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News and updates

Biden Administration Releases Outlines of First Budget Request

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The Biden Administration released today the broad outlines of it first budget request. Often referred to as the “skinny budget,” the proposal includes very topline Administration budget requests for various departments and agencies for the coming year. The detailed full budget request will not be available until later this spring.

The 58-page document is available on the White House website here.

The entire package calls for approximately $1.5 trillion in discretionary spending for FY2022, and includes a modest 1.7-percent increase for Defense and a16-percent increase for non-defense programs from the current levels.  Taken together, the Biden budget proposal calls for an 8-percent increase in all discretionary spending over FY2021.

Some of the topline highlights include:

  • a new $6.5-billion ARPA-H within the NIH, which would be funded at $51 billion under this budget request
  • a new $14-billion investment in climate related activities across the entire federal government
  • an increase of 41 percent for the Department of Education (ED), for a total of approximately $102 billion

In addition to ED, the budget request calls for the following funding levels for the following agencies:

  • $10.2 billion for NSF (increase of $1.7 billion, or 20%)
  • $6.9 billion for NOAA (increase of $1.4 billion)– within this proposed amount is $800 million to expand investments in climate research, support regional and local decision-making with climate data and tools, and improve community resilience to climate change.
  • $1.4 billion for Department of Interior (increase of $2.4 billion, or 16%)
  • $24.7 billion for NASA (increase of $1.5 billion, or 6.3%)
  • $46.1 billion for Department of Energy (increase of $4.3 billion, or 10.2%)
  • $1 billion for a new ARPA-Climate

Within the ED budget, the Biden plan calls for an increase of $400 in the Pell Grant maximum from the discretionary side of the budget.  The Pell Grant program is funded with both discretionary and mandatory spending and it remains to be seen whether an increase in mandatory spending for Pell will be included in the detailed budget proposal that is expected to be released later this spring.

 

 

 

State Department Updates Visa FAQs

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The US Department of State has published updated FAQs regarding visa processing, which can be found here. Visa processing will resume as local conditions at embassies and consulates allow.

Travel restrictions remain in place for foreigners who have been present in China, Iran, Brazil, UK, Ireland, South Africa, and the 26 countries in the Schengen area within 14 days preceding arrival into the US.

Members of the UW community with specific questions about their status should contact International Scholar Operations or International Student Services.

Biden Releases Infrastructure Proposal

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As anticipated, the Biden Administration released today an initial set of documents related to its much-discussed “infrastructure plan” earlier today.

The proposal  released today addresses both physical infrastructure and as well as “human” infrastructure issues, such as workforce development.  A second set of proposals, designed to target needs in the areas of education and healthcare, is expected to the released later this spring.

Examples of areas of interest to UW and higher education include the following:

  • $180 billion in new R&D spending
  • $50 billion for new NSF Technology directorate for work in new fields like:
    • semiconductors and advanced computing; advanced energy, biotech
  • $50 billion for semiconductor research and manufacturing
  • $30 billion for R&D/ innovation opportunities in rural communities
  • $40 billion for research infrastructure, including “brick-and-mortar” facilities and computing capabilities and networks
    • To be funded through agencies across the government
    • 50% would be reserved for MSI, and would create a new Climate Lab at an HBCU
  • $12 billion for community college facilities and technology, to be funded through states
  • $100 billion for broadband
  • $35 billion in clean technology and clean energy research / innovations, including:
    • Creating ARPA-C
    • $15 billion for R&D in climate priority demonstration projects, in fields like:
      • Utility-scale energy storage, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, advanced nuclear, rare earth element separations, floating offshore wind, biofuel/bioproducts, quantum computing, and electric vehicles
  • $10 billion in R&D investments for MSIs
  • $15 billion to create up to 200 centers of excellence at MSIs to serve as research incubators for grad fellowships and other opportunities
  • $20 billion regional innovation hubs to create at least 10 hubs to, further among other goals, link urban and rural communities
  • $14 billion for NIST to connect government, academia, and industry to address future competitiveness needs

Examples of other elements of the proposal include:

  • $621 billion in transportation infrastructure projects, such as:
    • $115 billion for bridges, highways, roads, and main streets
    • $85 billion for public transit
    • $80 billion for passenger and freight rail
    • $174 billion for the electric vehicle market and infrastructure
    • $25 billion for airports
    • $25 billion for regional projects that are too big to be financed by a single entity
    • $17 billion for waterways, ports, ferries
    • $20 billion to connect communities physically cut off from economic opportunities

Pay-fors

  • The plan proposes to change a number of tax provisions and seeks to raise $2 trillion over 15 years.

The White House fact sheet on the proposal is available here.

The release of the proposal is just the first step in the process of trying to push through and fund a set of infrastructure plans.  How Congress chooses to engage with and respond to the the Biden requests remain to the be seen.  Office of Federal Relations will continue to provide additional details about the proposal as they become available.

NSF Reauthorization Introduced in House

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The House Science, Space, and Technology has introduced legislation to reauthorize the NSF. The legislation is sponsored by committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) along with Subcommittee on Research and Technology Chairwoman Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Ranking Member Michael Waltz (R-FL). It was introduced as the National Science Foundation for the Future Act. The bipartisan legislation increases overall agency funding by $2 billion, addresses key challenges for data access and accountability, security concerns, and creates a new Directorate for Science and Engineering Solutions.

A summary is available here.

Biden Announces Additional OSTP Appointees

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President Biden announced two additional appointees to leadership roles in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Dr. Jane Lubchenco will serve as Deputy Director for Climate and Environment. An accomplished environmental scientist, Dr. Lubchenco is a professor at Oregon State University and formerly served as US Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and the Administrator of NOAA, as well as the US Science Envoy for the Ocean. She is also a UW alum, having received her Masters degree in Zoology (’71)!

Dr. Jason Matheny will serve as Deputy Director for National Security. He has served as a Commissioner on the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence since 2018. Prior to that role, he served as Assistant Director of National Intelligence and Director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency.