Morrison Hosts Briefing, Meets Lawmakers
MORRISON HOSTS BRIEFING, MEETS LAWMAKERS
On Thursday, Provost Jean Morrison hosted a Capitol Hill briefing on collaborative partnerships to combat opioid abuse in collaboration with the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse. The program featured David Rosenbloom of the School of Public Health, Chief Frederick Ryan of the Arlington, MA Police Department, and Kimberly Johnson of the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment within the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The panelists discussed how local law enforcement and public heath agencies are working together to help opioid addicts seek treatment across the country, with 85 Congressional and federal agency staff in attendance.
Prior to the briefing, Morrison met with Reps. Joseph Kennedy (D-MA), Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Hal Rogers (R-KY) to discuss BU’s research in opioid addiction treatment and prevention. She met later in the day with the Office of National Drug Control Policy at the White House on the same topic.
HOUSE CONTINUES APPROPRIATIONS WORK
The House Appropriations Committee continued to approve legislation to fund key research and higher education priorities in fiscal year(FY) 2018:
- National Endowment for the Humanities: would receive $145 million, a $5 million decrease from FY 2017
- National Institutes of Health: $35.2 billion, a $1.1 billion increase from FY 2017; the bill also directs the agency to maintain its current practices in reimbursing universities for facilities and administrative costs
- Pell Grants: maintains maximum award at $5,920; however the bill rescinds $3.3 billion from the program’s carryover account for other uses
- Federal Work Study: would receive $990 million, the same as FY 2017
- Institute for Education Sciences: would receive $605 million, the same as FY 2017
The full House of Representatives plans to vote on several FY 2018 spending bills that impact national security next week before leaving for their extended Congressional work period in August. The Senate Appropriations Committee also began work on some of its own spending bills this week, but does not plan to make significant progress until the chambers return in September.
GRANTS NEWS YOU CAN USE
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) released the Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) for the Science and Technology for Autonomous Teammates (STAT) program. The STAT program seeks to develop and demonstrate autonomy technologies that will assist in Air Force missions in various environments while minimizing risks to Air Force personnel. AFRL intends to issue open periods and calls under this BAA over a six-year period, starting in fiscal year (FY) 2018 and ending in FY 2023. Approximately $950 million will be awarded over the six-year period. The solicitation is not requesting any white papers or proposals at this time, but researchers are encouraged to review the BAA to learn more about potential future solicitations.