Tsongas Announces Retirement
BU IN DC
Ann McKee of the School of Medicine spoke about sports-related brain injuries at a Capitol Hill briefing hosted by the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus on September 14.
TSONGAS ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
Congresswoman Niki Tsongas (D-Lowell) has announced that she will retire from Congress at the end of her current term in 2018. Tsongas, an alumna of the BU School of Law, has served in the U.S. House of Representatives since 2007. She serves on the House Armed Services and Natural Resources Committees, and is known for her work on women’s rights and national defense policy. Many Bay State residents have expressed interest in pursuing the seat, which will be the first Massachusetts race for Congress without an incumbent since 2013.
BUZZ BITS…
The Trump Administration has announced several personnel decisions that will impact the university community:
- Jon Parish Peede was appointed the acting director of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Mr. Peede had previously worked at the National Endowment for the Arts.
- Congressman James Bridenstine (R-OK) will be nominated as the head of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
- Andrei Iancu will be nominated as director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Mr. Iancu is currently a partner at a Los Angeles law firm.
- Dr. Elinore McCance-Katz was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the assistant secretary for mental health and substance abuse at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The new position was created by the 21st Century Cures Act and oversees the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES NIH, PELL INCREASE
Last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would increase the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget by $2 billion and prohibit the Trump Administration from reducing reimbursement for NIH grantees’ facilities and administrative costs. The measure would also bolster the maximum Pell Grant award for low-income students to $6,020, a $100 increase. Next, Senators will need to approve the measure and iron out differences with a companion measure passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, which included less funding for NIH and the Pell Grant program.