[Nhcoll-l] FW: AIBS Public Policy Report

Mon Apr 21 15:29:19 EDT 2014

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AIBS Public Policy Report

AIBS Public Policy Report, Volume 15, Issue 8, April 21, 2014

  *   House-Passed Budget Would Cut Funding for Research, Environment
  *   Scientists Meet with Members of Congress about Biological Research
  *   AIBS Policy Director Testifies before Congress
  *   NIH Drops 'Two Strikes' Grant Review Policy
  *   Senators Voice Support for $7.5 Billion for NSF
  *   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-manage2.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=10d9a30194&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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House-Passed Budget Would Cut Funding for Research, Environment

The House of Representatives passed a spending plan in mid-April that would steeply cut funding for science and environmental programs. The budget proposal, sponsored by Budget Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) would balance the federal budget by 2024, largely by reducing spending by $5.1 trillion over the next decade.

The budget resolution passed the House with the support of all but 12 Republicans. No Democrats voted for the measure. Prior to passage, there had been concern that some conservatives would oppose the plan because it allowed for a modest increase in discretionary spending in fiscal year 2015. The Ryan plan outlines total funding that is in line with the bipartisan budget deal reached in December 2013.

Although the budget resolution does not specify funding for individual agencies, the measure does outline spending in broad categories. For science, the House budget would provide $1.7 billion less than President Obama's request. This budget category includes the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the Department of Energy Office of Science.

The Ryan plan would emphasize basic research while shifting funding away from applied research. The plan claims to provide "stable funding for NSF" for research and education. The plan also calls for paring back spending for biological and environmental research within the Department of Energy due to the potential to "crowd out private investment."

In terms of natural resources and environment: "The budget resolution recognizes the importance of ... water-resources, conservation, environmental, land-management, and recreational programs-but bigger government has not led to better government, and the increase in spending in this function has only invited mismanagement and duplication." Approximately $2.5 billion would be cut from the current budget authority for the Department of the Interior, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and other environmental programs. The plan also calls for climate change activities to be streamlined and reduced funding for international climate activities.

The budget resolution (H.Con.Res. 96) is dead on arrival in the Senate, as the upper chamber plans to follow the spending caps set in the recent budget deal in lieu of formulating a budget resolution for 2015.

Scientists Meet with Members of Congress about Biological Research

Scientists traveled to Washington, DC on 9-10 April 2014 to communicate to members of Congress the importance of sustained federal investments in the biological sciences. The group was in the nation's capital as part of the annual Biological and Ecological Sciences Coalition (BESC) Congressional Visits Day.

Among the participants were researchers affiliated with the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) and its member organizations, including the Organization of Biological Field Stations, Botanical Society of America, American Society of Mammalogists, and the Ecological Society of America. The 2014 AIBS Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award recipients, Amalia Aruda Almada and Andrew Adrian, also participated in the event.

The two-day event began with a training session for the thirty participants. Policy staff from AIBS and the Ecological Society of America provided an analysis of the federal budget and advocacy training. Participants also had the opportunity to hear from and ask questions of a senior White House staffer.

On 10 April, participants fanned out across Capitol Hill for meetings with members of Congress and their staff. This year, the group emphasized the importance of sustained federal investments in research that help the nation create new jobs and respond to society's needs, such as food security, maintaining healthy ecosystems, and improving human health. Participants highlighted the importance of the NSF in fostering economic growth. The agency's Biological Sciences Directorate funds about 66 percent of fundamental, non-medical biological research.

Download a copy of a BESC fact sheet on the importance of federal investments in biological research at http://www.aibs.org/public-policy/resources/BESC_2014_Leave_Behind.pdf<http://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=c14a03d9e9&e=6708ed45cf>.

AIBS Policy Director Testifies before Congress

On 10 April, the director of public policy for the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) was a witness on a panel testifying before the House Subcommittee on Interior and Environment Appropriations. Dr. Robert Gropp testified in his capacity as Chairman of the USGS Coalition, an alliance of organizations united by a commitment to the continued vitality of the United States Geological Survey. He called for Congress to work to provide additional funding in fiscal year 2015 for the United States Geological Survey. The mix of biological, geological, hydrological and geospatial sciences makes the USGS a unique science agency.

NIH Drops 'Two Strikes' Grant Review Policy

The National Institutes of Health will no longer limit researchers to one chance to resubmit a rejected research proposal. In the future, applicants will be able to repeatedly resubmit the same proposal as a new submission.

Under existing agency policy, researchers who have had a proposal rejected could resubmit that proposal once before they had to submit an entirely new grant application. Reviewers closely evaluate the new proposal and the rejected version to make sure that they are substantially different. The new policy retains one chance for resubmission, but also allows an applicant to resubmit the grant proposal and have it considered as a fresh proposal.

Senators Voice Support for $7.5 Billion for NSF

A group of 21 Senators have signed a letter to the Appropriations Committee in support of increasing funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in fiscal year 2015. Senator Edward Markey (D-MA) initiated the dear colleague letter. The proposed funding level of $7.5 billion is the same as the level supported in a letter circulated in the House that was signed by 133 Representatives. The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have yet to announced a 2015 funding level for NSF. The House is scheduled to consider legislation to fund NSF and the Departments of Commerce and Justice in early May.

>From the Federal Register

The following items appeared in the Federal Register from 7 to 18 April 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-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=b15d47a5f2&e=6708ed45cf>.

Week Ending 18 April 2014

Agriculture

  *   Meeting Notice of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board
Energy

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

  *   Notification of a Public Teleconference of the Great Lakes Advisory Board
Health and Human Services

  *   Meeting of the National Biodefense Science Board
  *   National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences; Notice of Meeting
  *   Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health; Notice of Meeting
Interior

  *   Invasive Species Advisory Committee
Week Ending 11 April 2014

Agriculture

  *   21st Century Conservation Service Corps Partnership Opportunity
  *   National Wildlife Services Advisory Committee; Reestablishment
  *   Notice of Appointment of Members to the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board
Environmental Protection Agency

  *   Environmental Laboratory Advisory Board Membership
Health and Human Services

  *   Advisory Committee to the Director (ACD), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Interior

  *   Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Review Committee: Nomination Solicitation

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

Quick, free, easy, effective, impactful! Join the AIBS Legislative Action Center today! (www.aibs.org/public-policy/legislative_action_center.html<http://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=bf5398b489&e=6708ed45cf>)

The AIBS Legislative Action Center is an online resource that allows biologists and science educators to quickly and effectively influence policy and public opinion. Each day lawmakers must make tough decisions about science policy. For example, what investments to make in federal research programs, how to conserve biodiversity, how to mitigate climate change, or under what circumstances to permit stem cell research. Scientists now have the opportunity to help elected officials understand these issues. This exciting advocacy tool allows individuals to quickly and easily communicate with members of Congress, executive branch officials, and selected media outlets.

The AIBS Legislative Action Center 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 http://capwiz.com/aibs/home/<http://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=44af7b5ee0&e=6708ed45cf> to send a prepared letter or to sign up to receive periodic Action Alerts.

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  *   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=d74b220a5c&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=b22d19ad80&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=dd586a695d&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=ef559cfc5f&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=6a786a7dea&e=6708ed45cf>.

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