House, Senate Differ on Defense Basic Research
BU IN DC
School of Public Health Dean Sandro Galea attended a meeting of the National Advisory Council on Minority Health and Health Disparities, of which he is a member, on June 9.
Kate Mellouk and Marie Hladikova of Research Compliance attended an Association of University Export Control Officers conference on June 7 through 9.
Thomas Bifano, director of the Photonics Center, attended a meeting on adaptive optics sponsored by the Optical Society between June 7 and 11.
HOUSE, SENATE DIFFER ON DEFENSE BASIC RESEARCH
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday passed a defense spending bill for fiscal year 2016 that would provide $67.9 billion for the Department of Defense’s research and development accounts, a 6% increase over current levels. Within that amount, however, the bill would cut basic research by 7.1% from its current level, bringing it to $2.1 billion. In contrast, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved a companion defense spending measure on Thursday that would provide a 1.7% increase in basic research. The bill will need to be approved by the full U.S. Senate before the House and Senate can craft a compromise measure to be sent to the President. Learn more
WARREN OUTLINES COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY AGENDA
In conjunction with a Democratic push for “debt-free college” for students, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) laid out policy recommendations on Wednesday that colleges, states, and the federal government can each take to lower student loan burden. The proposals include: having colleges share the government’s financial risk for student loan defaults, giving colleges a portion of the federal financial aid savings when students graduate college in less time, encouraging states to create refinancing programs for federal and private student loans, and creating “year-by-year” loan forgiveness for public service. Warren also called for stronger federal oversight of the U.S. Department of Education, including moving the student loan complaint system away from the Department and into the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Read Warren’s proposals
NIH ANNOUNCES SENIOR LEADERSHIP CHANGES
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Deputy Director for Extramural Research Sally Rockey announced Thursday she will step down in September after more than a decade in her position in order to lead the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research, a nonprofit organization. NIH Director Francis Collins said the agency will launch a “vigorous search” for her successor. Also on Thursday, Dr. Collins named Dr. Walter J. Koroshetz as director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Koroshetz has served as interim director since Dr. Story C. Landis’s retirement in fall 2014. Learn about Koroshetz