Week at a Glance June 8-12

Posted on June 8, 2009October 17, 2012

Monday, June 8^th

· Senate resumes consideration of HR 1256, Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. A cloture vote on a substitute amendment to the bill is expected.

· The House will take up several measures under suspension of the rules.

HR 1736 — International Science and Technology Cooperation

Act of 2009

HR 1709 — STEM Education Coordination Act of 2009

H Res 492 — A resolution supporting the goals and ideals of High-Performance Building Week.

Tuesday, June 9^th

· The House considers measures under suspension of the rules.

· The Senate Appropriations subcommittees (Financial Services and General Government Labor; HHS; Education) hearings on proposed FY10 appropriations.

· Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee hearing on the “Future Economic Role of Oceans.”

· Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources markup of the Comprehensive Energy Policy.

· House Appropriations markup of FY10 appropriations for Commerce, Justice, Science, and 302(B).

· House Committee on Energy and Commerce subcommittee hearing on “Allowance Allocation Policies in Climate Change Legislation” and on “Green Marketing Practices.”

Wednesday, June 10^th

· House is expected to consider HR 2410 that would authorize the State Department and other diplomatic programs in FY10.

Thursday, June 11^th

· House is expected to consider HR 1886, the Pakistan Enduring Assistance and Cooperation Enhancement (PEACE) Act.

· Senate Appropriations subcommittees (Military Construction, Veterans; Transportation-HUD) hearings on proposed FY10 appropriations.

· Subcommittee of Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation hearing on the 2010 NOAA budget.

· Senate Committee on Indian Affairs hearing on Indian health care

· House Agriculture Committee hearing on climate change.

· House Appropriations Subcommittee markup of FY10 proposed funding for Interior.

Friday, June 12^th

· The House will reconvene at 9 a.m. and continue legislative business from the previous day.

Senator Feingold Introduces Bill to Help Displaced Workers

Posted on June 8, 2009October 17, 2012

Senator Feingold on Helping Displaced Workers Find Health Care Jobs

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Russ Feingold introduced legislation today to help displaced workers in communities hit hard by the tough economy retrain for high-demand health care jobs. Feingold’s Community-Based Health Care Retraining Act specifically targets communities that have suffered job loss in a variety of industry sectors including manufacturing, construction and service sectors. The legislation would allow communities to apply for grants that would fund retraining efforts led by local workforce development boards. In April, the unemployment rate in Wisconsin was 8.8 percent according to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

“In this tough economy, communities throughout Wisconsin have lost manufacturing jobs both at large factories and small manufacturing businesses,” Feingold said. My bill is designed to give hard-hit communities the opportunity to help retrain their citizens for good, in-demand jobs in the health care field. This bill will help get people back on their feet and remain in their communities while strengthening our health care industry.” Continue reading “Senator Feingold Introduces Bill to Help Displaced Workers”

DOE Issues Grant Solicitation for Wind Energy Consortia between Universities and Industry

Posted on June 3, 2009October 17, 2012

June 02, 2009

DOE has issued a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) entitled, “Recovery Act: Wind Energy Consortia between Institutions of Higher Learning and Industry.” This funding was originally announced by Secretary Chu on April 29. The FOA provides $24 million for the development of consortia between universities and industry to focus on critical wind energy challenges. The FOA and can be found at FedConnect by searching for the Reference Number DE-FOA-0000090.

This $24 million program initiative will fund consortia between institutions of higher learning and industry that will perform focused research on critical wind energy challenges. DOE intends to award 2-3 grants. The maximum range of a DOE award will be between $8-12 million. Applicants must provide at least a 10% cost share of total project costs including at least 20% for R&D. DOE funds will be provided under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to preserve and create jobs, promote economic recovery, and provide investments needed to increase wind energy R&D. Continue reading “DOE Issues Grant Solicitation for Wind Energy Consortia between Universities and Industry”

President Obama Nominates Former Congressman to Chair NEH

Posted on June 3, 2009October 17, 2012

THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary
_________________________________________________________________
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 3, 2009

President Obama Announces Intent to Nominate former GOP Congressman Jim Leach as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities
WASHINGTON – Today, President Barack Obama announced his intent to nominate former Republican Congressman Jim Leach as Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

President Obama said, “I am confident that with Jim as its head, the National Endowment for the Humanities will continue on its vital mission of supporting the humanities and giving the American public access to the rich resources of our culture. Jim is a valued and dedicated public servant and I look forward to working with him in the months and years ahead.”

President Obama announced his intent to nominate the following individual today:

Jim Leach, Nominee for Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities
Jim Leach served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the state of Iowa for 30 years. He founded and co-chaired the Congressional Humanities Caucus, which is dedicated to advocating on behalf of the humanities in the House of Representatives and to raising the profile of humanities in the United States. The Caucus worked to promote and preserve humanities programs and commissions such as the Historical Publications and Records Commission. Mr. Leach and his co-founder, Rep. David Price, received the Sidney R. Yates Award for Distinguished Public Service to the Humanities from the National Humanities Alliance in 2005. During his tenure in Congress, Mr. Leach also served as Chairman of the House Committee on Banking and Financial Services (1995-2001), a senior member of the House Committee on International Relations and Chairman of the Committee’s Subcommittee on Asian and Pacific Affairs (2001-2006). In addition, Mr. Leach is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Vice Chairman of the Century Foundation’s Board of Trustees and has served on the boards of the Social Sciences Research Council, ProPublica, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the Kettering Foundation. Since leaving Congress in 2007, he has taught at Princeton University and served as the interim director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

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Several national associations, including the Association of American Universities and the National Humanities Alliace, have reacted positively to the announcement.

Seen in DC

Posted on June 3, 2009October 17, 2012

Elaine Faustman, UW professor and Director of the UW Center for Child Environmental Health Risks Research, met with UW Federal Relations Director Christy Gullion and staff from the offices of Representatives McDermott and Reichert on May 8th. She was in DC to discuss the Center and sources of funding. The Center was formed to learn more about children’s susceptibility to pesticides and the way pesticides affect normal development and learning. Funding for this Center and the research comes from the EPA and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences.

The Center has also recently been awarded two grants through NIH to participate in the National Children’s Study, which is a long-term research project that will examine the environmental influences on children’s health and development. The grant allows for work in Grant and King Counties, with the possibility of expanding to Thurston County and Marion County, OR (work is approved, but funds are not yet available).

Nancy Nihan, Director of UW Transportation Northwest (TransNow), was in DC May 19-20 to discuss a request the UW made in partnership with WSU, to be designated as a National University Transportation Center (UTC). The UW is currently designated as a Regional UTC, which was awarded through a competitive process. National UTC designation can only happen through a transportation reauthorization bill and will allow the UW and WSU to play a more national role in transportation research on safety, freight mobility, and traffic management. Nancy met with staff in the Senate office of Pattty Murray and Maria Cantwell, as well as staff from the offices of Representatives McMorris Rodgers’, Larsen, Baird, and McDermott.

Dan Schwartz, professor of Chemical Engineering and Director of the UW’s recently funded BioEnergy Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) Program, was in DC with two of his graduate students, Laurel James and Kurt Spies. Dr. Schwartz was impeccably dressed for the meetings with representatives from the Interior Department, staff from the offices of Senators Murray and Cantwell and Representatives Inslee and Dicks. The IGERT Program’s focus is the development of sustainable energy projects for tribal nations, and also on training a new generation of tribal PhD scientists. Our first IGERT project involves work with the Yakama Nation and the second IGERT project is with the Colville Tribes. Dr. Schwartz, Laurel, and Kurt briefed staff on UW IGERT work, and discussed opportunities (either through the Recovery Act or annual programs) in the Department of Interior and Department of Energy that might bolster its activities.