[Nhcoll-l] FW: Science Policy News from AIBS
Bentley, Andrew Charles
abentley at ku.edu
Mon Oct 26 11:02:09 EDT 2020
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AIBS Public Policy Report
AIBS Public Policy Report, Volume 21, Issue 22, October 26, 2020
* Election Day Approaching: Remember to Vote
* Relief Negotiations Remain Unfruitful
* Report Urges Increased Investments in U.S. R&D
* Work Begins on National Climate Report after Concerns over Delay
* Trump Establishes Trillion Trees Interagency Council
* NSF Soliciting Future Topics for Convergence Accelerator
* Webinar Series: Resources for Natural History Collections in a New Virtual World
* Deadline Extended: NSF’s Request for Information on STEM Education
* Short Takes
* Legislation Introduced to Block Diversity Training Executive Order
* New Chair Appointed to EPA’s Science Advisory Board
* Experts Sought for Panel on Quantum-Enabled Sensing, Imaging for Biology
* Nominations Sought for Synthetic Biology Roundtable
* NASEM Webinar on Ecosystem Restoration in the Gulf
* From the Federal Register
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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<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=6d7e3c38cd&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 Public Policy Manager, Jyotsna Pandey, at 202-628-1500 x 225.
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Election Day Approaching: Remember to Vote
Participate in U.S. democracy by voting on Tuesday, November 3rd.
In addition to the presidential race, all members of the House of Representatives and one-third of Senators are up for re-election. There are also many state and local races on the ballot.
The next Congress and President must address many significant environmental and public health challenges, including impacts of the coronavirus pandemic and climate change.
Contact your state board of elections to find your polling location or to learn about early voting opportunities.
Relief Negotiations Remain Unfruitful
Negotiations continue between the White House and congressional leaders over the next emergency relief package in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with disagreements persisting over the price tag of the measure.
Earlier in October, the House passed a $2.2 trillion package<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=ba744c0a65&e=6708ed45cf> – a pared-down version of the $3.4 trillion Heroes Act<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=a1115408a5&e=6708ed45cf> that the chamber passed in May. The revised proposal includes nearly $3 billion in emergency funding for the National Science Foundation as well as $11.9 billion for higher education institutions. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has expressed unwillingness to go below $2.2 trillion. The White House was initially willing to go up to $1.6 trillion, but later proposed a slightly larger $1.8 trillion relief measure with additional funding for state and local governments and direct stimulus checks. There is some Republican support for the White House proposal, but many GOP Senators criticized the spending as too high.
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) forced a vote on a $500 billion relief measure, which included $100 billion for school safety, an extension of expanded employment benefits, funds for testing and tracing, and funding for vaccine development and distribution. The bill also included liability protections for businesses – a provision that Democrats called a “poison pill.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the bill was “not a serious attempt at pandemic relief” and just “another attempt at giving Republicans political cover before the election.” The bill failed to pass in the Senate. McConnell conceded this was a messaging exercise. “We wanted to make the point to the American people that Senate Republicans believe another package is important,” he stated.
It appears unlikely that a stimulus deal will be reached before the elections. According to E&E News, Senator McConnell has been discouraging the White House from finalizing an agreement with the Democrats prior to Election Day.
Report Urges Increased Investments in U.S. R&D
A new report from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, The Perils of Complacency: America at a Tipping Point in Science & Engineering, urges significant action and research funding to ensure that the United States does not lose its leadership position in innovation.
The report offers a five-year update to the Academy’s 2014 report<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=60793d60a2&e=6708ed45cf>, Restoring the Foundation: The Vital Role of Research in Preserving the American Dream, which called for annual U.S. investments in research and development (R&D) to equal 3.3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
“China is projected to become the world’s largest economy when measured by GDP by 2030. By 2026, the 250th anniversary of the United States, China’s strategic plan calls for it to be well on its way to becoming the unchallenged world leader in science, technology, and innovation,” reads the new report<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=bddc1f9848&e=6708ed45cf>. “These developments are perilous for America, which today, 50 years after the Apollo 11 moon landing, is at a tipping point in R&D,” the report warns.
The report notes that the United States gained global leadership by prioritizing innovation and cautions that falling behind in science and technology R&D funding, even for a few years, can have “grave consequences for a country’s economy, job creation, standard of living, and national security.”
The latest report reaffirms the recommendations offered in the 2014 report, including increasing federal funding for basic research at a sustained growth rate of at least 4 percent per year and appropriating U.S. R&D budgets on at least a two-year cycle, rather than annually. In addition, the report offers new recommendations focused on strengthening U.S. STEM education and the American workforce.
“The nation’s pre-K–12 public education system has been in crisis for decades,” notes the report. The authors call for implementing the recommendations laid out in the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s 2005 report, Gathering Storm, which included creating 10,000 federally funded four-year scholarships annually in STEM fields to be competitively awarded to U.S. citizens in exchange for a commitment to teach STEM in a public school for at least five years after graduating. The authors also recommend that states “return to, and then sustain or increase, pre-Great Recession levels of public university funding, as measured per full-time equivalent (FTE) student.” Furthermore, the report calls for repealing the tax placed on earnings of endowments of private universities.
The report was prepared by Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and a committee comprising notable players in the U.S. innovation ecosystem, including Norman Augustine, former chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin; Neal Lane, former director of the National Science Foundation and the Office of Science and Technology Policy; Steven Chu, former Secretary of Energy; and Bart Gordon, former chair of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
Work Begins on National Climate Report after Concerns over Delay
After public outcry over a months-long delay, the Trump Administration has moved ahead with the fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) by soliciting nominations for authors and technical input.
The National Climate Assessment report is congressionally mandated to be prepared every four years by scientists from 13 federal agencies. The fourth installment, which was published in 2018, was written by more than 300 authors, including Federal and State government scientists as well as scientists from the private sector. President Trump rejected the findings of the last assessment, which concluded that “Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization, primarily as a result of human activities.”
E&E News reported earlier this month that the Trump Administration was holding up progress on the next report. Donald Wuebbles, a climate scientist at the University of Illinois and co-lead author on the first volume of the fourth National Climate Assessment, raised concerns that the Administration was late in issuing a call for authors for the report – a key step in the developing the assessment. “It's not being approved to go out, so therefore they're just sitting on it. And I don't know if it's [the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] or the White House, but somebody's sitting on it, so that's just holding up getting up the NCA 5 going,” said Wuebbles.
2020 U.S. Democratic Presidential Nominee Joe Biden also criticized the delay. “Climate change is already here, and ignoring science won't make it go away,” stated Biden. “If we give the Trump Administration another four years, we'll lose irreplaceable time to combat it.”
Following reports of concerns over the delay, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued a Federal Register notice on October 15 on behalf of the U.S. Global Change Research Program seeking nominations for lead authors and researchers for the assessment. The report is now expected to be published in 2023, a year later than previously planned.
Author nominations and scientific/technical inputs for NCA5 must be submitted electronically by November 14, 2020 at https://www.globalchange.gov/notices<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=c95e4dd863&e=6708ed45cf>. More information about this solicitation can be found at: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-10-15/html/2020-22729.htm<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=447e3382e7&e=6708ed45cf>
Trump Establishes Trillion Trees Interagency Council
On October 16, 2020, President Trump signed an Executive Order establishing the One Trillion Trees Interagency Council and increasing U.S. involvement in the global Trillion Trees Initiative in an attempt to boost his environmental credentials ahead of the election.
The goal of the Trillion Trees Initiative, launched earlier this year at the World Economic Forum, is to plant, grow, conserve, and restore one trillion trees around the world by 2030 to sequester carbon.
According to the White House, the Order<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=142aee196f&e=6708ed45cf> “promotes healthy and resilient forests and rangelands by actively managing them through partnerships with States, tribes, communities, non-profit organizations, and the private sector.” The directive establishes the United States One Trillion Trees Interagency Council – composed of representatives from 14 federal agencies – which will be responsible for coordinating the US government’s interactions with the global initiative.
The panel will be co-chaired by Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt, and will include Economic Adviser Larry Kudlow, Council on Environmental Quality Chair Mary Neumayr, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Andrew Wheeler, and Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought. White House Senior Adviser Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump will also serve on the council.
NSF Soliciting Future Topics for Convergence Accelerator
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced a Request for Information (RFI) on Future Topics for the NSF Convergence Accelerator. With this RFI, NSF is seeking input from industry, institutions of higher education (IHEs), non-profits, government entities, and other interested parties on potential NSF Convergence Accelerator tracks for fiscal year (FY) 2022.
Proposed topics must have the potential for significant national-scale societal impact. Topic ideas may also relate to Industries of the Future (IotF) and/or NSF's Big Ideas. Ideas submitted in response to this RFI must be broad in scope to support and identify a set of challenges to complex problems that would be best addressed by multiple teams working together as a cohort.
The responses to this RFI must be submitted by November 9, 2020. More information can be found at: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2021/nsf21012/nsf21012.jsp<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=41dc760f49&e=6708ed45cf>
The NSF Convergence Accelerator is holding an ideation webinar on October 27, 2020 from 2:00–3:30 PM ET to bring awareness of this opportunity to accelerate NSF-funded research and discovery to further societal impact. Join the webinar to learn about the program’s ideation process, specifically focusing on the RFI on future topics. Attendees will learn about the Convergence Accelerator’s model and fundamentals, designed to leverage a convergence approach to transition basic research and discovery into practice. To register, visit https://bit.ly/NSFCA_Oct27_RFIWebinar<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=a33a28a4da&e=6708ed45cf>
Webinar Series: Resources for Natural History Collections in a New Virtual World
Recognizing the rapid changes happening within museum communities and the efforts being made throughout the community to adapt to these changes, iDigBio is organizing a webinar series, entitled Adapting to COVID-19: Resources for Natural History Collections in a New Virtual World. The webinar series aims to help provide insight into how different groups and institutions are adapting to life in a quickly evolving world. AIBS, the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC), and the Natural Science Collections Alliance contributed to the planning of these programs.
The next two webinars will be held on October 27 and November 18 from 2:00–3:30 PM ET. All webinars will be recorded and held in Zoom.
October 27: Virtual Project Management, Tips and Tools
This webinar will focus on the basics of project management followed by lessons learned from the iDigBio community through managing multi-institution digitization projects (e.g. ADBC Thematic Collections Networks). Topics to include: organization, project tracking, communication strategies, and compiling and preparing reports. There will also be time for Q&A at the end of the webinar.
Speakers:
* Diego Barroso; Project Manager TORCH TCN, BRIT
* Jen Zaspel; Terrestrial Parasite Tracker Lead PI
* David Jennings, Project Manager, iDigBio
Zoom link: https://ufl.zoom.us/j/99571640979?pwd=V0VwbDBySEtBYUptNUZ2L0RQNGh0UT09<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=f40ee4aa6f&e=6708ed45cf>
November 18: Engaging Public Participation in Collections Digitization
Learn about opportunities to use the Zooniverse platform for collections digitization, including examples of Notes from Nature related to transcription and phenology scoring projects. There will be a demo of available project management tools for NfN, followed by a higher-level explanation of the technology behind the platform that makes it all possible.
Speakers:
* Austin Mast; iDigBio, Florida State University
* Katie Pearson, Project Manager California Phenology TCN
Zoom link: https://ufl.zoom.us/j/99571640979?pwd=V0VwbDBySEtBYUptNUZ2L0RQNGh0UT09<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=7614de2096&e=6708ed45cf>
Visit the webinar series page for more information: https://www.idigbio.org/content/webinar-series-adapting-covid-resources-natural-history-collections-new-virtual-world<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=6d83059420&e=6708ed45cf>
Deadline Extended: NSF’s Request for Information on STEM Education
In coordination with the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC’s) Committee on STEM Education (CoSTEM) and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the National Science Foundation (NSF) is soliciting input on the implementation of the Federal STEM Education Strategic Plan, Charting a Course for Success: America’s Strategy for STEM Education.
This Request for Information (RFI) addresses changes in education systems that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Information collected from this solicitation may be used to guide future Federal STEM education resource development.
The questions included in this RFI focus on the following elements of the Federal STEM Education Strategic Plan:
* Future opportunities in STEM education;
* Develop STEM education digital resources;
* Increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM;
* Engage students where disciplines converge;
* Develop and enrich strategic partnerships;
* Build computational literacy; and
* Community use and implementation of the Federal STEM Education Strategic Plan.
The deadline to submit comments has been extended to November 20, 2020. Comments can be submitted via email to CoSTEM at nsf.gov<mailto:CoSTEM at nsf.gov>. Further details about this RFI can be found at https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2020-10-22/html/2020-23443.htm<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=f900a71374&e=6708ed45cf>
Short Takes
* Democratic lawmakers in the House have introduced a bill (H.R. 8595<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=5a924dc09d&e=6708ed45cf>) that would nullify President Trump’s Executive Order<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=f6be8dfad0&e=6708ed45cf> on Combating Race and Sex Stereotyping that directs federal agencies, the uniformed services, and government contractors to end “divisive” racial sensitivity trainings. The order also prohibits federal grant funds to be used to promote “race or sex stereotyping or scapegoating.” The legislation, introduced by Representative Joyce Beatty (D-OH), currently has 24 co-sponsors. “Diverse organizations are more profitable, pose less regulatory risk and strengthen our economy,” Beatty said. “That is why I strongly oppose Trump's divisive attempt to cement racism as the practice and policy of the Federal government and call on all Americans to join me in this effort because this executive order is antithetical to the values we hold so dear as a nation.”
* Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler announced on October 14 that Dr. John Graham, who previously led the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs under President George W. Bush, will serve as the next Chairman of the agency's Science Advisory Board (SAB). Dr. Graham, a professor of public and environmental affairs at Indiana University, was first appointed to the board in 2017 by former EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. The SAB is charged with providing independent advice and peer review to the EPA Administrator on scientific and technical aspects of environmental issues.
* The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Board on Life Sciences is seeking nominations of experts for a workshop on Quantum Science Concepts in Enhancing Sensing and Imaging Technologies: Applications for Biology. This workshop will facilitate a better understanding of current and future applications of quantum-enabled sensing and imaging technologies on different fields of biology. Six committee members from academia, government, industry, and other sectors, with expertise in biological imaging or sensing, quantum biology, biological physics, cell and molecular biology, microbiology and other relevant life, physical, and engineering fields, are sought. The workshop committee will plan talks, panels, and discussions with the goal of bringing together experts working on state-of-the-art quantum-enabled technologies. Nominations can be submitted<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=d4cca48786&e=6708ed45cf> until October 30, 2020.
* The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is soliciting experts to serve on a Synthetic Biology Roundtable for exploring synthetic biology and the associated science, policy, and industry capabilities. The objective of the Roundtable is to improve coordination among the U.S. Army's research and development stakeholders and to increase awareness in the broader open science community of current and future capabilities. Nominations are sought for 8–10 committee members within government, military, industry, and academia with expertise in synthetic biology science and technology, laboratory infrastructure management, policy development and administration, battlefield medicine, human performance, and biosphere ethics and regulation. Nominations will be accepted until November 2, 2020 at https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/5941980/U-S-Army-Synthetic-Biology-Roundtable<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=c3e750f8fc&e=6708ed45cf>.
* The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s (NASEM) Gulf Research Program is holding a webinar, Planning and Decision-Making Frameworks for Ecosystem Restoration, on October 29, 2020 from 12:00–1:00 PM ET. The webinar will focus on the decision-making frameworks and implementation of ecosystem restoration and economic recovery. Register at: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/planning-and-decision-making-frameworks-for-ecosystem-restoration-tickets-123509202349<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=401d131329&e=6708ed45cf>
From the Federal Register
The following items appeared in the Federal Register from October 12 to 23, 2020. 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<https://aibs.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=a2886d199362c2554974f78af&id=df40159175&e=6708ed45cf>.
Week Ending October 23, 2020
Commerce
* Aquaculture Opportunity Areas
Environmental Protection Agency
* Public Meeting of the Great Lakes Advisory Board
Health and Human Services
* Meeting of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS
* National Toxicology Program Board of Scientific Counselors; Announcement of Meeting; Request for Comments
* Request for Information and Comments on Fostering Research Integrity and the Responsible Conduct of Research
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
* Information Collection: NASA STEM Better Together: For Stakeholder Success
National Science Foundation
* Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; Awardee Reporting Requirements for the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Research Infrastructure Improvement Programs
* Request for Information; Extension of Public Comment Period
Week Ending October 16, 2020
Commerce
* Request for Comment; Implementation Plan for the National Strategy for Ocean Mapping, Exploring, and Characterizing the United States Exclusive Economic Zone
Environmental Protection Agency
* Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) Safe and Sustainable Water Resources Subcommittee Meeting—October 2020; Correction
* Pesticide Program Dialogue Committee; Notice of Public Meeting
Executive Office of the President
* Executive Order—Establishing the One Trillion Trees Interagency Council
Health and Human Services
* Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health Notice of Meeting
Institute of Museum and Library Services
* Notice of Proposed Information Collection Request: Evaluation of the Reopening Archives, Libraries, and Museums (REALM) Project
Interior
* FY 2020 National Call for Nominations for Resource Advisory Councils
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
* Request for Public Nominations for Authors and Scientific/Technical Inputs and Notice of Planned Public Engagement Opportunities for the Fifth National Climate Assessment
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