House Committee Boosts Research Funding
BU IN DC
Noora Lori of the Pardee School of Global Studies attended a conference on May 23.
HOUSE COMMITTEE BOOSTS RESEARCH FUNDING
The House Appropriations Committee passed several fiscal year 2020 spending bills this week, recommending that many research accounts receive sizable budget increases. Under the Committee-passed bills, the following agencies would be funded at these levels:
- National Science Foundation: $8.6 billion, a $561 million increase over the current level
- NASA Science Mission Directorate: $7.2 billion, a $255 million increase
- Department of Energy Office of Science: $6.9 billion, a $285 million increase
- Department of Defense basic research: $2.5 billion, a $21.2 million decrease (though DARPA and several accounts that fund university research would increase)
- National Endowment for the Humanities: $167.5 million, a $12.5 million increase
Since the spending bills need to be approved by both chambers of Congress and the President before becoming law, the committee’s proposed funding levels are preliminary. But they are an early indication of Congressional support for key research accounts.
BUZZ BITS…
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Education released new, preliminary data on undergraduate and graduate student loan debt in different fields of study for its College Scorecard consumer web site. Previously, data was available on the average loan debt at each college or university, but not by program or major.
The U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Christopher Fall to be the director of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. Dr. Fall is a neuroscientist who previously served with DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy program.
- The U.S. House of Representatives passed the SECURE Act (H.R. 1994) on Thursday, legislation that will reduce the tax rate for students’ non-tuition financial aid. The fix to the so-called “kiddie tax” is needed because the rate increased significantly under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The Senate has passed a related, but different, measure.
EVENTS NEWS YOU CAN USE
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) will host a Discover DSO Day (D3) on June 18 in Arlington, VA. The D3 event will provide an overview of DARPA and DSO and offer useful information to potential proposers in anticipation of a broad agency announcement (BAA) from DSO in June 2019. Topics for the BAA are expected to include: Frontiers in Math, Computation & Design, Limits of Sensing & Sensors, Complex Social Systems, and Anticipating Surprise. Registration for both in-person attendance and the webcast will open on May 28 and close on June 11.