House Members Post FY10 Appropriations Requests

Posted on April 6, 2009October 17, 2012

The University of Washington has submitted fiscal year 2010 appropriations requests to the state of Washington’s congressional delegation. The requests are part of a strategic federal agenda designed to advance UW specific projects, as well as to bolster agency program accounts that the University draws from on a competitive basis.

Members of Congress receive appropriations requests from many of their constituents and must then decide which projects to advance in the process. Projects selected by individual Members of Congress are then forwarded on to one of twelve appropriations subcommittees. Member of the House of Representatives were required to post their FY10 appropriations requests on their websites by April 3rd. UW FY10 projects selected by state of Washington House members are listed below. At this stage, the selection of projects is by no means a guarantee of funding. Rather, the advancement of projects by Members to the subcommittees is an important step in securing requested funding. The FY10 appropriations process will likely unfold over the course of the summer and fall.

Projects requested for the University of Washington by House Members: Continue reading “House Members Post FY10 Appropriations Requests”

OMB Requests Public Comment on Proposed ARRA Reporting Requirements

Posted on April 3, 2009October 17, 2012

On April 1st, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) published a notice in the Federal Register (74FR14824) requesting comments on the standard data elements that it proposes to require for reporting under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for grants, cooperative agreements, and loans. The deadline for comments is May 1, 2009.

As previously mentioned on this site, recipients of funding provided by federal agencies through ARRA will be required to report back to their respective agencies every three months about their project or activity, particularly how many jobs it has created or sustained.

Congress in Recess, UW Federal Relations on Campus

Posted on April 3, 2009October 17, 2012

Congress will be in its Spring District Work Period (recess) from April 6-17. The UW Director of Federal Relations and Assistant Director of Federal Relations will be on campus for meetings April 13-17.

Senate Judiciary Committee Approves Patent Reform Legislation

Posted on April 3, 2009May 19, 2017

On Thursday April 2nd, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved Patent Reform Act of 2009 (S. 515) by 15-4 vote after an agreement was reach on how to award damages in infringement cases. The bill establishes judges as the mechanism for deciding hwat evidence can be presented to juries in determining how to award damages. Additionally, the compromise addresses post-grant review of patents, in-equitable conduct by patent applicants and venue rules for patent infringement cases. The committee rejected an amendment offered by Senator Jon Jyl (R-AZ) to raise the threshold for patents to be challenged in a post-grant review process. According to Senator Dianne Feinsten (D-CA), the legislation “heals” the rift between large technology corporations and universities, manufacturers, and smaller technology companies. The actiontaken by the Senate Judiciary Committee has been endorsed by several national higher education association. Further work on the legislation in both chambers of Congress is required.

A full copy of the Senate Judiciary Committee legislation is available here.

Hold Placed on Sebelius Nomination to HHS

Posted on April 3, 2009October 17, 2012

Governor Kathleen Sebelius (D-KS) appeared before the Senate Finance Committee for her confirmation hearing to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Thursday April 2nd. Gov. Sebelius’ confirmation hearing centered around the impending push to overhaul of the nation’s health care system. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) and other legislators are already drafting legislation. Ideological differences emerged during the hearing when the idea surfaced of creating a government-run health insurance plan that would operate alongside private plan options. Republican members of the panel expressed deep reservations about a government health care program.

Governor Sebelius’ nomination to head HHS has drawn bipartisan support and is expected to pass after the two-week Congressional recess that starts today. Senator Baucus sought to finalize her nomination before the recess, but the attempt at an expedited unanimous consent vote was blocked by an unnamed senator for an undisclosed reason.