Science Policy News from AIBS

Trump's Pick for EPA

President-elect Donald Trump announced his pick to lead the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): former U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin. Zeldin represented part of New York state in Congress from 2015 to 2023.

During his time in Congress, Zeldin was a member of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, whose mission is "to combat climate change while also protecting the economic prosperity of the United States." However, Zeldin supported the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Paris Agreement on climate change and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

As a Representative, Zeldin also voted against the CHIPS and Science Act, which will significantly boost semiconductor manufacturing and scientific research in the United States.

On environmental issues, he advocated for EPA's cleanup of Long Island Sound and supported legislation to prevent and address PFAS contamination. In an unsuccessful campaign for governor of New York, Zeldin ran on repealing a state ban on fracking and expanding fossil fuel extraction. The League of Conservation Voters gave him a lifetime score of 14 percent for his voting record while in Congress. As noted by The New York Times: "It is a low mark from the environmental advocacy group, but it was nevertheless higher than nearly any other Republican."

Zeldin is a lawyer and Army veteran.

Governor Selected for Interior Secretary

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum is President-elect Donald Trump's nominee for Secretary of the Interior and for a new position coordinating energy policy across the federal government.

Burgum, a Republican, has served as Governor since 2016. In that role, he called for expanded energy and mineral production on public lands. His office also set a goal of North Dakota becoming carbon neutral by 2030, largely through carbon capture.

The National Wildlife Federation highlighted "his potential to bring a balanced approach to stewarding the nation's wildlife, public lands and waters, and other resources." As Governor, "Burgum has often been a strong advocate for science-driven wildlife management, conservation of wildlife habitat, ... and reductions in pollution through commonsense carbon management...," stated Collin O'Mara, president and CEO of the environmental group.

In addition to leading the Department of the Interior, Burgum is tapped to lead a new National Energy Council, which will oversee all aspects of U.S. energy policy. The Union of Concerned Scientists raised concerns about his nomination for this role. "By elevating Gov. Burgum, an avowed fossil fuel loyalist, to coordinate the whole of the nation's energy policy and steward its public lands, President-elect Trump is attempting to force the scale-up of fossil fuels in every part of our economy, using every tool available."

Prior to his election as governor, Burgum was the executive of a software company.

The Department of the Interior includes the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, and other land management agencies.

Cabinet secretaries are subject to confirmation by the Senate.

Secretary of Agriculture Nominee

Former White House aide Brooke Rollins was announced as the President-elect's choice to lead the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). She served as President Trump's domestic policy chief during his first term and subsequently led two conservative think tanks. In those roles, Rollins has been a skeptic of climate change.

Rollins is a lawyer, with a bachelor's degree in agricultural development. In the announcement of her selection, Trump highlighted Rollins' involvement in 4-H and Future Farmers of America, two youth agriculture education groups. As noted by the Union of Concerned Scientists, "Rollins appears to have no agricultural policy track record to comment on."

The USDA includes several agricultural research agencies, including the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) and the Economic Research Service. During the first Trump Administration, both programs were relocated from Washington, DC to Kansas City, Missouri--a change that impacted most employees. About 75 percent of workers declined to move and left agency employment. As a result, the programs were operating at one-third of their authorized staffing levels one year later. The Biden Administration filled the staffing gap in large part by allowing new hires to work remotely. The incoming administration has pledged to end remote work for federal employees.

Anti-Vaxxer Chosen to Lead Health and Human Services

President-elect Trump announced the nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for Secretary of Health and Human Services, a position that oversees the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Kennedy is a long-time proponent of debunked health claims such as vaccines cause autism and that HIV does not cause AIDS. He has called for drinking water to not contain fluoride because it "almost certainly" causes a loss of IQ in children and he wrote a book accusing former senior NIH official Anthony Fauci of spreading propaganda about COVID-19.

Numerous public health experts and organizations have come out publicly against Kennedy's nomination. A petition objecting to the nomination has been signed by more than 14,000 physicians.

"To say that RFK Jr. [Kennedy] is unqualified is a considerable understatement," said Lawrence Gostin, director of Georgetown University's O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law. "The minimum qualification for being the head of the Department of Health and Human Services is fidelity to science and scientific evidence, and he spent his entire career fomenting distrust in public health and undermining science at every step of the way."

Nominee for Department of Energy

Fracking company executive Chris Wright was selected by President-elect Trump to be Secretary of Energy.

Wright has said as recently as last year that "there is no climate crisis."

As head of the U.S. Department of Energy, Wright would oversee implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act, which included hundreds of billions of dollars for renewable energy and carbon capture. Many Republicans, including the President-elect, are seeking to repeal this funding.

Wright has no prior experience working in government. He graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in engineering.

President-Elect Nominates Head of Commerce

The co-chair of the Trump transition team was picked to be the next Secretary of Commerce. Billionaire Howard Lutnick is CEO of a financial services firm.

The U.S. Department of Commerce oversees a variety of federal agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Lutnick is a proponent of reducing the size of government. Some conservative leaders are advocating for reducing the size of NOAA, including eliminating its research on climate change and privatizing parts of the National Weather Service.

Not much is known about Lutnick's views on the environment or science.

Senate Moves Natural Resources Bills

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources passed a package of more than 70 bills in mid-November, a record number for the committee. The bills cover issues related to public lands, water, and forestry.

Among the bills voted out to the full Senate include:

S. 1764 on wildfires in the western United States. Among the bill's provisions is the creation of the Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prize for Management of Wildfire-Related Invasive Species. The prize aims to encourage technological innovation in managing invasive species in the wake of wildfires. Currently, six other categories exist for genius prizes, with awards of up to $100,000 each.
S. 2151 would require the Department of the Interior to establish a Southwest Ecological Restoration Institute in Utah. Such institutes exist in other states to promote the use of adaptive ecosystem management to reduce the risk of wildfires and restore ecosystem health.
S. 2867 addresses a multitude of topics related to forest management, including requiring an assessment by the Forest Service on whether National Forest System lands are a net carbon source or sink.

Call for Applications: 2025 Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award

Are you a science graduate student looking to make a difference in science policy and funding? AIBS is now accepting applications for the 2025 Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award. This award recognizes graduate students in the biological sciences who are demonstrating an interest and aptitude for working at the intersection of science and policy.

Recipients of the AIBS Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award receive:

A trip to Washington, DC, to participate in the AIBS Congressional Visits Day, an annual event where scientists meet with lawmakers to advocate for federal investment in the biological sciences, with a primary focus on the National Science Foundation. The event will be held over three days in the spring of 2025 (likely in April). Domestic travel and hotel expenses are paid for the winners.
Policy and communications training, including information on the legislative process, trends in federal science funding, and how to engage with policymakers and the news media.
Meetings with congressional policymakers to discuss the importance of federal investment in the biological sciences.
A one-year online subscription to the journal BioScience.

The 2025 award is open to U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents enrolled in a graduate degree program in the biological sciences, science education, or a closely allied field. Applicants should have a demonstrated interest in and commitment to science policy and/or science education policy. Prior recipients are not eligible for the award.

Applications are due by 05:00 PM Eastern Time on January 15, 2025. Learn more.

Short Takes

The U.S. Department of Health and Humans Services (HHS) issued a final policy on scientific integrity. The policy applies to "all aspects of HHS scientific activities" and applies to all employees, contractors, grantees, and fellows. Like the recently finalized policy from the National Institutes of Health, the HHS policy designates a Scientific Integrity Official to oversee implementation of the policy.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is seeking nominations for a new Climate Services Advisory Committee. The committee will advise the agency on the accessibility, effectiveness, and use of climate services. Nominations are due by December 20, 2024.
The Department of the Interior is seeking input on the development of a conflict of interest disclosure policy. The new policy will address "undue foreign influence" in department-supported research and development. Comments are due by January 21, 2025.

From the Federal Register

The following items appeared in the Federal Register from November 18 to 29, 2024.

Commerce

Energy

Environmental Protection Agency

Human Studies Review Board (HSRB) Meetings for 2025

Executive Office of the President

International Conservation Day, 2024

Health and Human Services

Interior

Request for Information on Proposed Conflict of Interest Disclosure Policy

National Science Foundation

Office of Science and Technology Policy

Notice of Request for Information; Downscaled Climate Projection Datasets Available To Be Considered for Use in the Sixth National Climate Assessment