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News and updates

Michael Kratsios Appointed to Key Defense Research Position

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US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper has named Michael Kratsios to be Acting Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering. Until now, Kratsios has been serving as the White House Chief Technology Officer, and will replace former-NASA Administrator Michael Griffin in his new role.

Prior to starting at the White House, Kratsios held several positions in the financial sector of increasing scope and responsibility. He has a BA from Princeton and was a visiting scholar at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

Washington State Files Suit Against DHS

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Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson filed a federal lawsuit on Friday against the US Department of Homeland Security, citing harm from the “July 6th Directive” which will require F-1 and M-1 students to leave the US if their classes are entirely online due to COVID-19.

The suit, filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Washington, specifically accuses the rule of being “cruel, arbitrary, and capricious”. The suit goes further to call the directive “illogical and illegal”, and specifically cites harm to institutions such as the University of Washington and our students.

 

What We’re Reading this Week (July 6th-10th, 2020)

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Below is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team read this week.

Robert Fuller: The FBI’s Civil Rights Division will look into the death of Robert Fuller, a 24 year old black man who was found dead outside LA. Police ruled the death a suicide, however the Fuller family suspects foul play. More at BBC.

Outrage over Death of Spc. Vanessa Guillen: Public outrage has mounted after Vanessa Guillen, a US Army soldier stationed at Ft. Hood, was found dead after being reported missing for months. Her disappearance came after she filed sexual harassment allegations. A suspect in the case committed suicide during a police encounter. More at Washington Post.

USDA Leadership Changes: On Friday it was announced that Dr. Parag Chitnis will serve as Acting Director of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). Press Release.

President in Florida: President Trump has arrived in Florida for a fundraiser and an anti-drug trafficking meeting, however many express concerns that cases are spiking in the state. More at USA Today.

Disney: America’s most recognizable theme park, Disney World, will reopen on July 11th in a phased approach. More at CNN.

Seoul Mayor Passes Away: Park Won-Soon, the Mayor of Seoul, South Korea, was found dead on a mountainside near his home. Police declined to give further details, but ruled out foul play. Media reports note that a sexual misconduct allegation had been filed against Park on Wednesday, however under Korean law investigations close if the accused dies. More at CNN.

House Spending Bills Continue to Move Along

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The House Appropriations Committee cleared this morning two more FY2021 spending bills:  Legislative Branch and Interior.  The committee has now approved five of the 12 bills for the year.  It is slated to take up the remaining seven measures next week, with the Energy and Water Development and Labor-HHS-Education bills teed up for Monday.  On Tuesday, the following are currently on the agenda:  Defense, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Transportation-Housing.  The Homeland Security and Financial Services-General Government spending measures are scheduled for Wednesday.

While the report accompanying the Defense bill is not yet publicly available, we do know several details about various accounts funded by the DOD.  These include, for example:

  • Overall basic research:  $2.62 billion (0.7% increase)
  • Overall applied research:  $5.92 billion (2.5% decrease)
  • Army basic research:  $570.6 million (0.7% decrease)
  • Army applied research:  $1.23 billion (2.0% decrease)
  • Navy basic research:  $638.9 million (1.8% decrease)
  • Navy applied research:  $1.04 billion (10.2% decrease)
  • Air Force basic research:  $527.3 million (4.1% decrease)
  • Air Force applied research:  $1.53 billion (7.7% decrease)
  • Defense-wide basic research:  $884.7 million (6.8% increase)
  • Defense-wide applied research:  $1.95 billion (2.0% decrease)
  • DARPA (Total):  $3.51 billion (1.5% increase)

In addition, we will provide details about the other spending bills of relevance as they become available.

 

Appropriations Details Begin to Emerge

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With a number of bills moving to the full committee stage, details contained in various appropriations bills are beginning to emerge.  For example, the House Interior Appropriations bill would provide:

  • $25 million for the USGS Cooperative Research Units (an increase of $1 million);
  • $41.3 million for the USGS Climate Adaptation Science Centers program ($3-million increase);
  • $25.7 million for the ShakeAlert West Coast earthquake early warning system (level funded);

The bill is scheduled to be marked up by the full Appropriations Committee tomorrow morning.  We will continue to provide updates as more details become available.