Senate Committee Proposes Large Investment in Research, Student Aid
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Pamela Templer of the College of Arts & Sciences gave a presentation at the National Science Foundation Research Traineeship meeting on October 18th.
SENATE COMMITTEE PROPOSES LARGE INVESTMENT IN RESEARCH, STUDENT AID
This week, the Senate Appropriations Committee proposed significant funding increases for student aid programs and federal research agencies in fiscal year 2022. The funding recommendations and their comparison to the current year are as follows:
- $48 billion for the National Institutes of Health, a 12% increase
- $9.5 billion for the National Science Foundation, a 12% increase
- $7.9 billion for NASA Science programs, an 9.2% increase
- $3 billion for Department of Defense basic research, a 14.5% increase
- $182.5 million each for the National Endowments for the Humanities and the Arts, a 9% increase
- $814.5 million for the Institute for Education Sciences, an 2.7% increase
- $6,895 for the Pell Grant maximum award, a 6.1% increase
- $1.23 billion for Federal-Work Study, a 2.1% increase
The Committee had previously recommended $7.5 billion for the Department of Energy Office of Science, which would be a 6.6% increase. The Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, which passed its own spending bills this summer, are aiming to reconcile the differences between their proposals before the current continuing resolution funding government operations runs out on December 3rd.
BUZZ BITS…
- Last week, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) launched an initiative to solicit ideas from the public on how the federal government can dramatically improve equity, diversity, and inclusion in science. “The Time Is Now: Advancing Equity in Science and Technology Ideation Challenge” will run through November 19th, and responses will be used to inform OSTP’s equity agenda.
- The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) met this week to discuss the role of science in addressing climate change. The Council heard from scholars on climate change mitigation technologies, fusion energy, and the national security risks posed by climate change.
- On a party-line vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed Catherine Lhamon to lead the Office of Civil Rights (OCR) at the U.S. Department of Education on Wednesday. OCR oversees colleges’ compliance with federal anti-discrimination and harassment laws, and Lhamon previously led the office when the Obama Administration adopted stricter oversight of sexual misconduct on college campuses.
EVENTS NEWS YOU CAN USE
What does it mean to flourish? How can people living in conditions of physical, psychological, or material adversity attain personal growth, purpose, happiness, social connectedness, and generativity? “Human Flourishing in Diverse Populations and Contexts,” the Office of Research’s next Research on Tap on November 3rd at 4 p.m., will be hosted by Professor Deborah Carr, director of the BU Center for Innovation in Social Science. A multidisciplinary group of scholars from across BU schools and colleges will give microtalks on their research, which uses methods including population-based surveys, ethnography, big data, in-depth interviews, and community-based participatory research. This event will be held in-person, with an option for live streaming.