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Year: 2014

House Continues CJS, House Science Cmte Passes FIRST

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Adjourning well after midnight last night, the House will consider its floor consideration of the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill this morning. The House is expected to pass the measure late tonight. Thus far, the House has considered a number of amendments, and some of interest are below.

Passed Amendments:

  • An amendment, offered by Mr. Reichert (R-WA), to reduce funding for periodic census and programs by $110 million and to increase funding for community oriented policing services programs (hiring and rehiring of additional career law enforcement officers) by a similar amount.
  • An amendment, offered by Mr. Langevin (D-CT), to designate $5 million for a survey on the NIST cybersecurity framework for reducing cyber risks to critical infrastructure.
  •  An amendment, offered by Ms. Sinema (D-AZ), to reduce funding for Salaries and Expenses, General Administration in the Department of Justice by $1 million and to increase funding for Violence Against Women Prevention and Prosecution Programs (College Campuses) by a similar amount.

Failed Amendments:

  • An amendment, offered by Mr. McDermott (D-WA), to reduce funding for Periodic Censuses and Programs by $3 million and to increase funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the purpose of salmon propagation by a similar amount.
  • An amendment, offered by Mr. Holt (D-NJ), to transfer $37,450,000 within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the purpose of climate change research.

Amendments pending a vote:

An amendment, offered by Mr. Bridenstine (R-OK), to reduce funding for Periodic Censuses and Programs by $12 million and to increase funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for the purpose of weather research by a similar amount.

 

Also last night, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee (HSSTC) passed H.R. 4186, the “Frontiers in Innovation, Research, Science, and Technology Act of 2014 Act”. The controversial measure was marked up last week with final votes postponed until after Memorial Day. In straight party-line votes, the committee speedily made its way through all 15 amendments and ultimately passed the measure by a vote of 20-16.

The remaining votes on amendments also passed along party lines. Of note, Congressman Rohrabacher’s (R-CA) Amendment #28, which passed, would reduce funding for Social, Behavioral, and Economic research at the National Science Foundation by $50 million. Also, the committee approved Amendment #67 offered by Congressman Bridenstine (R-OK) that would repeal the National Technical Information Service.

House to Consider CJS

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The House of Representatives is expected to begin floor consideration of its version of the FY15 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations bill (H.R. 4660) tomorrow, May 28 at 2 p.m. On Thursday, May 29, the House will reconvene at noon and is expected to complete consideration of the CJS Appropriations bill that day.

The House will consider the bill under an open rule. It is unknown how many amendments will be considered because open rules do not require Members to publish amendments before they are offered on the floor.

Federal Relations will continue to track this legislation, and any amendments, as the bill is considered by the House.

White House Initiative Releases Financial Aid Guide for Hispanic Students

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The White House Initiative on Education Excellence for Hispanics released a new guide on financial aid today. Available in both Spanish and English, the guide consolidates and outlines existing resources in a culturally relevant way for Hispanic students. The guide aims to better support these students in their efforts to enroll in and pay for higher education. It includes recommendations for how to complete college application materials and the FAFSA form, and provides tips on choosing the right college and an overview of financing options. In addition, the guide includes resources for students who have been granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) status and non-U.S. citizen students.

Access the guide on the Initiative’s web page.  The guide will also be housed on the U.S. Department of Education’s new online resource page, Educational Resources for New Arrivals & DACA students.

House Science Committee Passes FIRST (almost)

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In an incredibly partisan and late mark up, the House Science Committee finally finished considering the 27 proposed and debated amendments to the FIRST Act (HR 4186). Given the lengthy and contentious nature of the hearing, the roll call votes and final passage of the measure have been postponed until next week. Therefore, as of yet, the FIRST Act has not passed. The bill is expected to pass largely by party lines.

A list of amendments and 15 roll call votes can be found here.

Durring the mark up, Members did raise concern that the legislation as written would pass authorization levels for agencies like NSF that would be less than what Appropriators have already passed in the House  Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations Bill.

Before the markup, there was a significant opposition to the bill expressed by the science community. The National Science Board, which oversees NSF, took the largely unprecedented step in issuing a statement against the legislation because of the perceived Congressional intervention into which science has merit, rather than allowing NSF to continue peer review.

At this point, it is unclear if and when FIRST Act will pass out of Committee or if the FIRST Act will go to the House Floor.

The Office of Federal Relations will continue to track the progress of this legislation.

 

 

 

 

 

Patent Reform Legislation Pulled from Agenda

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Consideration of comprehensive patent legislation appears to be off the agenda for the year after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Leahy (D-VT) pulled it from his committee’s agenda on Wednesday. He cited frustration with unproductive negotiations as the reason for the turnaround. The measure had been slated for consideration by the committee today but less than 24 hours before the scheduled markup, Leahy announced that members again had failed to reach a compromise and that the bill would be put on hold indefinitely.

One of the biggest areas of disagreement was over fee shifting, the idea of making the losing party in patent lawsuits pay the winner’s legal fees. Earlier this month, Senate negotiators began to coalesce around compromise language from Senators Cornyn (R-TX) and Schumer (D-NY) that included milder litigation reforms. The research university community, along with other major patent holders, successfully advocated against the measure arguing that the bill would cause more problems for universities than it would solve.

It is uncertain if patent reform legislation will return to the congressional agenda this year.