HIGHLIGHTS OF DEVELOPMENTS IN WASHINGTON IMPACTING THE PHYSICS
COMMUNITY FROM FYI, THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF PHYSICS BULLETIN OF
SCIENCE POLICY NEWS
Administration Looks Ahead to FY 2012 Budget Release
Previewing the FY 2012 budget request, the White House released a document outlining the Administration’s priorities in innovation, clean energy, and education.
Safety Panel Expresses Reviews NASA’s Human Spaceflight and Exploration Program
An eight-member panel expressed concerns about significant unknowns in NASA’s future programs, concluding “uncertainty has become a critical issue.”
NSF Director Briefs President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
National Science Foundation Director Subra Suresh discussed basic research, the STEM pipeline, STEM leadership, and interdisciplinary research in his first meeting with PCAST.
House Republicans Propose New FY 2011 S&T Budgets
An initial version of a funding bill for the remainder of this fiscal year would have made dramatic cuts in some S&T agency budgets, keeping other budgets constant, and raised another.
Senior House Republican on Competitiveness
House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) described a different approach to competitiveness than that of the President, and said that too much is spent by the government, including R&D.
Congressional Reaction to Proposed Spending Changes
The chairman of the House Appropriations Committee announced his intention to seek additional cuts in FY 2011 spending, eliciting criticism from Democratic leaders.
Harvard Study Finds U.S. Losing Race to Produce Advanced Math Students
Three prominent education researchers found that the U.S. lags far behind other nations in producing high school students who are highly accomplished in math.
FY 2012 Request Keeps Budget Doubling on Track for NSF, DOE Science, and NIST Research
The Administration’s budget request proposed substantial increases in some agency budgets.
FY 2012 Budget Requests:
National Science Foundation
STEM Education Programs
DOE Office of Science, ARPA-E
National Nuclear Security Administration
National Institute of Standards and Technology
U.S. Geological Survey
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
Defense Science and Technology Programs
Richard M. Jones
Government Relations Division
American Institute of Physics
rjones@aip.org
301-209-3095
