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News and updates

Senate Staffer Visits UW

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Douglas Clapp and Grad Student

Douglas Clapp, Clerk for the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, visited the University of Washington on August 12, 2010. As Clerk, Mr. Clapp is the chief of staff for the influential subcommittee that controls the purse strings for federal energy and water related funding. Pictured is UW Chemical Engineering Ph.D. student Ikechukwu Nwaneshiudu showing Mr. Clapp his nanotechnology-based sensor for detecting trace hydrocarbons in water, a topic made critically relevant by the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Mr. Nwaneshiudu is a Gates Millenium Scholar and National Science Foundation Bioenergy IGERT Fellow working under the guidance of Professors Qiuming Yu and Daniel T. Schwartz.

President Obama: “Education is an economic issue”

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Earlier this month, President Obama delivered a speech on the importance of higher education during tough economic times. With job losses and corporate bankruptcies dominating the headlines in recent years, many have questioned the value and importance of trying to save a financially struggling education system. The President gave the following response while speaking at the University of Texas at Austin:

                “In a single generation, we’ve fallen from 1st place to 12th place in college graduation rates for young adults…Now, that’s unacceptable, but it’s not irreversible. If we’re serious about making sure America’s workers—and America itself—succeeds in the 21st century, the single most important step we can take is make sure that every one of our young people has the best education that the world has to offer…education is an economic issue. Education is the economic issue of our time. It is an economic issue when the unemployment rate for folks who’ve never gone to college is almost double what it is for folks who have gone to college. It is an economic issue when almost 8 in 10 new jobs will require workforce training or higher education by the end of this decade. And it is an economic issue when we know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that countries that out-educate us today will out-compete us tomorrow”.

The President went on to explain that the administration is trying to help the higher education community by shifting all federal student loans to Direct Loans and expanding Pell Grants; reinvesting in community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Hispanic-Serving Institutions; and focusing on college completion by identifying best models.

Department of Ed. Releases Secretary’s Proposed Priorities for FY11

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The Department of Education last week released Secretary Duncan’s proposed priorities for discretionary grant programs in FY 11 and beyond. These priorities could be used as an absolute, competitive, or invitational priority for any discretionary grant solicitation. Grant programs of interest to the higher education community include:

Increasing Postsecondary Success, which includes “increasing the rates at which high-need students enroll in and complete graduate programs”

Promoting Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education, of which one area is “increasing the number of students prepared for advance postsecondary or graduate study and careers in STEM, with a specific focus on an increase in the proportion of students so prepared who are from groups traditionally under-represented in STEM careers, including minorities, individuals with disabilities, and women” and “increasing the opportunities for high-quality preparation of, or professional development for, teachers of STEM subjects”

House Passes Oil Spill Bill, Senate Struggle Will Continue in Fall

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House Passes Oil Spill Bill

 Before adjourning for the August recess, the House of Representatives passed an oil spill response bill, HR 3534, the  Consolidated Land, Energy, and Aquatic Resources Act of 2010 (CLEAR Act). The House bill removes the $75 million cap on economic liability reimbursement for offshore oil spills, restructures the Department of Interior’s offshore drilling regulatory functions, and bolsters mandatory funding for research and development. The bill calls for a program of research, development, and risk assessment to address technology and development issues, associated with exploration for, and development and production of, energy and mineral resources on the outer Continental Shelf, with the primary purpose of informing its role relating to safety, environmental protection, and spill response.

The House bill also establishes an Ocean Resources Conservation and Assistance Fund (ORCA) that would be used to provide grants to coastal states and Regional Ocean Partnerships and the Regional Coordination Councils for activities that contribute to the protection, maintenance, and restoration of ocean, coastal and Great Lakes ecosystems.

 Grants would also be available for coastal states to improve their oil spill response planning, and for the implementation and operation of an Integrated Ocean Observation System (IOOS). The University of Washington is a key partner of the Northwest Association of Networked Ocean Observing Systems (NANOOS), which is 1 of 11 regional components of IOOS

  Continue reading “House Passes Oil Spill Bill, Senate Struggle Will Continue in Fall”

Murray Amendment Advances Crucial State Funding

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The Senate today passed a crucial amendment that will help states avoid education job losses, and provides desperately needed Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) payments to states . The FMAP/Teacher Jobs Bill passed the senate on a vote of 61-39 and will now be sent to the House where most expect it to pass and then sent to the President for his signature. The Amendment, which was attached to the Aviation Safety and Investment Act of 2010, will send more than $26 billion in aid to states and its costs are fully offset, largely due to spending reductions made in other areas. Patty Murray, was a driving force behind this bill and worked to achieve a solution that would draw bipartisan support.

The legislation provides $16.1 billion for FMAP, and will keep the level of federal Medicaid assistance (which was increased by a minimum of 6.2% in the Recovery Act) consistent for the next 6 months and then gradually decrease the contribution level for the following 6 months. The amendment will also provide $10 billion for additional support to local school districts to prevent imminent layoffs. Nationwide it is estimated that this fund will help to save the jobs of nearly 140,000 educators.

If the legislation passes the House, the State of Washington would realize approximately $546.3 million in FMAP funds. The bill will also prevent the layoffs of up to 3,000 teachers within our state and allow the State legislature to avoid conducting a costly special session. In the words of Senator Murray, “This amendment will allow Washington State to avoid layoffs, service cuts, or tax increases—and it will make sure our children don’t walk through the schoolhouse doors this September to larger class sizes and fewer subjects”.

In an uncommon move, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the House back from its August recess to vote on the measure. They are expected to take up the issue next Tuesday the 10th.