On November 13th, UW signed onto a letter circulated by the Michael J Fox Foundation to the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. The letter opposes the Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science rule, which would require raw data to be made publicly available when it is used to formulate new regulations. UW is joined by over sixty other higher education institutions, associations, and research organizations in opposing these rule changes. There are many instances, especially in the health sciences, when making raw data publicly available would be infeasible or harm the confidentiality of research subjects. Therefore, this rule could limit the quality of data used in the regulatory process, as only data which could be made publicly available would be utilized.
News and updates
SCOTUS Hears DACA Today
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) will hear oral arguments for Department of Homeland Security v. Regents of the University of California (18-587). Consolidated with similar cases, the Court will hear arguments related to the Administration’s decision to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Considered one of the major cases of this term, the arguments before the justices will concern two key issues;
- Whether the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to wind down the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy is judicially reviewable; and
- Whether DHS’s decision to wind down the DACA policy is lawful.
While the Court will hear arguments today, a decision is not expected until the Spring of 2020. To hear the oral arguments, SCOTUS posts the audio file each Friday following the arguments. The audio may be accessed here.
For a deep dive round up of how the case might be argued and rule, the SCOTUS blog has a round up here.
Federal Relations is monitoring the progress of the case and the federal responses on DACA closely and will continue to provide updates.
What We’re Reading this Week (November 4th-8th, 2019)
Below is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team has read this week.
US and China to Rollback Tariffs: The US and China have entered “extensive and serious discussions” to rollback tariffs. This would be done in phases, and is expected to greatly improve global economic output. More at Politico.
Republicans Seek Whistleblower Testimony: House Republicans are expected to request the “Ukraine call” whistleblower to testify publicly. This comes after Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) called for the media to “print the name” of the whistleblower. Whistleblowers are protected from retaliation, and there are concerns that exposing the identity of the whistleblower would put them in harms’ way. House Intelligence Committee Democrats can deny the Republican request to call the whistleblower for testimony. More at CNN.
Bolivia Protests Turn Violent: Protests continue following the Bolivian Presidential Elections on October 20th. Supporters of the opposition party accuse the sitting President Evo Morales of rigging the vote to win another five year term. Three people have died so far. The Organization of American States (OAS), of which the US is a member, is expected to audit the elections. More at BBC.
Ex-Twitter Employees Accused of Spying for Saudi Arabia: The US has accused two former Twitter employees, including one Saudi citizen, of accessing personal information of Twitter users at the request of the Saudi Government. This is the first time Saudi Arabia has been publicly accused of espionage within the United States. It is believed that Saudi Arabia wanted to unveil dissidents who use anonymous accounts to criticize the government. More at Washington Post.
State of Emergency in South Sudan: Serious flooding in South Sudan has displaced over a million people, and also caused major crop failure and unsanitary conditions. President Salva Kiir declared a state of emergency in response. See Voice of America for more.
Federal Government Sues Gilead: The Trump Administration has filed a lawsuit against Gilead, a company making HIV-prevention drugs. The lawsuit argues that Gilead is infringing on patents owned by the Department of Health and Human Services, and accuses Gilead of price gouging on drugs which were the result of taxpayer-funded research. More at New York Times.
Idea Floating for New Research-Funding Entity
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is considering a draft proposal for a new entity which would spend $100 billion over five years on research related to artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and 5G technology. The tentative name for the proposed organization is the “National Science and Technology Foundation”. It would be a subsidiary of the National Science Foundation and would work in concert with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). For context, NSF’s annual budget is currently $8.1 billion.
The idea comes from the interim report, published November 4th, from the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence, which was a commission established through the FY2019 National Defense Authorization bill (P.L. 115-232).
The US is competing fiercely with Russia and China to be the global leader in artificial intelligence, so this organization would be closely tied to US national security.
The proposal is still in the earliest stages of development, and it has not been decided how the organization will be structured or if it will continue to operate after the initial five year period.
Read more about the proposal here.
What We’re Reading this Week (October 28th-November 1st, 2019)
Below is a selection of articles the Federal Relations team has read this week.
ISIS Leader Killed: President Trump announced that ISIS leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi was killed in a raid at the beginning of the week, and that his “likely replacement” was also killed, greatly weakening the terrorist organization. More at CBS.
American Colleges Top List of World’s Most Innovative: Reuters published their list of the world’s most innovative universities. American universities heavily dominated the list. The top five universities were all American, and included University of Washington. This represents the value of American education, and serves as a reminder of why investment in education is so important for our economy. Read more at Forbes.
House Votes on Impeachment Inquiry: The House has voted by a majority of 232-196 to formalize the rules governing an impeachment inquiry into President Trump. The inquiry is related to a whistleblower complaint and foreign policy towards Ukraine. The House has not voted to impeach President Trump. Although the new rules will allow for televised hearings and the release of witness testimony, Republicans still argue the process is unfair. More at Washington Post.
DoE Pushing AI: The Department of Energy has announced a major refocus on Artificial Intelligence, and that they will push for $3 billion-$4 billion in funding over the next decade. The goal is to keep US research as competitive as possible, and expedite further scientific discoveries. The full story is at Science Magazine.
China Convenes Gathering of Nobel Laureates: China has convened a four day gathering of Nobel Prize Laureates in Shanghai. The convention is supposedly meant to promote Chinese scientific ventures. More at The Economist.
Boeing CEO Testifies on 737 MAX: Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg testified before the House Transportation Committee on Wednesday. The testimony comes in the midst of accusations of mismanagement on the 737 MAX project. Leaked internal emails reveal that key personnel were aware of technical issues on the aircraft prior to fatal crashes in Ethiopia and Indonesia. Also this week, the union representing American Airlines flight attendants, the largest operator of the 737 MAX, published a letter demanding greater involvement before the aircraft is brought back online. More at The Hill.