EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt Resigns
On July 5, President Donald Trump announced he had accepted the resignation of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt effective July 6. Pruitt, the former Attorney General of Oklahoma, cited unrelenting personal attacks by members of the media as the reason for his resignation. He had faced numerous ethical complaints and investigations due to his unusually high spending on office expenses, first-class airline travel, and a personal security detail. However, Pruitt was widely credited with successfully implementing the President’s environmental agenda while at EPA. Andrew Wheeler, the current Deputy Administrator, will serve as the acting-Administrator until a replacement is named and then approved by the Senate. Read more here.
EU-US Partner on Neurodegenerative Disease Research
On June 29, the National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the EU Joint Programme on Neurodegenerative Disease Research (JPND) announced efforts to improve research collaboration on neurodegenerative diseases. Under the agreement, researchers supported by JPND are encouraged to team up with researchers supported by NIH, and vice versa. The two funding agencies hope expanded collaboration will lead to pilot experiments, data sharing, and stronger scientific workshops. Read NIH’s announcement here.
2018 Golden Goose Award Ceremony Announced
The Seventh Annual Golden Goose Award Ceremony will take place on September 13 at the Library of Congress. The award seeks to highlight seemingly obscure, federally-funded scientific research that has led to a major scientific breakthrough or positively impacted society. BPS is a sponsor of the award. Learn more here.
Join BPS in Washington on September 12-13 for the Rally for Medical Research Funding
The Society is participating in annual Rally for Medical Research fly-in on September 12-13 in Washington, D.C. This Capitol Hill Day event builds on the momentum established in 2013, and includes more than 300 national organizations coming together in support of the Rally for Medical Research. The purpose of the Rally is to call on our nation's policymakers to make funding for National Institutes of Health (NIH) a national priority and raise awareness about our membership’s research. Please email Sean at [email protected] to learn more.
Senate Appropriators Advance FY 2019 Commerce, Justice, Science Funding Bill
On June 14, the full Senate Appropriations Committee advanced its $62.995 billion Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) funding package by a 30-1 vote. The National Science Foundation (NSF) was funded at $8.1 billion, a $301 million increase over FY2018 levels. The Coalition for National Science Funding, of which BPS is a member, applauded Senate Appropriators for the increase but continues to call for $8.45 billion in NSF funding. Other science-related agencies did not fare as well as NSF. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) both saw cuts compared to FY2018 levels.
The House Appropriations Committee has already passed its FY 2019 CJS funding bill. The legislation funds NSF at $8.2 billion and proposes deeper cuts than the Senate to NIST and NOAA. Read the Senate Appropriations press release here.
Senate Appropriators Advance FY 2019 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Funding Bill
On June 28, the full Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY2019 Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (Labor-HHS) Appropriations Act by a 30-1 vote. The bill provides $90.1 billion to the Department of Health and Human Services, a $2.3 billion increase compared to FY2018. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) are provided $39.1 billion, an increase of $2 billion above FY2018 levels.
The House released its own Labor-HHS funding bill on June 14 that was not as generous as the Senate version. Overall, the House funds HHS at $89.2 billion, of which $38.3 billion is marked for NIH. The House Appropriations Committee delayed its mark-up until after the July 4th Congressional recess. Read the Senate Appropriations press release here.
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