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Senate Wrapping Up Science Budget Proposals

Senate appropriators will meet Thursday to advance their spending bills for the Department of Energy, Department of Defense, and National Institutes of Health, offering a fuller sense of their science priorities for the coming fiscal year. Last week, they released bills for NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the Commerce Department that seek higher budgets than those advanced by their counterparts in the House. For instance, the Senate bill seeks to increase NASA’s Science Mission Directorate by 3.3% to $7.6 billion while the House proposes flat funding. The Senate bill also proposes to increase NSF by 5.4% to $9.6 billion while the House seeks a 2.2% increase. For details on other agencies, consult FYI’s Federal Science Budget Tracker.

Congress is unlikely to reach a final agreement on the budget until after the election in November, meaning all science agencies will start the new fiscal year in October on stopgap funding. Some of the main disagreements between Democrats and Republicans that are yet to be resolved are denoted in the statements of administration policy released by the White House. For example, the Biden administration “strongly objects” to the House’s proposal to divert billions in funding from DOE’s loan program toward advanced reactor demonstration projects. The administration also is “concerned” that the House proposed a 1.8% increase for the DOE Office of Science rather than matching the requested increase of 4.2%.

Bundle of AI Bills Advancing in Senate

The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee will meet Wednesday to vote on eight bipartisan bills focused on artificial intelligence:

• The Future of AI Innovation Act would formally authorize the U.S. AI Safety Institute run by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and would direct NIST to create AI testbeds in partnership with the National Science Foundation and national labs of the Department of Energy.
• The CREATE AI Act would formally authorize the National AI Research Resource, an effort by NSF to create a shared national infrastructure for granting scientists access to supercomputers and datasets needed for AI research.
• The TEST AI Act would direct NIST to establish testbeds for evaluating AI systems.
• The AI Research, Innovation, and Accountability Act would direct NIST to help develop standards for online content authentication, among other guardrails for AI systems.
• The Validation and Evaluation for Trustworthy (VET) AI Act would direct NIST to develop recommendations for the certification of third-party evaluators of AI companies.
• The NSF AI Education Act would direct NSF to award scholarships in AI and other fields, create Centers of Excellence at community colleges, and support efforts to introduce AI skills into K-12 classrooms.
• The Small Business AI Training and Toolkit Act would direct the Commerce Department to help the Small Business Administration make and distribute AI training tools.
• The AI Public Awareness and Education Campaign Act would direct the Commerce Department to disseminate information about the risks and benefits of AI.

Other Science Bills Also Moving, With Notable Exception

The committee will also consider various other science-related bills at the Wednesday meeting, including,

• The Promoting U.S. Leadership in Standards Act;
• The Invent Here, Make Here Act;
• The Fire Ready Nation Act;
• The National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program Reauthorization Act
• The National Landslide Preparedness Act Reauthorization Act; and
• The Accelerating Networking Cyberinfrastructure and Hardware for Oceanic Research (ANCHOR) Act.

Notably absent from the list is the Spectrum and National Security Act, which proposes to channel billions of dollars collected through spectrum auctions toward certain programs authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act and broadband internet subsidies. Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA) canceled a previous vote on the bill, stating that Republicans planned to offer divisive amendments. Meanwhile, Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-TX) argued the bill would “give free internet to illegal aliens, millions to antisemitic universities, and billions to mega-corporations with no strings attached,” according to reporting by Roll Call.

Research Security Risk Analysis Center Spinning Up

The National Science Foundation awarded $67 million last week to create a network of centers that will share information on research security risks, together called SECURE (Safeguarding the Entire Community of the U.S. Research Ecosystem). Of the total funds, to be allotted over five years, $50 million will go to the University of Washington to operate the main SECURE Center and the remaining $17 million will go to Texas A&M University to perform data-heavy analyses, called SECURE Analytics. The network also includes five regional centers that will work with the SECURE Center. Congress directed NSF to create the center through the CHIPS and Science Act, modeling it on a center that provides cybersecurity risk information to universities.

Also On Our Radar

• The Secretary of Energy Advisory Board will meet Tuesday to discuss recommendations concerning the power needs of AI infrastructure, such as data centers, and DOE’s overall role in supporting AI. DOE has been positioning itself to take a leading role among federal agencies through its Frontiers in AI for Science, Security, and Technology (FASST) initiative.
• House Science Committee Chair Frank Lucas (R-OK) will deliver opening remarks at a meeting of NOAA’s Science Advisory Board on Wednesday. The next day, the board will consider approving external reviews of four of NOAA’s cooperative institutes.
• OSTP Director Arati Prabhakar will speak on the state of U.S. AI research at a Tuesday event hosted by Brookings and will discuss cross-government semiconductor R&D initiatives at a Thursday meeting of NIST’s Industrial Advisory Committee.
• The White House has just released an implementation roadmap for the National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology.

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All events are Eastern Time, unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement. Events beyond this week are listed on our website.

Monday, July 29

National Academies: Review of the SBIR/STTR programs at NASA, meeting four
(continues through Wednesday)

Tuesday, July 30

ISS National Lab: International Space Station R&D Conference
(continues through Thursday)

Senate: Strategic competition with the PRC: Assessing US competitiveness beyond the Indo-Pacific
10:00 am, Foreign Relations Committee

Brookings Institution: The state of US AI innovation and readiness: A conversation with OSTP Director Arati Prabhakar
11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Heritage Foundation: Nuclear posture review: Building our strength in 2025
11:00 am - 12:00 pm

DOE: Secretary of Energy Advisory Board meeting
12:30 - 2:45 pm

EPA: Science Advisory Board Environmental Justice Science and Analysis Review Panel meeting
1:00 - 5:00 pm

BIS: Emerging Technology Technical Advisory Committee meeting
3:30 - 4:30 pm

Wednesday, July 31

National Academies: Review of the SBIR/STTR programs at DOD, meeting 11
(continues through Friday)

NOAA: Science Advisory Board meeting
(continues Thursday)

Senate: Meeting to consider AI bills and other legislation
10:00 am, Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee

Senate: Meeting to consider the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024
10:00 am, Energy and Natural Resources Committee

CSIS: The US vision for AI safety: A conversation with Elizabeth Kelly, director of the US AI Safety Institute
10:00 - 11:30 am

Thursday, August 1

National Academies: Forum on Cyber Resilience summer meeting
(continues Friday)

Senate: Full committee markup of the Energy-Water, Defense, and Labor-HHS Appropriations Acts
9:30 am, Appropriations Committee

CSIS: Nuclear threats and the role of allies: A conversation with acting Assistant Secretary Vipin Narang
10:00 - 11:00 am

NIST: Industrial Advisory Committee meeting
10:00 am - 3:00 pm

Commerce Department: National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship meeting
2:00 - 3:00 pm

NIST: National Artificial Intelligence Advisory Committee meeting
2:00 - 3:30 pm

National Academies: Quadrennial review of the National Nanotechnology Initiative
3:00 - 4:00 pm

Friday, August 2

CSIS: Forging America’s tech future: The need for a national computing strategy
11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Monday, August 5

AMS: 2024 Summer Community Meeting
(continues Tuesday)

FCC: World Radiocommunication Conference Advisory Committee meeting
9:30 am

Know of an upcoming science policy event either inside or outside the Beltway? Email us at fyi@aip.org.

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Deadlines indicated in parentheses. Newly added opportunities are marked with a diamond.

Job Openings

Sky & Telescope: Editor in chief (ongoing)
Optica: Senior editor and content director for Optics and Photonics News (ongoing)
AAAS: Director, Sciline (ongoing)
National Academies: Research associate, National Materials and Manufacturing Board (ongoing)
National Academies: Chief scientist, Radiation Effects Research Foundation (ongoing)
APLU: President (July 31)
DOE: Director, Enabling Science and Partnerships Division, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (Aug. 6)
◆NOAA: Supervisory foreign affairs specialist (Aug. 9)
◆NSF: Director, Astronomical Sciences Division (Aug. 14)
◆DOE: Industrial Decarbonization Office Fellowship (Aug. 15)
◆Horizon Institute: Horizon Fellowship (Aug. 30)
◆National Academies: 2025 Mirzayan S&T Policy Graduate Fellowship (Sept. 9)

Solicitations

Issues in S&T: Survey on who does S&T policy (ongoing)
Treasury: RFC on limiting outbound investment in certain technologies (Aug. 4)
DOE: RFI on fusion public-private partnership framework (Aug. 6)
USGS: Call for nominations for the National Geospatial Advisory Committee (Aug. 7)
DOE: RFI on equity action plan update (Aug. 9)
◆NSF: RFI on National Network for Microelectronics Education Program (Aug. 14)
House: RFC on NIH reform (Aug. 16)
NIH: RFI on draft public access policy (Aug. 19)
DOE: RFC on conflict of interest and conflict of commitment policy requirements (Aug. 19)
NTIA: RFC on the advancement of 6G telecommunications technology (Aug. 21)
◆DOD: RFI on financing support for covered technology categories (Oct. 22)
◆NIH: RFI on re-envisioning US postdoctoral research training and career progression (Oct. 23)

Know of an opportunity for scientists to engage in science policy? Email us at fyi@aip.org.

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News and views currently in circulation. Links do not imply endorsement.

White House

Nature: What Kamala Harris’s historic bid for the US presidency means for science
Nature: Effort to ‘Trump-proof’ US science grows, but will it succeed?
Fox News: Scientific American touts Harris bringing science experience to White House because of her mom’s career, gets trashed (perspective by Gabriel Hays)
Politico: How Trump could unravel Biden’s historic climate actions (perspective by Kelsey Tamborrino, et al.)
New York Times: Kamala Harris and her climate positions
E&E News: Would Harris replace 4,000 Biden appointees?
Chronicle of Higher Education: What Biden’s exit from the presidential race could mean for higher ed
Brookings: How Harris and Trump differ on tech policy (perspective by Nicol Turner Lee and Darrell West)
White House: White House announces new AI actions and receives additional major voluntary commitment on AI
MIT Technology Review: AI companies promised the White House to self-regulate one year ago. What’s changed?
White House: Catalyzing American innovation in climate resilience

Congress

Politico: House Republicans bail on another spending bill as their summer funding ambitions fizzle
FedScoop: GOP lawmakers, financial leaders ‘leery’ of rushing AI rules on the sector
Politico: Congress Trump-proofed this $27B climate program. Here’s why that’s a problem (perspective by Jean Chemnick)

Science, Society, and the Economy

NSF: TIP launches investment visualization and search capability
SSTI: NSF Convergence Accelerator program expansion is intended to enable more research to address regional problems
Brookings: Enhancing SBIR/STTR programs for regional and social inclusion (perspective by Yang You and Mark Muro)
Export Compliance Daily: US warning emerging tech firms about rising foreign investment risks
Inside Higher Ed: The unlikely battle over research at the Olympic Games
Science: Study on braiding Indigenous and Western knowledge collapses amid acrimony
Science: Neutrality’s effects on academic freedom (perspective by Holden Thorp)
Wired: Anthony Fauci worries about the next pandemic — but worries more about democracy (interview)

Education and Workforce

South China Morning Post: China is considering making it easier for foreign researchers to live and work in the country
Bloomberg: Iranian immigrants battle vetting they say undercuts AI goals
DHS: Natural resource economics added to the STEM designated degree program list
Wall Street Journal: The new threat to the chip industry: Worker unrest
NSF: NSF and Department of Commerce partner to advance semiconductor workforce development
DOD: Top science, technology official highlights importance of DOD outreach to minority academic STEM programs
NSF: NSF funds over $50M in new partnerships to broaden participation in materials science
Issues in Science and Technology: Rashada Alexander prepares the next generation of science policy leaders (audio interview)
Nature: The Trump administration demoted this climate scientist — now she wants reform

Research Management

American Physical Society: It’s hard to talk about inclusion in physics classrooms. Meet the physicists making inroads
Chronicle of Higher Education: Ideological DEI mandates risk corrupting knowledge production at the root (perspective by Robert George and Anna Krylov)
Nature: Retraction notices are getting clearer — but progress is slow
Nature: So you got a null result. Will anyone publish it?
Chemical & Engineering News: A U-turn by the Gates Foundation leaves questions about the gold open-access model
DARPA: Decentralizing chemistry (audio interview with Vishnu Sundaresan)
American Physical Society: Why interdisciplinary research deserves your attention (perspective by Jessica Thomas)
FedScoop: The software you can’t use at NASA

Labs and Facilities

NSF: Draft request for proposals: Antarctic science and engineering support contract
Physics World: US plasma physicists propose construction of a ‘flexible’ stellarator facility
Science: US back in the race to forge unknown elements
Washington Post: US charges North Korean man with cyberattacks on NASA

Computing and Communications

Wall Street Journal: China is getting secretive about its supercomputers
The Information: Nvidia’s new China chip has special server design to skirt US rules
Foreign Affairs: The limits of the China chip ban (perspective by Hanna Dohmen, et al.)
CSET: Tracing the emergence of extreme ultraviolet lithography (report)
Bloomberg: Amkor wins $600 million in US grants, loans for chip packaging
New York Times: China is closing the AI gap with the US
NSF: NSF announces new AI test beds initiative to advance safety and security of AI technologies
HPCwire: PsiQuantum to build 1st us-based utility-scale quantum computer in Chicago
DARPA: Moving quantum computing from hype to prototype
HPCwire: DARPA dares quantum computing community to succeed! Will it?

Space

SpacePolicyOnline: NASA’s FY2025 budget proposal would doom Chandra
NPR: Astronomers are scrambling to save Chandra, the world’s most powerful X-ray space telescope
AAS: Potential paths forward for Hubble and Chandra in the face of budget cuts (perspective by Yaswant Devarakonda)
SpacePolicyOnline: VIPER clears acoustic tests as scientists question proposed cancellation
NASA: ICON mission ends with several ionospheric breakthroughs
The Atlantic: We might get thrilling news about aliens … in 2040
Research Professional: UK spending watchdog questions European Space Agency value for money
SpaceNews: China wants 50 countries involved in its ILRS moon base
Ars Technica: SpaceX just stomped the competition for a new contract — that’s not great (perspective by Eric Berger)

Weather, Climate, and Environment

Pew Research Center: Americans and extreme weather: Experiences, views of related policies (report)
NOAA: NOAA and United Airlines partner to measure greenhouse gases, pollutants with high-tech flight instruments
MIT Technology Review: Google’s new weather prediction system combines AI with traditional physics
Off the Radar: NOAA, Project 2025, and the future of forecasting (audio interview with Neil Jacobs)
Wall Street Journal: New fixes for methane emissions could be a big climate help
Inside Climate News: White House looks to safeguard groundwater supplies as aquifers decline nationwide
USGS: A new framework to improve communication and collaboration in US fire management
American Physical Society: The astrophysicist restoring ecosystems to combat climate change (interview with Claire Burke)

Energy

Power: California, Pacific Northwest hydrogen hubs secure first tranche of $7B federal awards
Bloomberg: Altman’s $3.7 billion fusion startup leaves scientists puzzled
Science|Business: Fusion investment grows from $6.2B to $7.1B in a year
Korea JoongAng Daily: Korean government to chase ‘artificial sun’ with $866 million investment in nuclear fusion reactor development
The Daily: A multibillion-dollar effort to build the first in a new generation of American nuclear power plants is underway outside a small town in Wyoming (audio)
Power: Nuclear cogeneration gains momentum in Wyoming with new microreactor partnership
Power: Kairos Power gets NRC green light for second molten salt nuclear facility
American Nuclear Society: Air Force nears end of contested microreactor procurement process

Defense

SpaceNews: Pentagon’s Office of Strategic Capital seeks input on new loan program for critical technologies
DOD: Pentagon visit gives Ukrainian university students insight into US support
Aerospace Corporation: The Space Development Agency and the future of defense space acquisitions (paper by Andrew Berglund)
Defense News: Space Force mulling nuclear protection for missile-tracking satellites
American Nuclear Society: Air Force nears end of contested microreactor procurement process
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA): Statement applauding updated eligibility requirements for current, former nuclear weapons workers exposed to beryllium

Biomedical

Financial Times: The hunt for a rare nuclear isotope that could redefine cancer care
Science: US shelves $300 million ‘real-world’ data platform for Alzheimer’s
Drugmonkey: Thoughts on NIH’s simplified review framework
New York Times: How to reduce the risk of a catastrophic lab accident (perspective by Tom Inglesby, et al.)

International Affairs

BIS: Commerce Department announces major update to US leadership in global standards development
Nature: India budget: Modi bets big on nuclear energy and space
CSET: Speech by Xi Jinping at the nationwide S&T Conference, National Science and Technology Awards Conference, and the Conference of Academicians of CAS and CAE (translation)
University World News: ‘World-class’ universities are at the heart of China’s S&T goals
Research Professional: University of Oslo defends collaboration with China
Science|Business: How German academia is becoming more aware of China risks
Science|Business: Experts urge EU to increase investment in photonics or risk falling behind China
Nature: Why US–China relations are too important to be left to politicians (perspective by Yasheng Huang)
Nature: Boost French research by increasing freedom for scientists and universities (perspective by Christine Musselin)
Research Professional: South Africa announces science partnership with Palestine
Science: Argentine scientists scrimp and save their way through funding crisis
CSIS: Orbital dynamics: The domestic and foreign policy forces shaping Latin American engagement in space (report)