Senate Panel Approves Funding for NASA, NSF

SENATE PANEL APPROVES FUNDING FOR NASA, NSF

On Thursday, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its bill to fund research programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in fiscal year (FY) 2018. The panel approved $7.3 billion for NSF, which is a $161 million decrease below current funding levels and on par with what the House Appropriations Committee approved as well. For the NASA Science Mission Directorate, the Committee authorized  $5.6 billion, a $193 million decrease from current funding levels and below the House recommendation of $5.86 billion.

As Congress prepares to depart for an extended recess period, the path forward for the FY 2018 budget remains uncertain. While the Senate Appropriations Committee made some progress this week and the U.S. House of Representatives began debating four of its appropriations bills, including those that support research at the Departments of Energy and Defense, it is unlikely Congress will have a final budget in place before the end of the fiscal year in September. A short-term continuing resolution will probably be needed to keep the government operating at current spending levels until Congress reaches a final agreement.

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BUZZ BITS…

• The U.S. Department of Labor is requesting public input as it considers making changes to its controversial overtime rule that has been on hold since a court halted its implementation late last year. 
• The U.S. Department of Homeland Security resumed its expedited processing of H-1B visas for certain entities, including universities. The Department had suspended the service earlier this year to clear a backlog in applications. 
• The American Council on Education announced that Ted Mitchell will succeed Molly Corbett Broad as its next president in September. Mr. Mitchell was formerly an undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Education in the Obama Administration. 
• President Donald Trump announced his intent to appoint David Mulhausen as director of the National Institute of Justice, the U.S. Department of Justice’s extramural research arm. Dr. Mulhausen is currently a research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a think tank in Washington, D.C.

GRANTS NEWS YOU CAN USE

The National Science Foundation (NSF) released a Dear Colleague Letter soliciting proposals to expand the Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES) program. NSF is looking for innovative ways to include new and existing NSF programs in the INCLUDES National Network as part of an effort to create linkages between INCLUDES and all of NSF’s programs to broaden participation. The letter invites proposals for Early-concept Grants for Exploratory Research (EAGER), workshops and conferences, and supplements to existing grants to create new on-ramps to the INCLUDES National Network. 

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