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News and updates

What Do the Details Look Like?

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While the details have yet to be released, a deal on the 12 spending bills for FY2020 has been reached among the Congressional leaders themselves and, apparently, with the White House.  The deal would provide the Trump Administration $1.375 billion for a Southern wall, much less than the $5 billion it wanted; funding for the wall has been one of the biggest, but not the only, hurdles on the road to the passage of FY2020 appropriations bills.

The current fiscal year started October 1 and the current continuing resolution expires Saturday at midnight.

With negotiators and senior staff furiously working on the legislative text, the 12 bills are expected to be combined into two sizable legislative packages rather than a single gigantic piece of legislation. The House is expected to act first on the measures before sending them to the Senate.

We will provide details about the contents of these massive bills as they become available.

What We’re Reading this Week (December 9th-13th)

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

Articles of Impeachment: The House Judiciary Committee has approved two articles of impeachment against President Trump, one for Obstruction of Congress and one for Abuse of Power. After a 14 hour debate lasting well into Thursday night, the Committee voted to send the articles to the full House. Republicans argue the articles are rushed and biased, while Democrats argue impeachment is their constitutional duty. If the full House votes to approve the articles next week, President Trump will be the third US President to be impeached. Live updates at CNN.

Defense Bill to Include Foreign Influence Provisions: The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is set to be passed imminently, will create two new bodies aimed at preventing the theft of sensitive research. One body will be based at the White House and will work to protect research from foreign threats. Meanwhile, another body will be based at the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine and will bring together academics, industry leaders, and government officials to discuss how best to protect American research. Full story at Science Magazine.

Brits Go to the Polls: The UK General Elections were on Thursday, December 12th. The Conservative Party led by PM Boris Johnson won a major victory. Updates at BBC.

America Needs Rural Physicians: A special issue of Health Affairs featured research analyzing the trend of rural students entering medical colleges. In a time when rural physicians are desperately needed, the less students from rural areas are applying to medical school. The article notes students from rural areas are more likely to return to practice in their hometown and bring new perspective to medical school classes. Full story at Reuters.

Higher Ed. Associations Support OPT in Letter to State Dept.

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Various higher education associations addressed a letter, dated December 9th, 2019, to Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Marie Royce expressing concerns about the future of OPT. UW is a member of the Association of Public and Land Grant Universities (APLU) and Association of American Universities (AAU), which both signed the letter circulated by the American Council on Education. The letter requests that the State Department Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs meet with the Department of Homeland Security and relevant agencies to affirm the future of OPT and address long visa processing times.

Executive Order on Antisemitism

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President Trump has signed an executive order aimed at tackling antisemitism on college campuses. The order gives Jewish persons special protections under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which is enforced by the Department of Education. Under statute, Title VI only gives protection for race, color, or national origin. In a press statement at a White House Hanukkah event, President Trump said colleges would be ineligible for federal funds if they “traffic in anti-Semitic hate”.

NSF Releases JASON Report

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The JASON Report was released yesterday, December 11th. The NSF has hired JASON, an independent science advisory group, to “enhance the agency’s understanding of the threats to basic research posed by foreign governments that have taken actions that violate the principles of scientific ethics and research integrity.” The report details numerous recommendations, including greater scrutiny over conflicts of interest, stricter disclosure rules, and better education for researchers on scientific ethics. The full report can be read here.