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Category: Higher Education

House Releases NASA Authorization

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The House Science Committee released another two year reauthorization, this time it was for NASA. Chairman Lamar Smith released the NASA Authorization Act for 2016 and 2017 today while also announcing the legislation’s markup for Thursday at 11 am.   The FY2016 and 2017 authorization would make deep cuts to NASA’s earth science program under either of the two funding scenarios laid out in the bill – “aspirational” or “constrained.” Top-line funding for NASA would be the same as the President’s FY2016 budget request ($18.5 billion) under the aspirational level or the same as its current funding ($18.0 billion) under the constrained scenario.  Overall, the bill favors human space exploration, planetary science, and astrophysics.

The funding section is complicated because two budget levels are recommended depending on whether Congress removes the caps set by the 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA).

The bulk of the 129-page bill is policy provisions that appear to be virtually identical to those passed by the House in February in the 2015 NASA Authorization Act. That bill’s funding recommendations were only for FY2015, which is in progress and reflected what had already been appropriated. This Republican-sponsored bill substitutes funding recommendations for the next two years, FY2016 and FY2017.

In February of this year, the House Science Committee introduced and passed the following day HR 810- the 2015 NASA Authorization Act. It also passed the full House by voice vote. The bill was virtually identical to the FY2014 NASA Authorization Act passed by the House last year by a vote of 401-2.

Click here to read the text of the NASA Authorization Act for 2016 and 2017.

 

House Passes Two Cyber Security Bills

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It was cybersecurity week for the House as it considered and passed two measures dealing with cybersecurity and information sharing to better address cyber threats. Lawmakers, government officials and most industry groups have strongly backed this idea of needing to share information safely, and all made cyber info-sharing a top 2015 legislative priority. The House today wrapped up the work week today as it finished considering the second of two cybersecurity bills. The legislation is the first two of three measures Congress must pass to finally get a cyber info-sharing law in place.

On Wednesday, the House passed the first major cybersecurity bill since the calamitous hacks on Sony Entertainment, Home Depot and JPMorgan Chase. Passed by a vote of 307-116, HR 1560 – the Protecting Cyber Networks Act (PCNA), was backed by House Intelligence Committee leaders and would give companies liability protections when sharing cyber threat data with government civilian agencies, such as the Treasury or Commerce Departments. The goal of the measure is to increase the public-private flow of information about hacking attempts. Advocates of the legislation say such an exchange is the biggest first step the country can take to thwart hackers.  Privacy advocates and other opponents argue the bill will simply shuttle more sensitive information to the National Security Agency (NSA), further empowering its surveillance authority.

On Thursday, the House considered and passed HR 1731 — National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act by a 355-63. The intent of the law is to enhance the flow of information about hackers’ tactics between the government and private sector. Advocates say both sides need more data on the threats they face so they can bolster the nation’s faltering network defenses. Again, opposition to the legislation cautioned that this would just further empower the NSA. Shifting these abilities and empowering the Department of Homeland Security, however, has been more politically palatable. The DHS is seen as the agency most technically capable of stripping personal information from any data received before it is shared with the rest of the federal government. A cyber info-sharing hub at the department — with its established privacy oversight measures —  is also considered the ideal locale under which to consolidate domestic cyber efforts.

Both measures have the tepid approval of the White House.

The Senate had been hoping to bring its companion bill, known as the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, to the floor sometime in April. Timing for consideration of a cyber bill in the upper chamber remains fluid.

To learn more about HR 1731 – National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act of 2015, click here.
To learn more about HR 1560 – Protecting Cyber Networks Act, click here.

House Science Marks Up COMPETES Reauthorization

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Today, the full House Science Committee marked up HR 1806, the America COMPETES Reauthorization bill, which the House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith introduced late last week. Thirty four amendments were offered for consideration over the five hour mark up, and these amendments largely fell along party lines. Several controversial amendments passed, while amendements to restore certain directorate’s funding or amend climate change provisions.

Highlights of some amendments considered include:

  • An amendment offered by Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) to amend the bill and add “human activity impacts climate change” to the DOE Science mission.
  • An amendment offered by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) to officially authorize the Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) program, which passed.
  • An amendment offered by Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) to direct and broaden DOE’s Fusion Energy Sciences. which passed.
  • An amendment offered by Rep. Suzanne Bonamici to have a report on STEAM education, which failed.

The amended bill was passed out of committee by a vote of 19-16, which was a party line vote. The next step for the bill is consideration by the full House. While there has been no definite timeline stated by House leadership as to consideration of HR 1806, it is expected to be considered soon.

The Office of Federal Relations will continue to monitor the bill and its progress.

House Releases COMPETES

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The House Science Committee Republicans released their version of the America COMPETES reauthorization legislation. The COMPETES bill reauthorizes major science programs including then entirety of the National Science Foundation, the science programs within the Department of Energy, and NIST.

The bill is here.

In addition, the legislation will mark up the Full Committee next week on April 22nd at 10:15 EST. You can watch the mark up here.

The Office of Federal Relations is monitoring this legislation and will give updates as it progresses.

House Budget Bill — Update

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After a marathon markup that ran late into the evening, the House Republicans passed the bill out of the Budget Committee along a party line vote this morning. Late last night, the House Republican caucus seemed sharply divided between defense hawks and those committed to cutting spending.

According to an analysis from the Committee for Education Funding, the House Republicans’ proposed 2016 budget would make cuts to student aid that are deeper than meets the eye and would hurt funding for major education programs. The budget would eliminate expansions to the income-based repayment program, public sector loan forgiveness and in-school interest subsidies for undergraduate Stafford loans. The three changes, in addition to cuts to the Pell Grant program, would add up to tens of billions of dollars in federal savings.

The House budget also plans changes to non-defense discretionary spending in future years that will squeeze other education programs, which will more than likley lead to cuts to Head Start, Title I, IDEA and other programs.