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<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:7.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#505050">NSC Alliance Washington Report, Volume 5, Issue 3, March 17, 2014<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p style="line-height:150%"><strong><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#505050">NSC Alliance Washington Report, Volume 5, Issue 3, March 17, 2014</span></strong><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#505050"><br>
<br>
In this Issue:<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">A Look at the President’s FY 2015 Budget Request for Research and Development<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">NSF Budget Proposal Would Cut BIO Funding<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Senate Confirms New Director of NSF<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Smithsonian Institution Selects 13<sup>th</sup> Secretary<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">iDigBio Releases Resources on TCNs<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l1 level1 lfo1">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Remote Participation for Workshops on Collections Digitization<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul>
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<p style="line-height:150%"><strong><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#505050">Policy News from NSC Alliance</span></strong><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#505050"><br>
<br>
Through the NSC Alliance partnership with the American Institute of Biological Sciences, we are pleased to provide NSC Alliance members with the following public policy update. With proper attribution to NSC Alliance, all material from these reports may be
reproduced or forwarded. We encourage you to share this report with colleagues at your institution.<br>
<br>
If you have any questions or require additional information regarding any of the following items, please contact NSC Alliance director of public policy Dr. Robert Gropp at 202-628-1500 x 250 or at
<a href="mailto:rgropp@aibs.org" target="_self"><span style="color:#336699">rgropp@aibs.org</span></a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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</span></div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height:150%"><strong><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#505050">A Look at the President’s FY 2015 Budget Request for Research and Development</span></strong><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#505050"><br>
<br>
President Obama released his proposed budget for fiscal year (FY) 2015 on 4 March 2014. The new fiscal year begins on 1 October 2014. The plan would provide $1.014 trillion for discretionary spending, the same level agreed to in the December 2013 Ryan-Murray
budget accord.<br>
<br>
Most federal science agencies would receive a small budget increase if President Obama’s request for fiscal year (FY) 2015 were enacted. The administration proposes $135.4 billion for federal research and development, an increase of 1.2 percent relative to
the FY 2014 enacted level. This is less than the anticipated 1.7 percent increase in inflation, but higher than 0.2 percent increase proposed overall for discretionary spending.<br>
<br>
“Earlier this year, thanks to the work of Democrats and Republicans, the Congress produced an agreement that undid some of last year’s severe cuts to priorities like education and research, infrastructure, and national security,” said President Obama in his
message accompanying the budget. “Recognizing the importance of that bipartisan compromise, the Budget adheres to the spending levels agreed to by the Congress for fiscal year 2015. But there is clearly much more we can and should do to invest in areas like
infrastructure, innovation, and education that will create jobs, economic growth, and opportunity. So I am including in my Budget a fully paid for Opportunity, Growth, and Security Initiative that provides the Congress a roadmap for how and where additional
investments should be made in both domestic priorities and national security this year.”<br>
<br>
The $56 billion Growth, Opportunity, and Security Initiative would boost spending for defense and non-defense programs beyond what is proposed in the administration’s budget request. If enacted, the Initiative would direct $5.3 billion in additional funds for
science and technology, including $1 billion for a climate resilience fund, $552 million for the National Science Foundation (NSF), $970 million for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and additional funding for other federal science programs. The initiative
is largely a political statement as Congress is unlikely to support the supplemental request because it exceeds the budget caps that recently gained bipartisan support and the initiative lacks viable budget offsets.<br>
<br>
The budget request also seeks to replace sequestration starting in FY 2016 through new spending cuts, added tax revenue, and immigration reform.<br>
<br>
The FY 2015 budget includes $64.7 billion for basic and applied research. This is $251 million more than the current level.<br>
<br>
The White House once again proposed a reorganization of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. The “fresh” proposal would consolidate some STEM programs within agencies, but would not transfer programs to other agencies, as was
proposed and soundly rejected in the FY 2014 budget request. The new plan has five focus areas in STEM education: Pre-K to 12, undergraduate, graduate, broadening participating, and informal education. The proposed total funding of $2.9 billion for STEM education
is a 3.7 percent increase relative to the current total.<br>
<br>
A summary of proposed funding for some science agencies follows. All comparisons are to the FY 2014 enacted level.
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Department of Energy Office of Science: $5.1 billion (+$45 million)
<o:p></o:p></span>
<ul type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Biological and Environmental Research: $628 million (+$18 million)<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul>
</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Environmental Protection Agency Science and Technology: $763 million (+$4.6 million)<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">National Institutes of Health: $30.2 billion (+$211 million)<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration R&D: $688 million (+$27 million)<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">National Science Foundation: $7.3 billion (+$83 million)
<o:p></o:p></span>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Research and Related Activities: $5.8 billion (-$1.5 million)<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Education and Human Resources: $889 million (+$43 million)<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction: $201 million (+$0.8 million)<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul>
</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Smithsonian Institution R&D: $252 million (+$20 million)<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">U.S. Department of Agriculture
<o:p></o:p></span>
<ul type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Agricultural Research Service: $1.1 billion (-$18 million)<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Agriculture and Food Research Initiative: $325 (+$9 million)<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul>
</li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">U.S. Forest Service Forest and Rangeland Research: $275 million (-$18 million)<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: $1.3 billion (+$72 million)<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">U.S. Geological Survey: $1.1 billion (+$41 million)
<o:p></o:p></span>
<ul type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="color:#505050;mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;line-height:150%;mso-list:l0 level2 lfo2">
<span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Ecosystems Activity: $162 million (+$9 million)<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul>
</li></ul>
<p style="line-height:150%"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#505050">A more detailed analysis of the budget will be released in a forthcoming report by the American Institute of Biological Sciences.<br>
<br>
<strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">NSF Budget Proposal Would Cut BIO Funding</span></strong><br>
<br>
President Obama’s budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2015 requests $7.255 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF). This is a proposed increase of $83.1 million, or 1.2 percent over the FY 2014 appropriation.<br>
<br>
The proposed funding increase would be directed to education activities and for agency operations. Each of these budget accounts would increase by about $40 million, resulting in a 5.1 percent increase for Education and Human Resources and a 13.5 percent increase
for Agency Operations and Award Management. Funding for the Research and Related Activities account, which includes funding for the various disciplinary directorates, would be cut by $1.5 million, resulting in $5.8 billion for research. The agency’s funding
rate for grants is expected to remain at 22 percent. Major Research Equipment and Facilities Construction would also remain essentially flat; $96.0 million is proposed for the continued construction of the National Ecological Observatory Network.<br>
<br>
The proposed $12.8 million reduction for Biological Sciences Directorate (BIO) is the largest cut among all of NSF’s directorates. Two other directorates are facing cuts on the order of 0.1 to 0.3 percent. Three directorates would receive increases of 0.1 to
6.0 percent. BIO provides about 66 percent of federal funding for non-medical, basic life sciences research, including environmental biology, at academic institutions.<br>
<br>
Within BIO, three major activities are emphasized: 1) increased investment in basic research on understanding the neural circuitry and activity that underlie cognition, behavior, and thoughts; 2) continued investment in the Biological, Mathematical, and Physical
Sciences (BioMaPS) program, which seeks to discover fundamental quantitative knowledge at the intersections of biology, math, the physical sciences, and engineering; and 3) support for cyberinfrastructure and other BIO infrastructure, such as NEON, digitization
of biological collections, field stations, and synthesis centers.<br>
<br>
The number of BIO research grants awarded would increase slightly from the FY 2014 level, although median award size is projected to remain the same at $185,000 per year. The funding rate across the BIO directorate is expected to decrease from 22 percent to
21 percent.<br>
<br>
NSF would continue its support for graduate students. The Graduate Research Fellowship program would award 2,000 new fellowships–700 fewer fellowships than the agency had hoped to award last year. The stipend level would increase from $32,000 to $34,000. NSF
Research Traineeships would continue for a second year; funding would be included to support continuing grants for the program it replaced, the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT).<br>
<br>
<strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Senate Confirms New Director of NSF</span></strong><br>
<br>
France Anne Cordova, Ph.D. was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the new director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) on 12 March 2014. She is the second woman and the first Latina to lead the agency. Cordova is an astrophysicist by training. She is a former
president of Purdue University and previously served as chancellor of the University of California, Riverside. Cordova also served as NASA’s Chief Scientist and worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She chaired the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents
and was a member of the National Science Board. The last director of NSF, Dr. Subra Suresh, left in 2013 to serve as president of Carnegie Mellon University.<br>
<br>
<strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Smithsonian Institution Selects 13<sup>th</sup> Secretary</span></strong><br>
<br>
On 10 March, the Smithsonian Institution selected Dr. David J. Skorton to be the 13<sup>th</sup> Secretary of the Smithsonian. Skorton will succeed the retiring G. Wayne Clough. Similar to Clough, who had served as the president of the Georgia Institute of
Technology, Skorton spent nearly eleven years as a college president, first at the University of Iowa and later at Cornell University. Skorton is a board-certified cardiologist, and will be the first physician to lead the Smithsonian.<br>
<br>
“Becoming a part of the Smithsonian is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to lead an institution that is at the heart of the country’s cultural, artistic, historical and scientific life,” Skorton said.<br>
<br>
Clough will retire at the end of 2014. Skorton will start in July 2015.<br>
<br>
<strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">iDigBio Releases Resources on TCNs</span></strong><br>
<br>
The NSF-funded iDigBio has released information that provides an at-a-glance introduction to existing Thematic Collections Networks (TCNs) that are working to digitize collections. The information includes a volunteer contact for each TCN and some information
about the types of specimens that will be digitized. This information may be useful to anyone writing a proposal, or who has recently received funding and is looking for tips and advice. Learn more at
<a href="http://nscalliance.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=95a09b1507e3dcc0866293235&id=c9759d4c2c&e=6867996fbf" target="_blank">
<span style="color:#336699">https://www.idigbio.org/wiki/index.php/TCN_Resources</span></a>.<br>
<br>
<strong><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"">Remote Participation for Workshops on Collections Digitization</span></strong><br>
<br>
On 25-27 March, iDigBio will host a workshop on “Biological Collections Digitization in the Pacific.” Remote participation via Adobe Connect is free and does not require registration. For more information about the workshop, visit
<a href="http://nscalliance.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=95a09b1507e3dcc0866293235&id=9a996ebc23&e=6867996fbf" target="_blank">
<span style="color:#336699">https://www.idigbio.org/wiki/index.php/PacificDigitization</span></a>.<br>
<br>
An iDigBio workshop on digitization of small collections will be held on 7-10 April. Remote participation is also free. Learn more at
<a href="http://nscalliance.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=95a09b1507e3dcc0866293235&id=be2a12e82c&e=6867996fbf" target="_blank">
<span style="color:#336699">https://www.idigbio.org/wiki/index.php/Small_Collections</span></a>.<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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<p style="line-height:150%"><span style="font-size:10.5pt;line-height:150%;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#505050">The Natural Science Collections Alliance is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit association that serves as an advocate for natural science
collections, the institutions that preserve them, and the research and education that extend from them for the benefit of science, society, and stewardship of the environment. NSC Alliance members are part of an international community of museums, botanical
gardens, herbariums, universities, and other institutions that house natural science collections and utilize them in research, exhibitions, academic and informal science education, and outreach activities. Website:
<a href="http://nscalliance.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=95a09b1507e3dcc0866293235&id=205d875f85&e=6867996fbf" target="_self">
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<br>
The NSC Alliance Washington Report is a publication of the NSC Alliance. For information about membership in the NSC Alliance, please contact
<a href="mailto:spotter@aibs.org">spotter@aibs.org</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
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