AAAS Policy Alert -- 23 September 2009

AAAS Policy Alert -- September 23, 2009

Budget News

On September 17 the full Senate passed the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies appropriations bill for FY 2010 (H.R.3288). The Department of Transportation, which conducts most of the R&D funded by this bill (estimated at $939 million based on the President's request for FY 2010), would receive an overall total of $100.1 billion, $1.3 billion less than the House version of the bill and $2.2 billion less than the President's request. The full Senate began consideration of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations bill (H.R.2996) on September 17 and will continue to work on it this week. The Senate has now passed five of its 12 appropriations bills. The House passed all its spending bills before the August congressional recess. For the overall status of appropriations, see the AAAS R&D Budget Web site.

Other Congressional News

Domestic and International Climate Change Negotiations Continue. Despite suggestions from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) that the Senate might not bring climate change legislation to the floor this year, Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and Senate Foreign Relations Chair John Kerry (D-MA) said they are on schedule to introduce a bill in the coming weeks and move it through committee in October.

Meanwhile, international discussions of climate change are occurring on a number of fronts. The Major Economies Forum on Energy and Climate -- which includes the world's 17 largest developing and developed economies -- took place September 17-18 in Washington, DC. This week, President Obama addresses the United Nations at a special one-day session focusing on climate change. Also this week, the economics of climate measures may be discussed at the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh. Negotiations leading up to Copenhagen through the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change will take place in Bangkok from September 28 to October 9.

Hearings on Human Space Flight Report. The House Science and Technology Committee and the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation's Science and Space Subcommittee held separate hearings to examine the Summary Report of the Review of U.S Human Space Flight Plans Committee (Policy Alert, 9/8/09), an ad hoc independent panel of space experts chaired by Norman Augustine. Both chambers discussed the driving forces for human space flight and acknowledged the need to match programs and funding. In the House hearing Members criticized the scope of the summary, seeking detailed recommendations for the current Constellation program over alternative programs. The Senate hearing focused on the costs and benefits of the different program options. Both committees cited the need for presidential leadership.

Executive Branch

President's Speech on Innovation. President Obama visited Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, NY on September 21 to deliver a speech on technology and innovation. The event focused on the role that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funds play in stimulating innovation, technology development, and education. As part of the event, the White House released a white paper articulating the Administration's innovation strategy, including the importance of restoring American leadership in basic research.

DOI Launches Climate Effort. Interior Department Secretary Ken Salazar signed a secretarial order that establishes a framework to coordinate climate change science and resource management strategies across the department. The framework includes a new Climate Change Response Council, eight regional Climate Change Response Centers, and a network of Landscape Conservation Cooperatives. In addition to coordination efforts, the Council will oversee DOI programs on carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Ocean Task Force Releases Interim Report. The Interagency Ocean Task Force has released its Interim Report for a 30-day public review and comment period. This report provides proposals for a comprehensive, integrated national ocean policy, including the creation of a National Ocean Council. The final report is due in December.

EPA Reconsidering Smog Rule. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced the agency will reconsider the 2008 national smog standards to ensure that they are scientifically sound and protect human health. The Bush-era regulation was stronger than the previous rule, but not as tough as one recommended by EPA's Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee. The agency will propose any revisions to the ozone standards by December 2009 and will issue a final decision by August 2010.

FCC Chair Announces Net Neutrality Principles. Federal Communications Commission chairman Julius Genachowski has proposed rules intended to prevent Internet service providers (ISPs) from discriminating against lawful content on their networks. (For example, the rules would prevent a telephone company from blocking Internet-based telephone service on its network.) In a speech at the Brookings Institution on September 21, Genachowski announced an expansion of four principles previously put forth by the FCC. The move, which fulfills one of President Obama's campaign promises, is intended to encourage innovation and protect consumers.

FTC to Host Privacy Roundtables. The Federal Trade Commission will host a series of day-long public roundtable discussions to determine how best to protect consumer privacy while supporting beneficial uses of information and technological innovation. The Privacy Roundtables are free and open to the public. The first will be held December 7, 2009, at the FTC Conference Center.

People in the News.
- President Obama announced his intention to nominate Arun Majumdar as the first Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). Majumdar is currently Associate Laboratory Director for Energy and Environment at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley.

- The President has named nine eminent researchers as recipients of the National Medal of Science, and four inventors and one company as recipients of the National Medal of Technology and Innovation. One Medal recipient is Francis Collins, the newly confirmed Director of the National Institutes of Health. The awards will be presented in a White House ceremony on October 7.

Elsewhere

Five Universities Launch Open Access Compact. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cornell University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University, and the University of California at Berkeley announced that their institutions will work together to form a system whereby they will pay the author fees associated with publishing in open access journals. The "Compact for Open Access Publishing Equity" was released on September 14.

World Bank Releases Climate Change Report. The World Bank has released the World Development Report 2010: Development and Climate Change, in preparation for the December U.N. climate negotiations in Copenhagen. At a news conference, Justin Lin, Rosina Bierbaum, and Kathy Sierra, members of the team that prepared the report, highlighted the relationship between development and climate change, the importance of sustainable growth and poverty elimination, and the need to develop a "climate-smart" world. The report states that $100-700 billion in R&D worldwide is needed annually to limit global warming to 2° C over pre-industrial temperatures.

Publisher: Alan I. Leshner
Editor: Steve Nelson
Contributors: Joanne Carney, Patrick Clemins, Mark Frankel, Erin Heath, Earl Lane, Shirley Malcom, Al Teich, Ric Weibl, Kasey White, Brad Wible

NOTE: The AAAS Policy Alert is a newsletter provided to AAAS Members to inform them of developments in science and technology policy that may be of interest. Information in the Policy Alert is gathered from published news reports, unpublished documents, and personal communications. Although the information contained in this newsletter is regarded as reliable, it is provided only for the convenience and private use of our members. Comments and suggestions regarding the Policy Alert are welcome. Please write to alert@aaas.org.