AAAS Policy
Alert -- December 2, 2009
Budget News
Congress was on recess last week; therefore, no progress was
made on FY 2010 appropriations. Four appropriations bills are awaiting
conference committee deliberations between the houses of Congress. The
Senate also needs to pass its versions of three other appropriation
bills. With health care reform on the Senate's calendar for this week,
progress on FY 2010 appropriations seems unlikely. Agencies that have
not yet received their FY 2010 appropriations continue to operate under
a continuing resolution (CR) extending through December 18. For details
on the current status of appropriations, see the AAAS R&D Budget
Web site.
Agency budget requests for FY 2011 were due to the White
House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on September 14, and rounds
of negotiations, or passbacks, are currently taking place. The joint
OMB/OSTP memo, "Science
and Technology Priorities for the FY 2011
Budget," released on August 4, outlines four challenges and four
priorities for agencies to focus on in developing their FY 2011
budgets. Negotiations between OMB and the agencies will continue until
early January, at which time the Administration's overall budget
request for FY 2011 will be finalized, compiled, and released by the
President on the traditional budget-release day, the first Monday in
February.
Other Congressional News
Fallout Continues from Hacked Climate Research Emails. Several investigations have been launched in response to the emails hacked from the U.K.'s University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit (Policy Alert, 11/27/09). East Anglia officials are investigating the "criminal breach" of the release of the material. Officials are also examining issues raised by the content of the emails, particularly related to suggestions not to comply with requests under the Freedom of Information Act. Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, sent letters to several scientists, as well as to the inspectors general of several federal agencies, notifying them to retain documents related to the release of emails, and House Government Reform and Oversight Committee Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) announced he is also examining the issue. Pennsylvania State University has also announced it will explore whether an investigation is warranted into email exchanges involving Penn State professor Michael Mann.
Executive
Branch
U.S. Engaging in Copenhagen.
President Obama announced he will
attend the United Nations climate change negotiations in Copenhagen
that begin next week, along with several cabinet secretaries. He also
announced his intention to commit the U.S. to reducing emissions "in
the range" of 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 -- similar to levels
in the House-passed American Clean Energy and Security Act.
President
Announces New Bioethical Issues Commission. President Obama has
announced a new
Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical
Issues. Amy Gutmann, a political scientist, philosopher, and
president
of the University of Pennsylvania, will serve as Chair. James Wagner, a
materials scientist and president of Emory University, will serve as
Vice Chair. The predecessor to the new committee, the President's
Council on Bioethics, was abolished by President Obama in June.
U.S.
and India Launch "Green Partnership." President Obama and Indian
Prime
Minister Singh announced a partnership focused on climate change,
energy security, food security, and clean energy. As part of this
comprehensive
agreement, the U.S. National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL)
will partner with India's Solar Energy Centre on solar energy research.
NREL and India's Centre for Wind Energy Technology will focus on a
low-wind-speed turbine technology program. Other areas of focus may
include: smart grid, second-generation biofuels, clean coal
technologies, advanced battery technologies, and micro-hydro power.
National Park Service Proposes
Sharing Profits from Research. The
National Park Service (NPS) has proposed that it receive a share of
profits from any commercial projects resulting from scientific research
in the national parks. The "benefits-sharing"
proposal is the preferred
policy choice in a Final Environmental Impact Statement released by the
agency on Nov. 23. The NPS director is expected to issue a final
decision in early 2010. The environmental analysis was ordered by a
federal judge who upheld the Park Service's decision to let a San Diego
company bioprospect for novel organisms in Yellowstone National Park in
exchange for a share of any commercial profits. More than 200 national
parks, on average, host independent research efforts each year. Only a
small number of those with research permits are expected to be affected
by the benefits-sharing proposal.
Elsewhere
District Court Upholds
Constitutionality of Animal Terrorism
Act. Recently the first charges under the Animal Enterprise
Terrorism
Act (AETA), passed by Congress in 2005, were brought in San Jose, CA.
The defense in the case asked for dismissal of charges on the grounds
that the act was unconstitutional because (a) it was too vague, and (b)
it interfered with the defendants' rights of free speech and
expression. The motion to dismiss on constitutional grounds was denied
by the District Court for the Northern District of California, meaning
that the court found that the AETA is constitutional, and the trial on
the merits of the case can go forth. It is not known whether the
District
Court's decision will be appealed to the Ninth Circuit. (This
case should not be confused with the 2006 convictions in New Jersey of
animal rights activists, who were tried under a different federal law,
the Animal Enterprise Protection Act. Coincidentally, the Third Circuit
Court of Appeals recently affirmed
the constitutionality of the AEPA as
well, but since it is a weaker law, it is considered not as likely to
be used in the future.)
U.S. Share of World Research
Community
Declines. A report
from UNESCO released last week provides new evidence
of the global distribution of science capacity. According to the
report, the number of individuals engaged in research worldwide grew
from 5.8 million in 2002 to 7.1 million in 2007. As much of this growth
was in developing countries, the U.S. share of the total declined from
23.2% to 20.3%. China's share, meanwhile, grew from 14.0% to 20.1%. As
a fraction of each nation's population, however, the U.S still has more
than 4.5 times as many researchers as China. The number of researchers
in the developing world grew by a remarkable 56% between 2002 and 2007,
while those in developed nations rose by 8.6%.
European Officials for
Research/Innovation and Climate Named. The President of the
European
Commission, José Manuel Barroso, has
nominated Máire
Geoghegan-Quinn to be the new commissioner for research and innovation
for the European Union. A longtime member of the Irish Parliament,
Geoghegan-Quinn, who has no formal scientific training, will replace
Janez Potocnik. A new post will be added to the Commission to focus on
climate action. Connie Hedegaard, former Danish climate and energy
minister, will fill this slot.
Publisher: Alan I. Leshner
Editor: Steve Nelson
Contributors: Patrick Clemins, Mark Frankel,
Erin Heath, Barbara Jasny, Earl Lane, Gretchen Seiler, Al Teich, Jamie
Wheeler, Kasey White, Brad Wible
NOTE: The AAAS Policy Alert is a newsletter provided to AAAS Members to
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be of interest. Information in the Policy Alert is gathered from
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