representation and support.

UW Hosts NSF Director & Rep. DelBene for “Opportunity Everywhere” Forum

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This week, the UW hosted the National Science Foundation (NSF) Director Panchanathan, Representative DelBene, and higher education leaders from across the state for the CHIPS and Science “Opportunity Everywhere” Forum. The forum brought together researchers, university leaders and students to discuss how Washington will be competing for Chips and Science funds, including plans to bring chip manufacturing to the U.S., train the workforce, and expand Washington’s leadership in AI and quantum.

To kick off the day, Director Panchanathan met with young UW faculty followed by an AI and machine learning roundtable to discuss recent research developments. The group then made their way to tour the Rachel Carson research vessel where they discussed marine science research made possible through NSF and NOAA funding while onboard. Washington Representative DelBene, staff from Senator Cantwell’s office, as well as leaders from Washington State University, Bellevue College, Central Washington University, Western Washington University and several community and technical colleges joined later in the day for important discussions around the future of CHIPS funding followed by a tour of the UW’s quantum facilities. Director Panchanathan concluded the day with a discussion about diversity in STEM, moderated by UW’s Dean of Engineering Nancy Allbritton. The UW looks forward to continuing our partnership with the federal government to accelerate transformative scientific research.

Read more about the forum here and here.