What’s Ahead

Former Secretary of State John Kerry and former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel — Former Secretary of State John Kerry, left, and former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, middle, are testifying this week on the security impacts of climate change.

(Image credit - DOD)

House Climate Change Hearings Continue

House Democrats are continuing their ongoing review of climate change science, impacts, and potential policy responses with three hearings on Tuesday. The House Oversight Committee has invited former Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and former Secretary of State John Kerry to speak at a morning hearing on “the need for leadership to combat climate change and protect national security.” Hagel and Kerry are among a set of former government officials who signed onto a letter last month criticizing the White House’s reported plans to challenge recent assessments of climate change’s security impacts. In the afternoon, the committee’s newly formed Environment Subcommittee will meet to discuss the history of climate science and “causes of inaction.” Witnesses include Princeton University climate policy expert Michael Oppenheimer; former Sen. Tim Wirth (D-CO), who was the lead U.S. negotiator at the 1997 Kyoto Climate Conference; Jeffrey Sachs, an economist who previously led Columbia University’s Earth Institute; and Nicolas Loris, an economist at the Heritage Foundation. Concurrently, the House Homeland Security Committee is holding a hearing on climate change’s implications for homeland security.

Senate Hearing to Explore Innovation as Climate Solution

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will continue exploring of energy innovation as a response to climate change at a hearing on Thursday. Committee Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Ranking Member Joe Manchin (D-WV) have expressed a strong interest in introducing new legislation on the subject, and last week Manchin discussed his own interest in pursuing a “moonshot” for carbon capture, saying he is working on legislation that would “refocus DOE on coal and natural gas research, development, and deployment.” Separately, a bipartisan bill co-sponsored by Manchin that aims to boost carbon capture, utilization, and storage R&D is set for a vote by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee at a Wednesday meeting .

Ocean Acidification Research Bills Set for Subcommittee Vote

The Environment Subcommittee of the House Science Committee is meeting on Tuesday to consider four bipartisan bills focused on ocean acidification research: the Coastal and Ocean Acidification Stressors and Threats (COAST) Research Act , Coastal Communities Ocean Acidification Act , Ocean Acidification Innovation Act , and National Estuaries Acidification Research Act . The meeting follows a hearing the subcommittee held in February that explored the impacts of climate change on oceans and opportunities for research to inform mitigation and adaptation strategies. At that hearing, former Subcommittee Ranking Member Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) highlighted her sponsorship of the COAST Act, noting it aims to support “long-term stewardship and standardization of ocean acidification data from different sources,” among its other provisions.

NIST Budget Request up for Review by Science Committee

National Institute of Standards and Technology Director Walter Copan will appear before the House Science Committee at a Tuesday hearing on the agency’s budget request for fiscal year 2020. The administration has proposed steep cuts across the agency, including a 44 percent cut to the budget for facility construction and a 16 percent cut to the Scientific and Technical Research and Services (STRS) account that funds NIST’s laboratories and grant programs. The proposed cuts are certain to receive a chilly reception, as Committee Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) sharply criticized them in a letter to the House Appropriations Committee. She recommended the committee instead provide “at least an inflationary increase” to STRS and “as much support as possible to help address NIST’s long list of maintenance needs.”

Physicists Arrive in Denver for APS Meeting

Physicists are converging on Denver, Colorado, late this week for the annual American Physical Society April meeting . On Saturday evening, the APS Division of Particles and Fields is holding a town hall on the scope and timeline for the next “Snowmass” meeting, where the high energy physics community will discuss the state of the field and priorities for the future. In turn, the Snowmass discussion will inform the deliberations of the Particle Physics Project Prioritization Panel (P5) in setting a new 10-year agenda for federal government support for the field. The entire process is expected to conclude in the mid-2020s. Other relevant policy sessions include a plenary session on “physics and society” that will include a talk on the history of science advice in the White House by Kirsten Matthews of the Rice University Baker Institute for Public Policy. The meeting will also include sessions on other prominent topics in policy, such as new challenges to international collaborations , attracting young people to science and science policy , and creating an inclusive physics community for the next century .

In Case You Missed It

House Energy-Water Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Marcy Kaptur (D-OH).

(Image credit - House Appropriations Committee)

House Appropriators Pan Proposed DOE Cuts

At an April 3 hearing , Democratic members of the House appropriations subcommittee responsible for the Department of Energy’s budget criticized the Trump administration’s request for steep cuts across the department. They took particular exception to the 86 percent cut to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and a proposed carryover of funds from the current fiscal year. Subcommittee Chair Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) stressed the department’s legal obligation to expend appropriated funds and expressed her disagreement with proposed cuts to the department’s budget. She also discussed at length her interest in further leveraging DOE Office of Science capabilities to advance healthcare and biomedical research, such as by providing new means of studying and imaging the brain. Under Secretary for Science Paul Dabbar affirmed the department’s interest in pursuing additional work in biomedicine, pointing in particular to potential uses of its high-performance computers and light sources.

DOD Expanding Grant Personnel Reporting Requirements

The Department of Defense will soon require grant applications to provide more detailed information about funding that “key personnel” for the proposed work are receiving from other sources. Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Mike Griffin announced the policy in a memorandum on March 20, and it will go into effect 30 business days after that date. For each key contributor to the proposed project, applicants will have to provide “a list of all current projects the individual is working on, in addition to any future support the individual has applied to receive, regardless of the source.” They will also have to report the source and amount of money each individual receives through these other projects and the percentage of time they will allocate to them. The move is part of DOD’s response to a provision in last year’s National Defense Authorization Act directing the department to protect academic researchers it funds from “undue influence,” including that posed by talent recruitment programs operated by foreign governments. At a hearing last month, Griffin referred to the new grants policy as a “clarifying memo” and stressed that the goal for the U.S. should still be to “attract the best and the brightest to our country and to keep them here.”

Scientific Integrity Policy Implementation Scrutinized by GAO

On April 4, the Government Accountability Office published a report reviewing the scientific integrity policies of nine federal agencies that have large intramural research portfolios. GAO recommends that six of them address shortcomings related to educating staff about the policies and monitoring their implementation. For instance, it finds that NASA and the Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy do not have documented procedures for identifying and addressing alleged violations. The report notes the six agencies agreed with the recommendations and plan to address them. When he requested the report, former Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) asked GAO to investigate if the Trump administration had violated scientific integrity policies by interfering with the normal scientific process or restricting the communications of federal scientists. However, GAO states its report does not examine “the extent to which agency officials may try to influence scientific research or examine how scientific and technological information is used in agencies’ development of public policy.” It notes but neither endorses nor challenges a recent survey by the Union of Concerned Scientists, an advocacy organization, that reported “some federal officials had inappropriately censored and influenced scientific research.”

Bridenstine Discusses Lunar Strategy, Spectrum Use, Satellite Debris

At a series of events last week, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine offered new insights into how the agency will respond to the Trump administration’s policy of completing a crewed lunar landing by 2024. At a House Science Committee hearing , he said NASA is preparing a supplementary budget request but did not specify how much additional funding the agency will seek. He did assure the committee that science program funding will not be tapped to accelerate human exploration activities. At a NASA employee town hall , Bridenstine discussed the agency’s lunar plans and fielded questions about other policy problems. He expressed his displeasure at the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to disregard concerns about scientific and weather forecasting requirements in auctioning off parts of the radio frequency spectrum to suppliers of 5G wireless services. He also condemned India’s recent demonstration of an anti-satellite weapon in low Earth orbit, saying the debris created increased the risk facing crews aboard the International Space Station by 44 percent.

Senate Panel Approves NOAA Nominee on Party-Line Vote

The Senate Commerce Committee endorsed the nomination of Barry Myers to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on a party-line vote of 14 to 12 at a meeting on April 3. Myers’ nomination now moves to the full Senate for consideration. The committee already approved Myers’ nomination twice in the previous Congress but it never came to the floor for a vote. However, Republicans recently changed the rules governing certain types of nominations to expedite their consideration. The change could ease Myers’ path to confirmation as well as hasten the confirmation of other pending nominees, including several individuals waiting to take up leadership positions at the Department of Energy.

Space, Oceans, and Natural Hazards R&D Bills Advance

The Senate Commerce Committee also advanced a set of bipartisan bills on voice votes last week related to space weather preparedness , commercial space policy , ocean observations , and landslide preparedness . The space weather bill would delineate federal agencies’ responsibilities for research, forecasting, mitigation, and response activities. Among its provisions, it directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to “secure reliable secondary capability for near real-time coronal mass ejection imagery.” NOAA currently relies on a NASA research satellite that is well past its mission lifetime to acquire such imagery. The Senate passed a similar bill by unanimous consent in 2017.

Senate Democrats Introduce Bill on Sexual Harassment in STEM

Sens. Kamala Harris (D-CA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) announced on April 4 they will introduce a companion bill to the Combating Sexual Harassment in Science Act , which was introduced early this year by the chair and ranking member of the House Science Committee but has found support mainly among Democrats. The legislation would would require the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy to create uniform guidelines for agencies as they develop policies for preventing harassment. It would also direct the National Science Foundation to fund research on the impacts of harassment in the STEM workforce. A number of scientific societies have endorsed the legislation, including several AIP Member Societies.

House Democrats Advance Bill to Raise Budget Caps

As a first move in what will likely be a protracted negotiation, the House Budget Committee narrowly approved legislation last week that would raise statutory caps on discretionary spending for the next two years. The bill would enable nondefense spending to increase 6 percent over current levels to $631 billion for fiscal year 2020 and defense spending to increase 3 percent to $664 billion. The bill also raises the nondefense spending and defense spending caps for fiscal year 2021 to $646 billion and $680 billion, respectively. Absent a deal to raise the caps, defense and nondefense spending would be cut by about 10 percent in fiscal year 2020. Since 2013, Congress has been able to reach an agreement to raise the caps for two years at a time, but renewed attention to the ballooning budget deficit could complicate the latest round of negotiations.

Events This Week

Monday, April 8

DOE/NSF: Nuclear Science Advisory Committee meeting 8:30 am - 4:00 pm, Hilton Rockville (Rockville, MD) Webcast available National Space Council: Users’ Advisory Group meeting 1:00 - 3:00 pm, Broadmoor Hotel (Colorado Springs, CO) Webcast available World Resources Institute: “Reenergizing Climate Action on Capitol Hill: A conversation with Rep. Kathy Castor (D-FL)” 3:30 - 5:30 pm, American Psychological Association building (750 1st St. NW, DC) Space Foundation: 35th Space Symposium (continues through Thursday) Colorado Springs, CO

Tuesday, April 9

House: NIST budget request hearing 10:00 am, Science Committee (2318 Rayburn Office Building)
House: “The Need for Leadership to Combat Climate Change and Protect National Security” 10:00 am, Oversight and Reform Committee (2154 Rayburn Office Building) House: Energy-Water Development Appropriations Member Day Hearing 10:00 am, Appropriations Committee (2362-B Rayburn Office Building) House: EPA budget request hearing 10:00 am, Energy and Commerce Committee (2123 Rayburn Office Building) House: “Assessing the Homeland Security Impacts of a Changing Climate” 10:00 am, Homeland Security Committee (310 Cannon Office Building) Wilson: “Arctic Research in the National Interest” 1:00 - 3:00 pm, Woodrow Wilson Center (1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, DC) Webcast available House: “Climate Change, Part I: The History of a Consensus and the Causes of Inaction” 2:00 pm, Oversight and Reform Committee (2154 Rayburn Office Building) House: Markup of ocean acidification research bills 2:00 pm, Science Committee (2318 Rayburn Office Building) ITIF: “The Critical Role of the NIH in Boosting Economic Competitiveness,” congressional briefing 2:00 - 3:30 pm, 216 Hart Senate Office Building House: “FY20 Priorities for Atomic Energy Defense, Nonproliferation, Safety and Environmental Management” 2:30 pm, Armed Services Committee (2118 Rayburn Office Building)

Wednesday, April 10

STM: Annual US Scholarly Publishing Conference (continues through Friday) Mayflower Hotel (1127 Connecticut Ave. NW, DC) DOE: “Up and Atom Morning Briefing on Topical Nuclear Energy Issues and U.S. Lab Innovations” 8:30 - 9:30 am, 209 Capitol Visitors Center House: “Examining the Policies and Priorities of the Education Department” 9:00 am, Education and Labor Committee (2175 Rayburn Office Building) Senate: Markup of the “Utilizing Significant Emissions with Innovative Technologies Act” 10:00 am, Environment and Public Works Committee (406 Dirksen Office Building) House: “Investing in America’s Energy Infrastructure: Improving Energy Efficiency and Creating a Diverse Workforce” 10:00 am, Energy and Commerce Committee (2123 Rayburn Office Building) CSIS: “US-China Innovation Forum” 11:30 - 5:00 pm, CSIS headquarters (1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW, DC) Webcast available NSF: Cyberinfrastructure Advisory Committee meeting (continues Thursday) 12:00 - 6:00 pm, Wed; 8:30 am - 3:00 pm, Thu NSF headquarters (Alexandria, VA) Webcast available APLU/AAU: University Innovation and Entrepreneurship Showcase 5:00 - 7:00 pm, 2060 Rayburn House Office Building

Thursday, April 11

Senate: “Proposal to Establish a United States Space Force” 9:30 am, Armed Services Committee (G50 Dirksen Office Building) Senate: “Opportunities for Energy Innovation and Other Potential Solutions to Help Address Global Climate Change” 10:00 am, Energy and Natural Resources Committee (366 Dirksen Office Building) Senate: NIH budget request hearing 10:00 am, Appropriations Committee (124 Dirksen Office Building) National Academies: “Frontiers in Thermal Transport and Energy Conversion”
10:00 am - 4:30 pm, Keck Center (500 5th St. NW, DC) Webcast available American Chemical Society: “Helium: An irreplaceable resource and why we must conserve it” 2:00 - 3:00 pm, Webinar

Friday, April 12

National Academies: “National Convening on the Integration of Arts, Humanities, and STEMM in Higher Education” 9:00 am - 5:00 pm, National Academy of Sciences (2101 Constitution Ave. NW, DC)

Saturday, April 13

APS: April meeting (continues through Tuesday) Denver, CO

Opportunities

NSB Hiring Science Policy Analyst

The National Science Board is seeking a Legislative and Science Policy Analyst to help develop its congressional engagement strategy and interface with other external stakeholders. Candidates must have a degree in a STEM field and management experience. Applications are due April 25.

Commerce Department Seeking Members for Export Control Advisory Panels

The Department of Commerce is recruiting candidates to serve on its seven Technical Advisory Committees that inform its development and administration of export controls for dual-use technologies. The department is currently developing new export controls for “emerging” and “foundational” technologies. Applications will be accepted throughout the year.

National Academies Seeking Science Policy Program Officer

The National Academies is accepting applications for a program officer position with its Board on Science, Technology, and Economic Policy. The program officer will help to manage study committee meetings and contribute to preparing their final reports, among other responsibilities. Applicants must have at least a master’s degree in a relevant field with three years of professional experience.

Know of an upcoming science policy opportunity? Email us at fyi@aip.org.Know of an upcoming science policy event? Email us at fyi@aip.org.