Senate Appropriators Advance DOE, NIH Spending Bills
On August 1, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced their fiscal year (FY) 2025 spending bills for the Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), approving modest increases for research.
The Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations bill was advanced by the Senate appropriations panel with unanimous support. Earlier this month, the House GOP's Energy-Water bill did not have enough support to pass and was pulled from floor consideration at the last minute.
The Senate measure would provide the DOE Office of Science with $8.6 billion in FY 2025, a roughly 4.3% increase relative to FY 2024. Biological and Environmental Research (BER) within the office would see a 3% bump. The House proposed a 1.8% increase for the Office of Science and a 5.6% cut for BER. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Energy (ARPA-E) would receive a nearly flat budget under the Senate proposal and a 2% cut in the House bill. Notably, DOE's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy would receive a $20 million cut to $3.44 billion under the Senate bill, while the House has proposed slashing its budget by $1.5 billion.
Senate appropriators advanced the spending bill for Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) with bipartisan support, on a 25-3 vote. Under the proposal, NIH would receive a program level funding of $48.9 billion, which is $1.77 billion or 3.8% above FY 2024. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) would be flat funded at $1.5 billion. The House has proposed a funding level of $48 billion (+2%) for NIH and $500 million (-67%) for ARPA-H.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), proposed for termination under the House bill would see a small increase of $7 million in the Senate bill. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would receive an increase of $173 million in the Senate bill, in contrast to a cut of $1.8 billion proposed in the House bill.
Notably, the Senate LHHS bill does not include the drastic restructuring plan outlined in the House measure, which proposes reducing the number of NIH institutes from 27 to 15. However, a report accompanying the Senate bill suggests that NIH should reconvene a previously disbanded advisory board to consider potential reforms. One idea both the Senate and House bills agree on is that NIH should limit the directors of its institutes to two 5-year terms. The Senate bill also excludes several restrictions found in the House bill, such as a broad ban on funding for "gain-of-function" research and fetal tissue studies.
The Senate has recessed for August, advancing all but one of its spending bills out of committee with bipartisan support, setting up potential conflicts with the House later in the year over spending levels and policy issues. The House earlier advanced all 12 spending bills out of committee along party lines, passing 5 of them prior to heading into an early recess. Disagreements on funding caps, clean energy funding, and other priorities will likely complicate negotiations. Lawmakers will have only three weeks to negotiate before the September 30 government funding deadline, likely leading to a stopgap extension until after the November elections.
OSTP Leaders Share Vision for Mainstreaming Nature in U.S. Federal Policy
Key climate and environment leaders from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) have outlined a vision for integrating nature into all federal policies, not just those focused on natural resource management or conservation.
"The Biden-Harris Administration has worked tirelessly to advance evidence-based policy supported by science. Accounting for nature in every aspect of policymaking is a key step in that work," said Jane Lubchenco, OSTP's Deputy Director for Climate and Environment. "Incorporating nature into strategic policy decisions across domains is both good governance and the pathway to a more sustainable, thriving planet."
In a new paper for Science, OSTP experts call for integrating nature into policy decisions across all domains, including health, national security, and the economy. The paper describes how nature can and should be considered at appropriate points throughout the decision-making process for all policy domains. This approach includes accounting for nature in economic benefit-cost analyses for more efficient use of tax-payer dollars and improved outcomes, and considering natural infrastructure options like coral reefs or wetlands alongside built infrastructure for cost-effective and durable results.
"'Mainstreaming nature' in the policy process means that nature becomes the remit of all decision-makers who are responsible for policies that depend on or affect nature, not just those with a mission to protect environmental quality or manage natural resources," the authors argue.
Legislation to Oversee Gain-of-Function Research Funding Introduced in Senate
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has introduced legislation that would establish a Life Sciences Research Security Board as an independent entity within the Executive Branch to oversee the funding and assessment of high-risk life sciences research, including gain-of-function studies.
The Risky Research Review Act defines high-risk life sciences research as "studies with potential dual-use applications or those that could pose a threat to public health, safety, or national security, including gain-of-function research." The bill would prohibit federal agencies from funding high-risk research without board approval; require a majority vote of board members to approve high-risk research; allow the board to compel agencies to provide necessary information, including classified data; and require grant applicants to declare if their research involves high-risk categories or select agents/toxins. The measure would also oblige the board to submit an annual report summarizing its findings and activities to congressional committees and publish it online.
Some in the research community, including the American Society for Microbiology and the authors of an opinion piece published in STAT, have raised concerns about the expansive scope of the bill, arguing that its definitions of key terms such as 'dual use,' 'gain-of-function research,' 'high-risk life sciences research,' and 'potential pandemic pathogen' are unclear and inconsistent with other federal definitions.
New Track Announced for Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology
The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Biological Sciences (BIO) Directorate has introduced a new track under the Postdoctoral Research Fellowships in Biology (PRFB) Program called Biological Research, Understanding, and Solutions for a Resilient Planet.
The new track will support fellows using large data sets, such as those from the National Ecological Observation Network (NEON), and innovative approaches like AI, machine learning, and modeling to advance biological research and solutions for a Resilient Planet. The first proposal deadline is expected in the fall or winter of 2025.
This new track will replace the Competitive Area 2: Integrative Research Investigating the Rules of Life Governing Interactions Between Genomes, Environment and Phenotypes that will have a final deadline on November 7, 2024.
This dear colleague letter provides more information, including links to NEON data and code, as well as other NSF-funded resources related to data science, AI, and machine learning.
NIH Adopting Common Forms for Biographical Sketch, Current and Pending Support
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has announced that it will adopt common forms for biographical sketches and current and pending (other) support in 2025, in line with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) memorandum on Policy Regarding Use of Common Disclosure Forms. The new forms will be effective for research applications and progress reports that have application and report submission due dates on or after May 25, 2025.
NIH will require the use of Science Experts Network Curriculum Vitae (SciENcv) to complete the forms and all Senior/Key Personnel to enter their ORCID ID into SciENcv in the Persistent Identifier (PID) section of the common forms. The changes are intended to improve standardization across federal agencies and provide clarity regarding disclosure requirements.
The approved common forms can be accessed at the National Science Foundation's website. Additional resources can be found here.
NSF Invests in Center to Support Research Security, International Collaboration
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has announced a five-year, $67 million investment to establish the Safeguarding the Entire Community of the U.S. Research Ecosystem (SECURE) Center, aimed at enhancing research security and international collaboration.
Led by the University of Washington, with support from nine other institutions of higher education, the center will serve as a hub for information to mitigate foreign interference in U.S. research. Over five years, $50 million will be allocated to the University of Washington to run the main SECURE Center, and $17 million to Texas A&M University for SECURE Analytics to support data-intensive analyses for the center. Additionally, five regional centers managed by six universities will collaborate with the SECURE Center to foster community-focused solutions.
Mandated by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, the initiative will provide shared tools, best practices, and training to support the research community in safeguarding their work against foreign threats.
Register Now: BSA Virtual Symposium on Climate Change
AIBS member Botanical Society of America (BSA) and the BSA Ad-Hoc Committee on Climate Change are organizing a Virtual Symposium on Climate Change on November 14-15, 2024, from 11:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. ET. Each day of the symposium will focus on its own theme, with a networking session to foster discussion and build new connections and collaborations. Registration and abstract submission are currently open. Click here to register.
This free global event is open to the public and includes 6 featured speakers, as well as 12 contributed talks. Abstract submission for the 12 contributed talks is now open through September 15, 2024. You do not have to be a current BSA member to submit an abstract. Abstract submission is limited to one submission per person.
Enter the 14th Annual Faces of Biology Photo Contest
Enter the Faces of Biology Photo Contest for a chance to win $250 and to have your photo appear on the cover of the journal BioScience.
The competition showcases, in a personal way, biological research in its many forms and settings. The images help the public and policymakers better understand the value of biological research and education. The competition is sponsored by the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in addition to the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS).
"Photography is an effective tool to help communicate the process of scientific research," said Scott Glisson, CEO of AIBS. "This contest provides a visual forum for expression, inspiration, and technical skill that can have a positive impact on how the public views research and science."
The theme of the contest is "Faces of Biology." Photographs entered into the competition must depict a person, such as a scientist, technician, or student, engaging in biological research. The depicted research may occur outside, in a lab, with a natural history collection, on a computer, in a classroom, or elsewhere.
The winning photos from the 2023 contest were featured in the April 2024 issue of BioScience.
Submissions must be received by 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on September 30, 2024. For more information or to enter the contest, visit our website.
From the Federal Register
The following items appeared in the Federal Register from July 29 to August 9, 2024.
Commerce
Environmental Protection Agency
Health and Human Services
Interior
National Science Foundation
