House Votes to Strip Health Care From Millions

On Thursday, May 4, Republicans in the House narrowly passed the American Health Care Act ("Trumpcare"), their attempt to partially repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare"). If enacted into law, this bill would leave 24 million more people uninsured, while cutting $800 billion in Medicaid funding, providing tax cuts for the wealthy, and revoking guaranteed coverage for people with pre-existing conditions. The Senate is drafting its own bill, which is expected to be different from the House version (if it passes the Senate, the two versions would have to be reconciled, so this legislation faces a long, bumpy road ahead).

Trump Signs FY17 Spending Bill

On Friday, May 5, President Trump signed a bill funding the government through September. The $1 trillion omnibus appropriations bill provides a $2 billion increase in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), despite cuts proposed by Trump. Read more about scientific programs in the appropriations deal here, and more about what's in it more broadly here and here.

EPA Paves Way for More Industry Representatives on Science Boards

It was reported last week that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not be reappointing twelve members of its Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) who have served three-year terms and will instead seek to replace university researchers with more industry representatives. The BOSC advises EPA's Office of Research and Development on research program quality, relevance, and performance, as well as program structure, scientific leadership, research coordination, communication, and outcomes. The advisors come from environmental, scientific, and technical fields; health care professions; academia; industry; public and private research institutes and organizations; and other relevant interest areas. The BOSC is distinct from EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB), which reviews research that goes into rule making, though the House also recently voted in March on changes that would increase representation from industry groups on that body as well. A BOSC committee member who was dismissed expressed concern about the changes: "This is a significant step toward the erosion of science, and I think that it is happening subtly throughout the agency with this very large proposed budget cut to the Science Advisory Board."

Other EPA News

On Thursday, May 4, EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who as Attorney General of Oklahoma filed numerous lawsuits against the EPA, recused himself from cases he had been part of filing, including those against the Clean Power Plan, the Clean Water Rule, the 2015 ozone pollution rule, and the methane emissions limits for oil and natural gas. Some of these cases involve rules that the administration has begun revising. Democrats had been pressing Pruitt to recuse himself over potential for conflicts of interest in these cases.

Pruitt also decided to withdraw the Federal Community of Practice on Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science from consideration for a Harvard University Kennedy School of Government award, Politico reported.

The EPA's call for public comments on regulations has produced overwhelming support for enforcement of safeguards that protect clean air and water. More than 48,000 comments have been received so far, and the vast majority are opposed to regulatory rollback. The deadline to comment is May 15, and the agency must produce a report for the White House afterward.

Efforts to Update Government IT

On Monday, May 1, Trump released an executive order creating an American Technology Council (ATC) to help improve the government's IT and digital services. The ATC includes the President (who serves as chair), the Vice President, several agency heads, and other high-level government officials. Reports say that the ATC is part of Jared Kushner's White House Office of American Innovation, and it will be directed by Chris Liddell (former CFO of Microsoft and General Motors).

In Congress, Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) introduced the Modernizing Government Technology Act, aimed at helping agencies update aging technology. This is a revised version of a bill that died in the Senate during the last session, and it is apparently supported by the Trump White House. On Tuesday, May 2, the bill passed the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and will now be considered the full House.

FCC Flooded With Net Neutrality Comments

In late April, Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai released plans to dismantle the Obama administration's 2015 rules on net neutrality (see the full notice here). After a segment on John Oliver's Last Week Tonight on Sunday, May 7, the FCC was flooded with public comments opposing the Trump administration's efforts. The FCC's comment site crashed, which the FCC claimed was due to a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, not the surge of comments themselves (though others have asked for proof of this).

Support for ARPA-E as Grants Remain Frozen

In April, the Department of Energy (DOE) stopped payment on previously awarded Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) grants worth tens of millions of dollars. Last week, Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Chair of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, said that she understood this to just be a temporary "process issue" related to Trump's executive order in March that revoked three of President Obama's executive orders on contracting. In the meantime, Science magazine has provided more on the detrimental effect this freeze is having on the scientists ARPA-E was supposed to support.

Last Wednesday, May 3, a group of more than 100 companies, universities, and scientific societies sent a letter to congressional appropriators in support of funding ARPA-E in FY18 and beyond (Trump proposed eliminating ARPA-E in his FY18 budget proposal). They write: "The importance of US leadership in energy technologies to our economic and energy security makes ARPA-E a tremendous competitive advantage for our nation. Stable and sustained funding is necessary to ensure this successful program continues to spearhead America's energy research"

NIH Individual Research Grant Cap

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced on Tuesday, May 2, that it will limit the number of grants a single scientist can hold in order to make more funding available for early-career scientists. The NIH will calculate a Grant Support Index (GSI), which assigns points based on grant type, complexity, and size. Grantees will be limited to a GSI of 21 (equivalent to three R01 grants). The NIH estimates that this policy will affect 6% of NIH-funded scientists, but will "free up about 1,600 new awards".

House on Recess

The House adjourned for recess on Thursday, May 4, and it will be back in session on Tuesday, May 16. The Senate remains in session.

Action Items

  • The EPA is accepting public comments until May 15. Find out more and pledge your support here.
  • Comment on the FCC's plan to eliminate net neutrality rules. Find out more here.
  • Twenty-four Republicans voting "yes" on Trumpcare were identified as among the most vulnerable Republicans up for re-election next year. Don't forget their names at the ballot box in 2018. (See how every House member voted here.)
  • Now that the House has passed the American Health Care Act, it moves on to the Senate. Call your Senators to ask them to oppose Trumpcare and to oppose repealing Obamacare. Look up contact info here or call 202-224-3121.

Highlights from Partner Organizations

  • If you are in Washington, DC, on Friday, May 12, join 500 Women Scientists, the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), and the Earth Day Network for a lunchtime rally during Public Service Recognition Week to say thanks to EPA employees--letting them know that we appreciate their work, especially now that tit is more important than ever. RSVP here.