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News and updates

Obama Administrations Seeks Input on Scientific Openness

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Provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

The President is championing a new climate of openness, collaboration, transparency and accountability in government, as well as respect for maintaining the integrity of science in governmental agencies. Your help is requested in developing guidelines to enable these goals to be achieved. For science to guide our government’s policy decisions, it is imperative that scientific data be credible and methodologies be transparent. The same goes for the selection of scientists and science policy experts for positions within the executive branch.

President Obama has recently asked the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to develop a comprehensive strategy to guarantee the highest level of scientific integrity in the executive branch. The OSTP is seeking your recommendations on a number of key principles:

  • What are the best ways to measure the knowledge, credentials, experience and integrity of a candidate for a science and technology position in the executive branch?
  • How can the integrity of scientific processes by assured? What are some good examples to learn from?
  • What are the most effective processes and organizational structures for assuring that scientific and technological information is reliable? How can the processes and structures used in each case best be disclosed as part of the public record?
  • What are the best ways to maximize the legitimate public release of scientific and technological information relied upon by agencies?
  • How can agencies best ensure that they will know when scientific or technological integrity has been compromised?
  • What are the best ways to make sure that the science and technology an agency relies on is reliable?

Many of you have first-hand experience grappling with these issues on a daily basis. I encourage each of you to seize this special opportunity to offer your input. The deadline for public comment is May 13. You can learn more about how to submit your comments to the OSTP by visiting www.ostp.gov and clicking on the “Scientific Integrity” link.

NHA Releases FY10 Budget Advocacy Update

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Provided by the National Humanities Alliance

NATIONAL HUMANITIES ALLIANCE TESTIFIES FOR INCREASED NEH FUNDING

On Thursday, April 23, National Humanities Alliance Vice President and American Council of Learned Societies President, Pauline Yu, testified before the House Interior, Environment, & Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee for increased funding for the National Endowment for the Humanities.  Ms. Yu urged the Subcommittee to provide the National Endowment for the Humanities with funding of at least $230 million in Fiscal Year 2010, including an additional $50 million for competitive grant programs and $25 million for operating grants to state humanities councils, over the FY 2009 enacted level.

She cited the value of the humanities to our nation’s long-term economic well-being, and to our continued status as a world leader. She highlighted the demand for humanities grants by explaining how in FY 2008, applications for NEH grants in all programs represented $421 million in requested funds, more than three times the program dollars obligated for that year.  At the national level, only 16% of competitive, peer-reviewed project proposals were funded, compared to a 26% funding rate for merit-reviewed projects at the National Science Foundation (an agency similar to NEH in its connection to higher education and its mission to strengthen education and research at all levels in its sector). Continue reading “NHA Releases FY10 Budget Advocacy Update”

VA Announces Post-9/11 GI Bill Application Availability

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United States Department of Veterans Affairs

Starting May 1, 2009, the Department of Veterans Affairs will begin accepting applications for the Post-9/11 GI Bill.  The application form is available online.

The form requires that individuals currently eligible for another education benefit make an irrevocable election from their existing program to the Post-9/11 GI Bill. Typically individuals who are eligible for more than one benefit may use a combined total of 48 months of entitlement.  Therefore, for those individuals eligible for the Montgomery GI Bill (MGIB) program, please be advised that if you have entitlement remaining under the MGIB, the number of months of Post-9/11 GI Bill entitlement you will be eligible for will be equal to the number of months remaining under MGIB.  However, if you exhaust all of your MGIB entitlement, then you may be entitled to a maximum of 12 additional months of entitlement under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Starting May 1, 2009 VA will begin processing applications for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits and  you will receive a letter explaining VA’s decision regarding your eligibility for the program.  Payments for the Post-9/11 GI Bill will not be processed until August 1, 2009.

Click here to access the application form which includes instructions for submitting completed applications.

FY10 Budget Resolution Finished

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**UPDATE: The FY10 Budget Resolution conference agreement has been approved by the House and Senate**

House and Senate conferees have reached an agreement on an FY10 Budget Resolution. A budget resolution is a non-binding budget blueprint, which does not require the President’s signature. The legislation calls for $1.096 trillion in non-emergency discretionary spending in FY10, only $10 billion or 1% less than President Obama’s initial request -as captured in a budget blueprint from the administration in February. President Obama is expected to release a full budget request in early May.

The most contested provision of the FY10 Budget Resolution would permit the use of the fast-track budget reconciliartion process for health insurance and student loan reform legislation. The budget reconciliation process is being labeled as a last resort, and would allow for the movement of legislation with a simple majority -avoiding the threat of a filibuster by the minority.

Final votes on the budget resolution are expected on Wednesday April 29th.

Budget Resolution Documents

Conflict of Interest Rules Proposed for Medical Research

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A recent report from the Institute of Medicine recommends that researchers and medical faculty members decline all gifts from medical companies and refuse to publish or present material that is ghostwritten for such companies in order to avoid real or perceive conflicts of interest.   The recommendations also suggest broader reporting requirements of researchers’ ties to companies, but does not go so far as to recommend barring all such ties.  Instead, the report suggests that researchers should disclose ties not only to their employers but to other medical organizations. 

Read more about the Institute for Medicine report.