Update on Research Funding via Federal Agencies January 12, 2022
Research Development's Strategic Intelligence team monitors the federal budget and funding landscape and produces this memo on a bi-weekly basis to share information that may impact ASU research.
Science Policy Legislation
Biden budget release likely delayed until March: Sources
https://www.rollcall.com/2022/01/07/biden-budget-release-likely-delayed-until-march-sources/
The White House appears to be aiming for release of President Joe Biden’s fiscal 2023 budget in March, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter. The Office of Management and Budget has remained mum on timing, but congressional staff have been told to expect release sometime in March at the earliest, following Biden's address to a joint session of Congress, which Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has invited him to give on March 1. It’s also possible release of the budget could be further delayed either by an inability to reach a deal on fiscal 2022 appropriations or action on the reconciliation bill under consideration in the Senate.
Manchin expresses openness to climate action amid spending bill stalemate
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said on 1/4/2022 that it’s likely Democrats will have an easier time coming to an agreement on climate change than on other areas of President Biden's proposed climate and social spending bill. Manchin, who last month said he would vote against the Build Back Better Act in its current form, seemed relatively open to its climate components in the first workweek of the new year.
White House Clarifies Disclosure Requirements for R&D Funding
https://www.aip.org/fyi/2022/white-house-clarifies-disclosure-requirements-rd-funding
On January 4, 2022, the White House released guidance for science agencies to use as they implement National Security Presidential Memorandum 33 (NSPM-33), a document that sets minimum requirements for research security policies across the government. The document aims to standardize their implementation of research security policies, including what categories of information scientists will be required to report when applying for grants. It also elaborates on an impending requirement that research organizations receiving more than $50 million annually in federal R&D funds must maintain a “research security program” covering subjects such as cybersecurity, export controls, and insider threat awareness.
Request for Information (RFI) on Strengthening Community Health Through Technology
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) requests input from community health stakeholders, technology developers, and other interested parties about how digital health technologies are used, or could be used in the future, to transform community health, individual wellness, and health equity. OSTP is particularly interested in information from community-based health settings and about populations traditionally underserved by healthcare. To support this effort, OSTP seeks information about: Successful models of strengthening community health through digital health technologies within the United States and abroad, barriers to uptake, trends from the COVID-19 pandemic, how user experience is measured, need for tools and training, ideas for potential government action, and effects on health equity. Comments are due by 5:00pm ET on 2/28/2022.
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Lessons learned from leading NIH by Francis Collins
https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abn7743
Outgoing Director Francis Collins outlines key findings by NIH under his watch.
Department of Commerce (DOC)
NOAA Board Charts Weather Research Priorities for Next Decade | American Institute of Physics
https://www.aip.org/fyi/2021/noaa-board-charts-weather-research-priorities-next-decade
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Science Advisory Board has proposed 33 weather research priorities for the agency to address in the coming decade, which include increasing its computing power 100-fold and better understanding how social factors affect forecast dissemination and use. Report: https://sab.noaa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/PWR-Report_Final_12-9-21.pdf
Department of Defense (DoD)
8th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit
At Potomac Officers Club’s 8th Annual Defense R&D Summit, elite government and industry leaders will come together to discuss the Department of Defense’s current innovation priorities, technology advancements and general strategy to stay ahead of the curve in the evolving defense sector. This is a virtual conference held on January 19th.
Space Force wants to help fund technologies to recycle, reuse or remove space debris
Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David Thompson in a video released Jan. 5 called on the private sector to help clean up space junk. SpaceWERX, Space Force’s technology arm, is running a program called Orbital Prime that is soliciting proposals from private businesses and academic institutions on technologies that could be used to deal with the growing problem of space debris. Proposals for the first phase of Orbital Prime are due Feb. 17, 2022.
Space Force Partners with Universities to Support Workforce Training, Research Efforts
The University of Texas at Austin is the latest addition to the set of universities that established strategic partnerships with the Space Force under the University Partnership Program (UPP) initiative to support the recruitment and training of a diverse workforce. The UPP effort also includes the University of North Dakota, the University of Southern California, Georgia Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Purdue University, the University of Colorado Boulder and Colorado Springs, UT El Paso, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University and the University of Texas system.
Department of Energy (DOE)
DOE Establishes New Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law | Department of Energy
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides more than $20 billion to establish the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations and support clean energy technology demonstration projects in areas including clean hydrogen, carbon capture, grid-scale energy storage, small modular reactors, and more. Demonstration projects prove the effectiveness of innovative technologies in real-world conditions at scale in order to pave the way towards widespread adoption and deployment.
Fate of ‘Build Back Better’ Science Funding Pushed Into 2022 | American Institute of Physics
https://www.aip.org/fyi/2021/fate-%E2%80%98build-back-better%E2%80%99-science-funding-pushed-2022
The Energy and Natural Resources Committee also reduced and reallocated funds the House-passed bill included for R&D efforts at the DOE Office of Science. Of its $985 million total, the House allocated $885 million to launch a suite of nuclear fusion R&D programs that Congress has authorized but not yet funded. It allocated the remaining $100 million to a low-dose radiation research program that Congress has directed the Office of Science to revive within its Biological and Environmental Research program. By contrast, the Energy and Natural Resources Committee has allocated:
- $274 million for unspecified activities in the Biological and Environmental Research program
- $237 million for clean energy research in the Basic Energy Sciences program
- $21 million for bioenergy research centers
- $20 million for sustainable and alternative fuels R&D, and
- $10 million for clean industrial technologies
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Biden-Harris Administration Extends Space Station Operations Through 2030
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced on 12/31/2021 the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to extend International Space Station (ISS) operations through 2030, and to work with our international partners in Europe (ESA, European Space Agency), Japan (JAXA, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Canada (CSA, Canadian Space Agency), and Russia (State Space Corporation Roscosmos) to enable continuation of the groundbreaking research being conducted in this unique orbiting laboratory through the rest of this decade.
NASA’s Webb Telescope Reaches Major Milestone as Mirror Unfolds
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-webb-telescope-reaches-major-milestone-as-mirror-unfolds
On January 8, 2022, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope team fully deployed its 21-foot, gold-coated primary mirror, successfully completing the final stage of all major spacecraft deployments to prepare for science operations. "This is the first time a NASA-led mission has ever attempted to complete a complex sequence to unfold an observatory in space," states Webb program director at NASA HQ, Gregory L. Robinson. Webb is designed to peer back over 13.5 billion years to capture infrared light from celestial objects, with much higher resolution than ever before, and to study our own solar system as well as distant worlds.
NASA Announces New Chief Scientist, Senior Climate Advisor
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-announces-new-chief-scientist-senior-climate-advisor
NASA Administrator Bill Nelson announced that Dr. Katherine Calvin will serve the agency in dual roles as chief scientist and senior climate advisor effective Monday, 1/10/2022.