NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco announced today that she will step down in February, ending a four-year tenure that saw the longtime academic juggle a slate of controversial issues, from the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to the skyrocketing cost of weather satellites. In an email to employees yesterday, Lubchenco wrote that she was leaving NOAA to return to her family and academic career in Oregon.
News and updates
FY2013 Appropriations Update
Appropriators had been hoping to move an FY2013 omnibus during the current lame duck session, but with time running out it now appears unlikely that they will move any FY2013 spending bills by the end of the year. Instead, Congress is most likely to pass another six-month CR to cover the remainder of FY2013, probably just before the current continuing resolution (CR) expires March 27th. Operating under CRs for an entire year has become a recent trend in election years. In two out of the past three election years, 2006 and 2010, the majority of annual spending bills were never completed, and scores of federal agencies were left operating at the prior year’s funding levels for the entire budget year.
A second six-month CR for FY2013 would likely contain a large number of special provisions to address urgent needs of federal agencies, inviting some of the same political battles that would have come with an omnibus. Some appropriators remained optimistic about clearing fiscal 2013 spending legislation early next year, noting that bipartisan agreements were in the works. But a new Congress would likely have little interest in considering FY2013 bills and would be more inclined to focus on the 2014 budget process instead.
STIP Internship Opportunity
The Science and Technology Innovation Program (STIP) at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is currently seeking a media-focused intern for Spring 2013. The mission of STIP is to explore the scientific and technological frontier, stimulating discovery and bringing new tools to bear on public policy challenges that emerge as science advances.
Specific project areas include: nanotechnology, synthetic biology, Do-It-Yourself biology, the use of social media in disaster response, serious games, geoengineering, and additive manufacturing. Interns will work closely with a small, interdisciplinary team.
- Applicants should be a graduate or undergraduate student with a background or strong interest in journalism, science/technology policy, public policy and/or policy analysis.
- Solid reporting, writing and computer skills are a must. Experience with video/audio editing and new media is strongly desired.
- Responsibilities include assisting with the website/social media, writing and editing, helping produce and edit short-form videos, staffing events and other duties as assigned.
- Applicants should be creative, ready to engage in a wide variety of tasks and able to work independently and with a team in a fast-paced environment.
- The internship is expected to last for 3-5 months at 15-20 hours per week. Scheduling is flexible.
- Please include 2-3 writing samples/clips and links to any video/documentary work.
- Compensation may be available.
To apply, please submit a cover letter, resume, and brief writing sample to stipintern@wilsoncenter.org with SPRING 2013 INTERN in the subject line.
Three weeks to “Fiscal Cliff”
“Fiscal cliff” discussions continue to dominate the public airwaves as the White House continues to negotiate with House Speaker Boehner (R-OH) on a possible deal. The word on the street today is that the Speaker has asked the White House for more details about its position on taxes, and the President’s team has asked the House GOP for more details about its desires on spending. This is a good sign with only three weeks to go before the Bush tax rates expire and the sequester takes effect. It is sounding more and more likely that the republicans will agree to allow tax rates to go up; the only real question is by how much and for whom. And they will certainly require any rate increase to come with serious cuts to discretionary spending and entitlement programs. Two years of fighting over how to rein in federal spending and lower national debt is now coming down to a few final weeks of deal-making. Regardless of the outcome, many of these budget-related issues will likely spill over into the next Congress.
Sequester is “Uncharted Territory”
I was recently interviewed by Scientific American for an article on the impact of sequestration on NIH funding. My quote: “We are in uncharted territory if the sequester takes effect.”