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AIBS Public Policy Report

AIBS Public Policy Report, Volume 15, Issue 13, June 30, 2014

  *   Senate Halts Consideration of Spending Package
  *   Energy Appropriations Bill Advances in Congress
  *   EPA Transparency Bill Passes House Science Committee
  *   AIBS Releases New Science Advocacy Toolkit
  *   Recognizing Economic Impact, Shrinking Population, President Obama Announces Plan to Save Honey Bees
  *   NSF Emphasizes Need for Clearly Defined Goals in Proposal Abstracts and Titles
  *   Deadline Approaching to Register for the Biological Sciences Congressional District Visits
  *   Short Takes
     *   USGS Nominee Advances Through Senate Committee
     *   NSF, NIH Partner on Turning Research into Commercial Products
     *   NSF Funding Opportunities Available for BRAIN Initiative
     *   NSF Releases Toolkit about Research Impacts
  *   From the Federal Register
  *   Become an Advocate for Science: Join the AIBS Legislative Action Center

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The AIBS Public Policy Report is distributed broadly by email every two weeks to the AIBS membership. Any interested party may self-subscribe to receive these free reports by email or RSS news feed, by going to www.aibs.org/public-policy-reports<http://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=73c6f8d7d1&e=6708ed45cf>.

With proper attribution to AIBS, all material from these reports may be reproduced or forwarded. AIBS staff appreciates receiving copies of materials used. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, please contact the AIBS Director of Public Policy, Robert Gropp, at 202-628-1500 x 250.

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Senate Halts Consideration of Spending Package

After weeks of smooth sailing, the congressional appropriations process has hit metaphorical rocks. The Senate abruptly stopped consideration of a package of three spending bills when the political parties failed to reach an agreement on how to manage amendments to the bills.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) insisted that amendments had to gain at least 60 votes. Republicans countered that a simple majority of 51 votes should be the threshold. When no agreement was reached, the bills were pulled from the Senate floor.

Almost two weeks have passed since this dispute began.

The spending package would provide funding for fiscal year 2015 for the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, and Transportation, as well as the National Science Foundation and other agencies.

Many policy experts see this development as a sign that this year's appropriations process may not occur as smoothly as was hoped. Senior members of both parties had strived to return to regular order, where each of the twelve spending bills is debated, conferenced, and enacted prior to the start of the new fiscal year on 1 October 2014. For the past several years, Congress has been unable to complete this process on time, instead relying on a continuing resolution to keep the government operating until a catch-all omnibus is enacted.

Energy Appropriations Bill Advances in Congress

Both the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have made progress on legislation to fund the Department of Energy in fiscal year 2015.

The House committee passed its bill on 18 June 2014. The House plan would flat fund the Office of Science, which is below the level requested by the President. Included is $540 million for the Biological and Environmental Research program. This is $70.2 million less than the 2014 funding level. Details on how the cuts would be allocated are not yet available.

The Senate bill would provide $5.1 billion for the Office of Science, which is $20 million more than the current level. After passing the bill from subcommittee, the Senate canceled a markup over concerns about possible amendments regarding climate change and clean water regulations.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had threatened to offer an amendment that would have undermined a recent rule to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which proposed the rule, is not funded in the Energy and Water Appropriations bill, leading some to question the appropriateness of the amendment.

"I can't recall an amendment in the 21 years that I've been here that is so far outside the jurisdiction of this subcommittee -- we don't handle EPA," said Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA).

EPA Transparency Bill Passes House Science Committee

A bill to force the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to make its data more available passed the House Science Committee on a party line vote last week. HR 4012 would make the data underpinning EPA regulations more accessible to the public.

"The EPA's regulatory process is both hidden and flawed," said Science Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX). "Every major air quality regulation proposed by this administration has been justified by nontransparent data and unverifiable claims."

The "Secret Science Reform Act" is sponsored by Representative David Schweikert (R-AZ) and 46 Republican cosponsors.

Democrats objected to the bill on the grounds that the legislation would undermine the confidentially of public health data.

Ranking Member Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) said that the bill would provide inappropriate access to data from studies conducted by the American Cancer Society and Harvard University.

"Since these studies involved hundreds of thousands of human volunteers who submitted sensitive personal health information to the researchers, the raw data is stringently protected from public disclosure," Johnson said. "The EPA explained this to the chairman, but he nonetheless issued a subpoena to the EPA administrator to turn over data that EPA had no legal right to access and for which there are strict legal prohibitions against public disclosure."

AIBS Releases New Science Advocacy Toolkit

The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) has launched a new website to help researchers participate in the development of the nation's science policy. This free online resource is available at policy.aibs.org<http://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=b836d89537&e=6708ed45cf>.

"AIBS has been a leader in its efforts to engage scientists in public policy," said AIBS President Dr. Joseph Travis. "This new website continues this important work by making it easier than ever for researchers to be involved in the decision-making process."

The Legislative Action Center is a one-stop shop for learning about and influencing science policy. Through the website, users can contact elected officials and sign-up to interact with lawmakers.

The website offers tools and resources to inform researchers about recent policy developments. The site also announces opportunities to serve on federal advisory boards and to comment on federal regulations.

The Legislative Action Center is supported by AIBS, the Society for the Study of Evolution, the Botanical Society of American, and the Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography.

Visit policy.aibs.org<http://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=07b2068b75&e=6708ed45cf>.

Recognizing Economic Impact, Shrinking Population, President Obama Announces Plan to Save Honey Bees

Timing his memorandum to coincide with National Pollinator Week, President Obama directed federal agencies to prioritize the health of honey bees and other pollinators in their research, land management, education, and public-private partnerships. Citing the economic value and declining population of pollinators, the President also created a new Pollinator Health Task Force, naming Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy as heads.

"Honey bee pollination alone adds more than $15 billion in value to agricultural crops each year in the United States," said the White House. However, the United States Department of Agriculture found that the number of managed honey bee colonies has dropped 58 percent nationwide since 1947. Citing this "significant loss of pollinators, including honey bees, native bees, birds, bats, and butterflies," the memo stated that the health of pollinators is in need of "immediate attention to ensure the sustainability of our food production systems."

The key directive of the task force will be to create a national pollinator health strategy within 180 days. The strategy will include a research plan, proposal for public education, and recommendations for public-private partnerships to protect pollinators and their habitats.

The full Presidential Memo can be found at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-06-24/html/2014-14946.htm<http://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=49b283537b&e=6708ed45cf>.

NSF Emphasizes Need for Clearly Defined Goals in Proposal Abstracts and Titles

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has updated its policy on grant titles and abstracts. Stating that the agency is "acting to ensure that our award Abstracts and Titles clearly convey to the public justification for our actions," NSF will now place an emphasis on the need for the nontechnical component of the abstract to clearly define the need for the project.

NSF believes that clearly worded abstracts and titles will assist their goal of "improving public understanding of our funding decisions" and "ensuring that the broad areas of supported research... are aligned to the national interest, as defined by NSF's mission, 'to promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity and welfare, to secure the national security and defense...'"

The need for researchers to clearly explain the purpose of their work has become more acute in recent years as conservative Republicans look to the NSF budget as a place to cut so called "wasteful spending."

To that end, NSF is emphasizing the need for nontechnical portions of abstracts that clearly define "the theoretical or analytical foundation of the proposed research, the fundamental issues that may be resolved by the research, the project's relation to NSF's mission, the project's place in the context of ongoing research in the field, the project's impact on other fields, and the prospect that it will lead to significant advances or the integration of related lines of inquiry."

Deadline Approaching to Register for the Biological Sciences Congressional District Visits

The Biological Sciences Congressional District Visits is a national initiative is an opportunity for biologists across the country to meet with their federal or state elected officials to showcase the people, facilities, and equipment that are required to support and conduct scientific research.

The 6th Annual Biological Sciences Congressional District Visits event enables scientists, graduate students, representatives of research facilities, and people affiliated with scientific collections to meet with their elected officials without traveling to Washington, DC. Participants may either invite their elected official to visit their research facility or can meet at the policymaker's local office.

Participants will be prepared for their meeting with a lawmaker through an interactive training webinar. Individuals participating in this event will receive training on how to improve their communication skills and tips for conducting a successful meeting with an elected official. Information will also be presented about federal funding for biological research.

The event is made possible by the American Institute of Biological Sciences, with the support of event sponsors Botanical Society of America, Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology, Natural Science Collections Alliance, Organization of Biological Field Stations, Society for the Study of Evolution, and Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology.

Participation is free, but registration will close on 13 July 2014. For more information and to register, visit www.aibs.org/public-policy/congressional_district_visits.html<http://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=3551867139&e=6708ed45cf>.

Short Takes

  *   The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee has unanimously approved the nomination of Dr. Suzette Kimball to be director of the United States Geological Survey. Kimball is currently serving as acting director. Her nomination is subject to approval by the full Senate.
  *   The National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH) are collaborating to accelerate the process of moving biomedical innovations into the marketplace. The pilot program will bring NSF's I-Corps to NIH to help biomedical scientists become entrepreneurs.
  *   NSF has published a letter to ensure researchers are aware of the many funding opportunities available for international and cross-disciplinary collaboration relating to the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative. NSF is working with complementary programs such as the European Union's Human Brain Project to fund research on understanding the brain. The full letter and a list of available programs can be found at http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2014/nsf14082/nsf14082.jsp<http://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=38ece8bb5d&e=6708ed45cf>.
  *   NSF has released a new toolkit that highlights the impact of the agency's investments in fundamental research and the resulting impacts. Resources include an animated video about NSF's merit review process and infographics about NSF's programs, funding, and impact. Access the toolkit at http://www.nsf.gov/about/congress/toolkit.jsp#overview<http://aibs.us1.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=c74cf13f2a&e=6708ed45cf>.

>From the Federal Register

The following items appeared in the Federal Register from 16 to 27 June 2014. For more information on these or other recent items, please visit the AIBS Federal Register Resource at www.aibs.org/federal-register-resource/index.html<http://aibs.us1.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=d605a0e89d&e=6708ed45cf>.

Week Ending 27 June 2014

Agriculture

  *   Notice of Solicitation of Members to the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board
Energy

  *   President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology
Environmental Protection Agency

  *   Extension of Request for Scientific Views for External Peer Review Draft Aquatic Life Ambient Water Quality Criterion for Selenium--Freshwater 2014
  *   Notification of a Public Teleconference of the Science Advisory Board Environmental Justice Technical Guidance Review Panel
Executive Office of the President

  *   Creating a Federal Strategy To Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators
Interior

  *   Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill; Final Programmatic and Phase III Early Restoration Plan and Final Early Restoration Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement
  *   Policy Regarding Implementation of Section 4(b)(2) of the Endangered Species Act
National Science Foundation

  *   Request for Comments on the Intent To Discontinue Part 2 of the Survey of Science and Engineering Research Facilities on Computing and Networking Capacity
Week Ending 20 June 2014

Environmental Protection Agency

  *   Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units
  *   Carbon Pollution Standards for Modified and Reconstructed Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units; Proposed Rules
  *   Notification of a Joint Public Meeting and Joint Teleconferences of the Chartered Science Advisory Board and Chartered Board of Scientific Counselors and a Briefing Teleconference for New SAB Members
  *   Notification of a Public Teleconference of the Chartered Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC)
  *   Request for Nominations to the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC)
Health and Human Services

  *   National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality: Request for Nominations for Public Members
  *   National Preparedness and Response Science Board (previously known as the "National Biodefense Science Board'') Call for Nominees
Interior

  *   Classroom Guidelines for Preventing the Introduction and Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS)

Become an Advocate for Science: Join the AIBS Legislative Action Center

Quick, free, easy, effective, impactful! Join the AIBS Legislative Action Center<http://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=cb103d9788&e=6708ed45cf>.

The Legislative Action Center is a one-stop shop for learning about and influencing science policy. Through the website, users can contact elected officials and sign-up to interact with lawmakers.

The website offers tools and resources to inform researchers about recent policy developments. The site also announces opportunities to serve on federal advisory boards and to comment on federal regulations.

This new tool is made possible through contributions from the Society for the Study of Evolution, Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography, and the Botanical Society of America.

AIBS and our partner organizations invite scientists and science educators to become policy advocates today. Simply go to policy.aibs.org<http://aibs.us1.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=4ee261430d&e=6708ed45cf> to get started.

________________________________

  *   Give your society or organization a voice in public policy. See http://www.aibs.org/public-policy/funding_contributors.html<http://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=ea22b66830&e=6708ed45cf>.

  *   Become an AIBS Individual Member and lend your voice to a national effort to advance the biological sciences through public policy, education, and science programs. Visit http://www.access.aibs.org/?page=IndMem<http://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=e0b7b463e6&e=6708ed45cf> to join AIBS.

  *   Become an advocate for science, visit the AIBS Legislative Action Center at http://capwiz.com/aibs/home/<http://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=db2b25f0fa&e=6708ed45cf>.

  *   Know the news as it happens, sign-up to receive AIBS press releases and policy statements (http://www.aibs.org/mailing-lists/mediaisu.html<http://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=5016dfd5c4&e=6708ed45cf>).

The American Institute of Biological Sciences is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) scientific association dedicated to advancing biological research and education for the welfare of society. AIBS works to ensure that the public, legislators, funders, and the community of biologists have access to and use information that will guide them in making informed decisions about matters that require biological knowledge. The organization does this through informing decisions by providing peer-reviewed or vetted information about the biology field and profession and by catalyzing action through building the capacity and the leadership of the community to address matters of common concern.

Founded in 1947 as a part of the National Academy of Sciences, AIBS became an independent, member-governed organization in the 1950s. Today, AIBS has over 140 member organizations and is headquartered in Reston, VA, with a Public Policy Office in Washington, DC. Its approximately 40 staff members work to achieve its mission by publishing the peer-reviewed journal BioScience and the education Web site ActionBioscience.org, by providing scientific peer-review and advisory services to government agencies and other clients, and by collaborating with scientific organizations to advance public policy, education, and the public understanding of science.

Website: www.aibs.org<http://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=7e676b552e&e=6708ed45cf>.

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