White House Announces New Travel Restrictions; Supreme Court Cancels Oral Arguments in Case
On September 24, the White House announced new restrictions on individuals from Chad, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen travelling to the United States. The restrictions vary by country and do not apply to individuals who already have secured visas. The restrictions replace those that were put into place earlier in the year and go into effect on October 18.
In response to this announcement, the Supreme Court cancelled oral arguments on the constitutionality of the previous travel ban, and asked the parties to submit information on whether the case is still relevant.
The Society wants to hear from members whose education, research, and careers are affected by the ban. You can share your story here.
U.S. Government Will Begin FY 2018 with a Continuing Resolution
Unlike in recent years, Congress did not wait until the last minute to make sure the government could operate at the start of the new fiscal year. On Friday, Sept. 8, the President signed into law a bill that funds the government through December 8, provides disaster relief, and suspends the debt ceiling. The continuing resolution (CR) portion of the package funds the government at 2017 appropriations levels with an across the board 0.6791% cut. The bill also prohibits NIH from reducing support for facilities and administrative (F&A) expenses, as proposed in the President’s budget proposal.
While federal agencies do not have to worry about a shutdown on October 1, the first day of the 2018 fiscal year, a CR still does make annual planning difficult. Without knowing how much money they will have to spend once a final bill is approved, agencies are very cautious in committing funds during a CR. In the meantime, the House and Senate continued to work on appropriations. The House has passed all 12 spending bills but the Senate has not passed any.
Ask Congress to Raise the Spending Caps
The Biophysical Society is continuing to advocate that Congress reach a bipartisan, bicameral agreement to raise the spending caps set by the 2011 Budget Contract Act. The 2011 Budget Control Act (BCA) established austerity-level federal spending, and in FY18 the sequestration budget caps or automatic spending cuts for federal agencies will severely limit the funding available to appropriators if and when they do pass a budget for FY 2018. And since the caps are decreased each year, if Congress were to choose a year-long CR funding the government at 2017 rates, across the board sequestration cuts would take place.
U.K. and U.S. Sign Cooperative Science and Technology Agreement
On Sept. 20, the United Kingdom and United States signed the “U.K.-U.S. Science and Technology Agreement” which is meant to bolster cooperation on scientific research. The centerpiece of the agreement is the U.K.’s pledge to invest $88 million in a particle detector, the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE), located in South Dakota. The White House blog has more information on the agreement.
Ostell Named Director of NCBI
James M. Ostell has been appointed director of the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) at NIH. NCBI, a division of the National Library of Medicine, supports several biomedical databases. According to the release, Ostell has been with NCBI since it was established by Congress in 1988, and most recently served as Chief of the Engineering Branch. He received his PhD in molecular biology from Harvard University.
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