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News and updates

Department of Energy Announces Details on Hubs

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Department of Energy to Invest $366M in Energy Innovation Hubs

Funding Opportunity Announcement for Fuels from Sunlight Hub is Issued

Washington, DC – U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu today outlined the Department’s plans to invest up to $366 million to establish and operate three new Energy Innovation Hubs focused on accelerating research and development in three key energy areas.  Each Hub, to be funded at up to $122 million over five years, will bring together a multidisciplinary team of researchers in an effort to speed research and shorten the path from scientific discovery to technological development and commercial deployment of highly promising energy-related technologies. 

 “Given the urgency of our challenges in both energy and climate, we need to do everything we can to mobilize our Nation’s scientific and technological talent to accelerate the pace of innovation,” said Secretary Chu.  “The DOE Energy Innovation Hubs represent a new, more proactive approach to managing and conducting research.  We are taking a page from America’s great industrial laboratories in their heyday.  Their achievements—from the transistor to the information theory that makes modern telecommunications possible—are evidence that we can build creative, highly-integrated research teams that can accomplish more, faster, than researchers working separately.”

The Hubs are part of a broad-based clean energy research strategy by the Obama Administration that will harness America’s innovation machine to achieve the breakthroughs we need.

This strategy includes three new initiatives which are designed to complement each other: Continue reading “Department of Energy Announces Details on Hubs”

This Week on Capitol Hall December 21-25

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The Senate is scheduled to remain in session for at least part of this week as it continues consideration of HR 3590, Health Care Overhaul. 

The House will meet at 12:00 pm on Wednesday, December 23rd, and at 10:00 am Saturday, December 26 for pro formas sessions.  [During pro forma sessions, no legislative business is conducted or votes taken.  These sessions are held to meet the 3-day rule in the Constitution that requires each House to gain the permission of the other for recesses longer than 3 days.]  

The only committee action scheduled for this week is Thursday, December 24, when the Senate Judiciary will mark up legislation on a National Criminal Justice Commission, medical bankruptcy fairness, ,hate crimes against the homeless, maltreated infants, and immunization exemptions for certain adopted children.  The committee will also vote on the namination of O. Rogeriee Thomopson to be a judge for the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals.

Source:  CQ Today

FY10 Appropriations Process Comes to an End

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**Chart Updated 12/22**

With passage of the Defense Appropriations bill in the Senate over the past weekend, the FY10 appropriations process came to an end. The 2010 process included nearly $11 million of appropriations specifically for the University of Washington, including: $4.6 million for the Institute for Simulation and Interprofessional Studies, $4 million for the Puget Sound Ecosystem Research Initiative, $1 million for the Washington Biofuels Industry Development Project, $880,000 for the NW National Marine Renewable Energy Center, and $200,000 for the UW Bothell Nursing Faculty Consortium Training Program. Coverage of important federal agnecy/program figures can be founds here. In many cases, federal agencies that received significant funding through the Recovery Act (e.g. NIH, NSF, DoE Office of Science) saw only modest increases in the regular appropriations process.

Bill House Committee Full House Senate Committee Full Senate House Conference Senate Conference President
Agriculture 6/18 7/9 7/7 8/4 10/7 10/8 10/21
Commerce, Justice, Science 6/9 6/18 6/25 11/5 12/10 12/13  12/16 
Defense 7/22 7/30 9/10 10/6 12/16  12/19 12/19
Energy and Water 7/7 7/17 7/9 7/29 10/1 10/15 10/28
Financial Services 7/7 7/16 7/9 12/13  12/10  12/13  12/16 
Homeland Security 6/12 6/24 6/18 7/9 10/15 10/20 10/28
Interior, Environ. 6/18 6/26 6/25 9/24 10/29 10/29 10/31
Labor-HHS-Education 7/17 7/24 7/30 12/13  12/10  12/13  12/16
Leg. Branch 6/12 6/19 6/18 7/6 9/25 9/29 10/1
Military Con.-VA 6/23 7/10 7/7 11/17 12/10  12/13  12/16 
State-For. Ops. 6/23 7/9 7/9 12/13  12/10  12/13  12/16
Transpo.-HUD 7/17 7/23 7/30 9/17 12/10  12/13  12/16

Secretary of Educations Pens Op-Ed on Student Loan Overhaul

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Yesterday, The Wall Street Journal, published an op-ed by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. In the piece, Secretary Duncan makes the case that banks don’t belong in the federal student loan business and that the subsidies they currently receive through Federal Family Education Loan program would be better spent on student aid. The Senate is expected to act on the legislation when it returns in the new year.

The Wall Street Journal Op-Ed: Banks Don’t Belong in the Student Loan Business

House Passes Jobs Bill with Higher Ed. Provisions

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Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed a jobs package (H.R. 2847 -Jobs for Mainstreet Act of 2010) that provides $75 billion of unspent funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) for assistance to states and local governments in avoiding government layoffs and supporting infrastructure repair and modernization. 

Of note to the higher education community in the bill is an additional $300 million for the College Work-Study program, as well as the following aid for public colleges and universities:

“Education Jobs Fund: $23 billion for an Education Jobs Fund to help States support an estimated 250,000 education jobs over the next two years.  95% of the funds will be allocated by States to school districts and public institutions of higher education to retain or create jobs to provide educational services and to modernize, renovate, and repair public education facilities. The remaining 5% of funds is reserved for State education-related jobs and administration of the Education Jobs Fund.”

The Senate will not act on a companion bill until January at the earliest.

Appropriations Committee Summary of H.R. 2847