Congress Expected to Pass Short Term Funding
BU IN DC
Anthony Janetos of the Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future attended a National Academies meeting of the Committee to Advise the U.S. Global Change Research Program on April 20 and 21.
School of Public Health Dean Sandro Galea addressed the 2017 Amygdala, Stress and PTSD Conference on April 18. He also spoke on a panel on curbing gun violence organized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the NYU College of Global Public Health on April 21.
CONGRESS EXPECTED TO PASS SHORT TERM FUNDING
Congress is poised to pass a continuing resolution that will keep the federal government operating at current funding levels through May 5, giving lawmakers more time to complete work on a final fiscal year 2017 spending package. The final package is expected to include specific increases and decreases for federal agencies for the remainder of this fiscal year, which ends on September 30. Lawmakers remain optimistic that a final bipartisan spending compromise will be reached next week and that the President will sign the measure into law.
DC WELCOMES BU INSTITUTE FOR SUSTAINABLE ENERGY
On Tuesday, the BU Institute for Sustainable Energy (ISE) and Federal Relations co-hosted a reception overlooking the Capitol to introduce policymakers to ISE’s work as as “think and do tank.” President Robert A. Brown, ISE Director Peter Fox-Penner, and ISE Senior Fellow Dorothy Robyn addressed more than 65 federal, private sector, and academic officials gathered to hear about ISE’s mission to “ensure that the energy systems of the world provide abundant, sustainable, and universally accessible energy services.” Vice President and Associate Provost for Research Gloria Waters and ISE staff Jacqueline Ashmore and Tess Kohanski also attended the event.
BUZZ BITS…
- The U.S. Department of Education is seeking comments on its proposed Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2018-2019 academic year by June 16.
- The Trump Administration is conducting a government-wide review of the H-1B visa issuance program, which allows employers to temporarily hire workers from abroad for certain occupations. Federal agencies are expected to “propose new rules and issue new guidance” at the end of the review.
- The House Education and the Workforce Committee held a hearing on strengthening accreditation on Thursday. Witnesses focused on the need to make accreditation more outcomes-focused, enhance the transparency of the accreditation process for policymakers and students, and choose an appropriate level of federal regulation.