Science Board Issues Regulatory Burden Report
BU IN DC
Anthony Janetos of the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future took part in the release of the Third National Climate Assessment Study, which he contributed to, at the White House on May 6.
Carla Romney, Don DeRosa and Carl Franzblau of the School of Medicine attended SciEd 2014: Annual Conference for NIH Science Education Projects at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) between May 4 and 6.
Cornelius Hurley of the Center for Finance, Law, & Policy participated in the annual meeting of the Federal Home Loan Banks between May 5 and 7.
Garland Waller and students from the College of Communication screened their films about family courts during a Capitol Hill reception on May 7.
SCIENCE BOARD ISSUES REGULATORY BURDEN REPORT
The National Science Board (NSB), the policymaking body of the National Science Foundation, released a report entitled “Reducing Investigators’ Administrative Workload for Federally Funded Research” last week. The report outlines recommendations to streamline research regulations, while acknowledging the need to be accountable when carrying out federally-funded research. To prevent the diversion of “taxpayer dollars from research to superfluous grant administration,” the authors recommend clarifying the process of time and effort reporting, better harmonizing grant processes across federal agencies, and balancing conflict of interest rules with support for university-industry collaborations. Given the document’s broad look at many federal agencies, implementing the report’s recommendations may prove challenging.
WARREN, TIERNEY PROPOSE ED LOAN REFINANCING
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Representative John Tierney (D-MA) introduced the Bank on Students Emergency Loan Refinancing Act on Tuesday as part of a campaign by Congressional Democrats to focus on legislation to benefit middle-class families. The bill would allow borrowers to refinance both their federal and private education loans at the current federal interest rate. The U.S. Senate may vote on Warren’s bill later this year as part of the Senate Democrats’ “A Fair Shot for Everyone” agenda.
GRANT NEWS YOU CAN USE
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate’s Cyber Security Division has released a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) to fund research and development activities for the next five years. Through this BAA, DHS will focus on near and medium-term research that will help develop new cyber prevention and detection technologies, improve the operations of existing cyber technologies, and facilitate the adoption of these technologies into current environments and infrastructure. Cybersecurity continues to be a leading priority for the S&T Directorate.