New CDC H1N1 Guidance for Universities

Posted on August 21, 2009October 17, 2012

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Department of Education (ED) Secretary Arne Duncan joined with Dr. Beth Bell, Deputy Director, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to announce new guidance for Institutions of Higher Education (IHE) to plan for and respond to the upcoming flu season.

The guidance crafted by the scientists and doctors at the CDC is designed to help colleges and universities start planning and acting now for the impact that seasonal and 2009 H1N1 influenza could have this fall and winter on their students and faculty members, as well as other university employees.

Government officials are especially concerned about the impact of H1N1 on schools because the virus appears to disproportionately affect young people. The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recently found that younger Americans, specifically those ages 6 months to 24 years, are one of the top priority groups when it comes to the new H1N1 vaccine.

HHS has created a special toolkit for administrators and students, as well some badges and widgets that can be used on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter

The new guidance suggests that the most important actions institutions can take are: to encourage and facilitate good hand washing and covering coughs and sneezes; to encourage flu vaccination for recommended groups when vaccine becomes available; and to separate sick people from well people as soon as possible.

The Secretaries and the CDC stressed the need for different institutions to tailor the strategies to their own circumstances, based on their location, student population, resources, and information from local health officials about the severity and spread of flu in their area, and encouraged them to partner with local health officials and others in their community to plan for the upcoming flu season.

For the complete H1N1 guidance for higher education institutions and the special H1N1 Higher Education, please visit http://www.flu.gov/plan/school/higheredguidance.html.

The Toolkit is available at http://www.flu.gov/plan/school/higheredtoolkit.html.

NSF Announces Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) Funding

Posted on August 14, 2009October 17, 2012

The Directorate for Engineering at the National Science Foundation has established the Office of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) to serve a critical role in focusing on important emerging areas in a timely manner. The EFRI Office is launching a new funding opportunity for interdisciplinary teams of researchers to embark on rapidly advancing frontiers of fundamental engineering research. For this solicitation, they will consider proposals that aim to investigate emerging frontiers in the following two specific research areas: (1) Renewable Energy Storage (RESTOR), and (2) Science in Energy and Environmental Design (SEED): Engineering Sustainable Buildings. This solicitation will be coordinated with NSF Directorates listed above, the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). EFRI seeks proposals with transformative ideas that represent an opportunity for a significant shift in fundamental engineering knowledge with a strong potential for long term impact on national needs or a grand challenge. The proposals must also meet the detailed requirements delineated in this solicitation.

INFORMATION WEBCAST: The EFRI Office plans to hold an information workshop on September17, 2009, to answer any questions about the EFRI Office and this solicitation. Details will be posted on the EFRI website (www.nsf.gov/eng/efri) as they become available.

Update from Washington, DC

Posted on August 7, 2009October 17, 2012

After the historic vote to confirm US Supreme Court Nominee Sonia Sotomayor – and add more funds to the popular “cash for clunkers” program – the Senate went into their August recess period. The House recessed last week and both will return after Labor Day.

To date, only four of the twelve FY2010 appropriations bills have been approved by the Senate. The remaining measures will likely to dominate the Senate’s floor time in September even as they continue negotiations over health care reform and climate legislation. Senate leaders appear optimistic that they could complete action on four of the eight remaining appropriations bills before the new fiscal year starts October 1st.

Democratic leaders and appropriators are still hoping to pass all 12 appropriations bills through regular order, avoiding the need for an omnibus. However, it appears more and more likely that they will need to approve a short-term continuing resolution. Stay tuned…

Throughout the August recess period, Senate and House Democratic staff and lawmakers will begin informal conference negotiations on the four spending bills the Senate has passed: Legislative Branch, Homeland Security, Energy and Water, and Agriculture. The Senate has named conferees for those bills, but the House has not, which is why these discussions remain “informal” at this point.

Christy Gullion, Director

Senate Approves FY10 Agriculture Spending Bill

Posted on August 5, 2009October 17, 2012

The Senate approved their Agriculture spending bill yesterday – the fourth fiscal 2010 spending bill passed by the Senate. Informal work to begin reconciling the four spending bills passed by both chambers is expected to occur over the August break so that conference reports can be considered in September. Before leaving last week for its recess, the House reached its goal of passing all 12 spending bills.

Status of Appropriations for FY10.

Update from Washington, DC

Posted on August 3, 2009October 17, 2012

With the House gone for its August recess, the Senate will turn its attention this week to passing one more spending bill, replenishing the popular Cash for Clunkers program, and confirming President Obama’s pick for the Supreme Court, Judge Sonia Sotomayor, all with the aim to leave town Friday until after Labor Day.

APPROPRIATIONS

As Congress prepares to leave for August recess, the House, which adjourned last week, has completed work on all 12 appropriations bills, and the Senate is expected to be a third of the way done when it departs Friday. The Senate will consider its Agriculture spending measure this week. With Senate passage of the Agriculture bill this week, the Senate will have passed four of its bills.

The Senate plans to continue floor consideration of spending bills in September, and leaders would like to get a handful of spending bills enacted before the Oct. 1 start of federal fiscal year 2010. A continuing resolution will be needed to fund most government agencies when the new fiscal year arrives. Democrats remain intent on enacting all 12 spending bills individually, and avoiding a massive multi-bill omnibus spending measure, as has so often been the result over the past 14 years.

The House and Senate will begin informal and then formal conference committee negotiations to work out the differences between their spending measures. The Office of Federal Relations will continue to advocate for funding priorities that affect the University of Washington, including congressionally-directed funding and specific programmatic (agency) funding.

HEALTH

The six Senate Finance Committee members negotiating a bipartisan healthcare overhaul bill will meet throughout the week, but will not hold a markup on any overhaul measure. While they keep reporting that the group is making progress, no one has seen a proposal on paper. One provision that appears close to a final decision is an insurance co-op in lieu of a public option. The public option issue will likely be hotly debated when Congress returns to DC in September.

The House meanwhile may be on recess, but lawmakers working on a health care overhaul still have a lot of work to do over the break to prepare to pass legislation when they return. Democratic leaders and committee chairs will have to find a way to resolve differences in the versions of the bill approved by two committees – Education and Labor and Ways and Means – and a compromise measure approved just before the House recessed last week by the Energy and Commerce Committee that includes proposals crafted with moderate Democrats on the panel who had opposed the original bill over cost concerns.

The House is looking now to pass the bill in mid-September, a few days after Congress reconvenes.

AUGUST RECESS

House Members have already started their August recess, with many of them back in their home states/districts. The Senate will follow after they complete their work this week. The WA State Delegation will spend the recess period holding town hall meetings, attending forums, and meeting with community leaders and constituent groups – with a focus on health care reform, Recovery Act implementation, and climate issues. Many of the DC staff from these offices will be in the state, and I am arranging for several of these staff to be on campus to learn more about our priorities as they relate to the federal government.

I will be on campus from August 19 through September 4, and am currently scheduling meetings with faculty and staff to discuss on-going University projects and issues. The Office of Federal Relations is also gearing up on the development of our FY2011 Federal Agenda. This agenda will likely include a continued focus on obtaining Recovery Act funding, as well as identifying new research opportunities through health care reform and climate legislation. Additionally, we are beginning to discuss priorities for FY2011 congressionally-directed funding requests.

Please let me know if you would like to meet with me during the time I’m on campus – either to discuss the current FY2010 process, the upcoming FY2011 Federal Agenda development, or any other issue that has some federal nexus and needs some attention by the Office of Federal Relations.

Christy Gullion, Director