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News and updates

News and updates

Congress Back in Session

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Congress reconvenes this week after a two-week recess. Congress will be looking at the President’s Budget Request, and also wrestling with the debt ceiling, which is expected to expire yet again, this time in mid May. Also on the agenda this week (and through the month of April):  immigration reform, gun control/safety, and FY14 appropriations.

Tuesday

  • The Senate Budget Committee holds a confirmation hearing for Office of Management and Budget Director nominee Sylvia Mathews Burwell.
  • The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will hold a full committee hearing on the nomination of Dr. Ernest Moniz to be the Secretary of Energy.

Wednesday

  • President Barack Obama releases his FY14 budget request (link will be active upon release of budget).
  • The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee holds a confirmation hearing for Office of Management and Budget Director nominee Sylvia Mathews Burwell.

Continue reading “Congress Back in Session”

Sequestration Threatens Research Careers

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John Slattery, Vice Dean for Research and Graduate Education at the University of Washington, speaks about how federal funding cuts (sequestration) will constrain potential advances in patient care and dampen students’ pursuit of research careers. Watch the video here.

President’s Budget Now Due April 10th

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The White House has just announced that President Obama will release his budget on April 10th, nearly two months later than the traditional February release date.  The President had been expected to release his budget on April 8th, the same day that Congress returns from its two-week recess period. The White House has said that its two-month delay was in part due to the administration’s focus on sequestration and completing the FY 2013 continuing resolution.

Newly Introduced Legislation

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A roundup of bills introduced in the last week that may be of interest to the higher education community:

S. 514: A bill to amend Title 38, United States Code, to provide additional educational assistance to veterans pursuing a degree in science, technology, engineering, math, or an area that leads to employment in a high-demand occupation.
Sponsor: Sherrod Brown (D-OH)   Introduced: 3/11/2013   Last Major Action: Referred to Committee on Veterans’ Affairs   Cosponsors: 0

H.R. 1100: A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to improve mental and behavioral health services on college campuses.
Sponsor: Janice Schakowsky (D-IL)   Introduced: 3/12/2013   Last Major Action: Referred to House Committees on Energy & Commerce and Education and the Workforce   Cosponsors: 12

H.R. 1178: A bill to amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize grants for graduate medical education partnerships in states with a low physician-resident-to-general-population ratio.
Sponsor: Kathy Castor (D-FL)   Introduced: 3/14/2013   Last Major Action: Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce   Cosponsors: 0

H.R. 1227: A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to authorize certain aliens who have earned a Ph.D. degree from a United States institution of higher education in a field of science, technology, engineering or mathematics to be admitted for permanent residence and to be exempted from the numerical limitations on H-1B nonimmigrants (STAPLE ACT).
Sponsor: Erik Paulsen (R-MN)   Introduced: 3/15/2013   Last Major Action: Referred to House Committee on the Judiciary   Cosponsors: 3
Paulsen Press Release

H.R. 1271: A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow employers a credit against income tax as an incentive to partner with educational institutions to provide skills training for students (Job Skills for America’s Students Act).
Sponsor: Mark Takano (D-CA)   Introduced: 3/19/2013   Last Major Action: Referred to Committee on Ways and Means  Cosponsors: 0
Takano Press Release

S. 646: A bill to create the National Endowment for the Oceans to promote the protection and conservation of United States ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems.
Sponsor:  Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)   Introduced: 3/21/2013   Last Major Action: Referred to Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation   Cosponsors: 3 (including Senator Maria Cantwell)

The full text of these bills can be found by searching for their respective bill number at thomas.loc.gov