DC Insight - 7/26/24

Good afternoon,

The goal of this email is to provide a regular source of useful information to staff and faculty of the University of Missouri System regarding the federal government and higher education. We have put together a list of news articles that will keep you informed of the actions taken by the executive, legislative, and judicial branch of government. These articles are meant to be informative and are not a reflection of the views or stance of the system regarding these issues. 

If you would like more information regarding any of the stories we share, or if you have any suggestions, please feel free to contact Dusty Schnieders and/or Emily Lucas .

Follow UM Government Relations on Twitter: @UMGovRelations

Appropriations News

Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior-Environment, State and Foreign Operations, and Transportation-HUD Appropriations Bills
United States Senate Committee on Appropriations – July 25, 2024
The Senate Appropriations Committee met for a full committee markup and approved the fiscal year 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies; Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies; State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs; and Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies appropriations bills. Chair Murray announced that the full committee will next meet on Thursday, August 1, to consider the five remaining fiscal year 2025 appropriations bills: the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act; the Department of Defense Appropriations Act; the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act; the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act; and the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Act. 

• The Fiscal Year 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act provides a total of $73.735 billion in discretionary funding—$5.2 billion more than fiscal year 2024. A full summary of the bill is available HERE. Final bill text and report, as well as adopted amendments and Congressionally Directed Spending projects included in the bill, will be made available later today HERE.
• The Fiscal Year 2025 Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides $44.6 billion in total funding. A full summary of the bill is available HERE. Final bill text and report, as well as adopted amendments and Congressionally Directed Spending projects included in the bill will be made available later today HERE.
• The Fiscal Year 2025 State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act provides $61.605 billion in total funding for the U.S. Department of State, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other international agencies and programs. A full summary of the bill is available HERE. Final bill text and report, as well as adopted amendments, will be made available later today HERE.
• The Fiscal Year 2025 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act provides $98.737 billion in total discretionary funding. A full summary of the bill is available HERE. Final bill text and report, as well as adopted amendments and Congressionally Directed Spending projects included in the bill, will be made available later today HERE.

Capitol Hill News

Graves-led Water Resources Bill Passes House of Representatives
Congressman Sam Graves – July 26, 2024
The Water Resources Development Act of 2024 (WRDA), H.R. 8812, was overwhelmingly approved this week by the U.S. House of Representatives, by a vote of 359 to 13. North Missouri priorities included in WRDA 2024 include:

• Expanding protections for levee districts and navigators on the Missouri River to ensure fish and wildlife experiments don’t interfere with flood control and navigation.
• Authorizing an Upper Mississippi River Flood Risk and Resiliency Study to improve flood protection for communities along the Upper Mississippi River.
• Reforming the Army Corps of Engineers’ policy for permitting broadband projects on Corps’ property, making it easier to deploy broadband to communities where the Corps owns land, like Smithville, MO.
• Directing the Corps to work more closely with levee districts and others to find beneficial uses for dredged material, so sand is used for strengthening levees, building roadbeds, and other productive uses, rather than being dumped back in the river
  Improving the permitting process at the Corps to help projects get done ahead of schedule and under budget.

Federal News

DOD Releases Updated List of Foreign Institutions Engaging in Problematic Activities to Counter Unauthorized Technology Transfer
U.S. Department of Defense – July 19, 2024
The Department of Defense today announced publication of the Fiscal Year 2023 update to the list of foreign institutions engaging in problematic activity and reaffirmed the FY22 list of foreign talent programs that pose a threat to national security, as required by Section 1286 of the FY19 National Defense Authorization Act. The DoD will continue to update the list at least once a year or as appropriate. The FY23 Section 1286 list is available here.

Department of Commerce and National Science Foundation partner to advance semiconductor workforce development
NIST – July 24, 2024
The U.S. National Science Foundation and the CHIPS for America Research and Development Office (CRDO) within the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a bureau of the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC), signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly invest in a new initiative to train the future semiconductor workforce at all levels for myriad job types across industry and the nation. As a first step, NSF and DOC are jointly issuing a public Request for Information (RFI), seeking input from the community to inform the new initiative. The memorandum of understanding paves the way for the creation of a National Network for Microelectronics Education – led by a Network Coordination Hub that will oversee a suite of regional consortia and other efforts that offer consistent, rigorous, engaging curricula, instructional materials, experiential opportunities, and more to talent throughout the United States.

NSF-backed SECURE Center will support research security, international collaboration
U.S. National Science Foundation – July 24, 2024
The U.S. National Science Foundation announced a five-year $67 million investment establishing the Safeguarding the Entire Community of the U.S. Research Ecosystem (SECURE) ($50 million to University of Washington and $17 million to Texas A&M University). Research security is a concern because some foreign entities attempt to unethically — or even unlawfully — access and use U.S. research. As mandated in the "CHIPS and Science Act of 2022," the NSF SECURE Center, led by the University of Washington with support from nine institutions of higher education, will serve as a clearinghouse for information to empower the research community to identify and mitigate foreign interference that poses risks to the U.S. research enterprise. The SECURE Center will share information and reports on research security risks, provide training on research security to the science and engineering community and serve as a bridge between the research community and government funding agencies to strengthen cooperation on addressing security concerns.