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Category: Biomedical Research

Higher Ed Community Seeking Support for Research and Additional Funds for Institutions in “Phase 4”

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As the push for a “Phase 4” coronavirus bill gains steam, the higher education community has come up with a set of requests for the still-developing package, some of which would augment provisions in “Phase 3” while others would create new sources of funding.

The broader higher education community is jointly advocating for this proposal, which would add approximately $47 billion to the Higher Education Fund that was created in the $2.2-trillion CARES Act.  The request is based on a set of assumptions that the community made in order to craft a timely proposal.

The research university community is making another push for research funding in a Phase 4 package.  In an effort to address a portion of the problems being caused by the pandemic, the group proposal calls for, among other items, $26 billion in the next legislative package to address the various needs in the research enterprise.

Broader Higher Education Community Looks to Engage with Federal Government to Address Community-Wide Challenges

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Yesterday, the broader higher education community sent to Congress a series of recommendations and requests for assistance aimed at stabilizing the entire enterprise as it tries to cope with COVID-19.  The requests fall into a number of distinct categories:

  • One set of requests addresses the immediate financial challenges facing both students and institutions.
  • Another set of requests focuses on the unique circumstances that research universities face as they deal with trying to mitigate the impact on research.
  • The third set  focuses on tax-related provisions that could assist students, families, and institutions.

Opposing the EPA “Transparency Rule”

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On November 13th, UW signed onto a letter circulated by the Michael J Fox Foundation to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The letter opposes the Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science rule, which would require raw data to be made publicly available when it is used to formulate new regulations. UW is joined by over sixty other higher education institutions, associations, and research organizations in opposing these rule changes. There are many instances, especially in the health sciences, when making raw data publicly available would be infeasible or harm the confidentiality of research subjects. Therefore, this rule could limit the quality of data used in the regulatory process, as only data which could be made publicly available would be utilized.

But Will He Sign It?

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Following the Senate’s lead from last week, the House cleared yesterday the massive spending package that combines the annual Labor-HHS-Education and Defense spending bills by a vote of 361-61.  The Senate approved it by a vote of 93 to 7.  The bill also includes a continuing resolution (CR) that would fund through December 7 the other agencies and programs whose funding bills are not signed into law by next Monday.

Earlier this week, there had been some uncertainty about whether the president would actually sign the package because it did not contain the funding his wants for a border wall along the Southern border.  It now appears that he will indeed sign it.

The CR could now apply to a larger number of bills– seven– than originally hoped for.  House and Senate negotiators have spent the last several weeks trying to reach a compromise on a combined package of four more appropriations measures and it remains uncertain at this point whether an agreement can be reached and signed into law before the House recesses on Friday.  Among the bills under discussion are those that would fund the departments of Interior and Agriculture.

First “Minibus” Expected to be Signed Today

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Barring any last minute changes, the first “minibus” spending package for FY2019 is expected to get signed into law today.  The measure combines the Energy and Water, Veterans Affairs-Military Construction, and Legislative Branch appropriations bills.

The Senate cleared earlier this week the Labor-HHS-Education and Defense package, which the House is expected to take up sometime next week.

The sides chambers are also currently negotiating over a four-bill minibus that includes the agriculture, interior, financial services, and transportation-housing bills.