While our thoughts today are with those in Houston and along the Gulf Coast impacted by Hurricane Harvey and its ongoing flooding, here's a summary of what happened over the last week in science and technology policy.

What you can do

• Find out how you can help victims of Harvey here.
• RISE Stronger is teaming up with 500 Women Scientists to tweet in support of science funding on September 5. Find out more about how you can participate in the #fundUSAscience campaign here.
• The Department of Labor is asking for information on the impact of its 2016 overtime rule, which would increase postdoc salaries, among other benefits. You can read more about the rule here and submit your comments at Regulations.gov before September 25.
• Time is almost up to submit a comment to the FCC on its move to eliminate net neutrality rules. Learn more here, and submit comments directly here. Comments must be submitted by August 30.
• Join RISE Stronger, It Starts Today, Civic Engagement Fund, Run for Something, Emerge America, and Liz Jaff of Lab 736 on Wednesday, August 30, at 7 pm EDT, for a conversation and Q&A on how we can build a bench of progressive, democratic candidates for 2017 and beyond. View the details here.

State Department science envoy resigns; Tillerson to eliminate other special envoys

On August 21, Daniel Kammen, an energy expert and professor at the University of California, Berkeley, resigned from his position as a science envoy for the State Department. Kammen was appointed to this position in 2010 by then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and in this role has been an adviser to international renewable energy projects. In his resignation letter, Kammen cited the President's "attacks on core values of the United States," including Trump's response to Charlottesville and his rejection of the Paris climate accords. A more subtle message in the letter accompanied Kammen's blunt repudiation of the President's policies: the first letters of each paragraph spelled out the word I-M-P-E-A-C-H.

On Monday, August 28, CNN reported that Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is planning to eliminate, downgrade, or reassign the majority of the State Department's special envoys, including the special envoy for climate change. Tillerson detailed his plans in a letter to Bob Corker (R-TN), chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

Eight members of Trump cybersecurity council resign en masse

On August 26, eight members of President Trump's 28-member National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) collectively resigned, continuing a wave of high-profile resignations. All eight were Obama-era appointees, including White House Chief Data Scientist DJ Patil, Office of Science and Technology Policy Chief of Staff Cristin Dorgelo, and White House Council on Environmental Quality Managing Director Christy Goldfuss. In their strongly worded resignation letter, the group addressed President Trump directly and cited his failure to address key national security issues, stating, "You have given insufficient attention to the growing threats to the cybersecurity of the critical systems upon which all Americans depend, including those impacting the systems supporting our democratic election process." The letter went on to cite the President's failure to denounce white supremacists in Charlottesville, his abandonment of the Paris climate accord, and his handling of the dissolution of his Manufacturing Council and the Strategic and Policy Forum as key reasons for their resignation.

NASA Administrator and Deputy Administrator nominations expected

On August 15, NASA Watch reported that President Trump is expected to nominate Representative Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) to be Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and Aerojet Rocketdyne Vice President John Schumacher to be Deputy Administrator, two positions so far unfilled in the administration. Bridenstine, a former Navy pilot, has been a prominent conservative voice in space policy during his three terms in Congress. His nomination would indicate a significant shift in NASA's broader goals, as he has shown a strong bent toward expanding NASA's role in exploration, material mining, and supporting manned space missions. Bridenstine has also strongly supported commercialization of space. Coupled with an industry VP as his deputy, his nomination could mark a shift in NASA toward high-profile "prestige missions", potentially at the expense of important scientific research.

DOE grid study reaffirms importance of renewable energy investment

On August 23, the Department of Energy (DOE) released a long-awaited study on the US energy grid. The study concluded that an increase in cheap natural gas is behind closures of fossil fuel power plants in the US, and that a greater share of renewable energy in the nation's power grid did not decrease grid stability or reliability. Before its release, many feared that the Trump administration would use the report to cast renewable energy in an unfair light in order to slow the development of green energy technology and limit its market share. However, in emphasizing the increasing economic utility of renewable energy sources, the DOE report underscores the importance of further development of, and investment in, green energy technology and energy research to ensure the US remains at the forefront of the evolving global energy market.

Opposition building to USDA chief scientist pick

In July, President Trump nominated Sam Clovis to serve as the Department of Agriculture's (USDA's) Undersecretary for Research, Education, and Economics—the chief scientist position at the USDA. The nomination raised eyebrows then, given Clovis' lack of a scientific background, and opposition has only increased since. On August 23, Senators Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) called on Trump to withdraw the nomination, citing not only Clovis's lack of science expertise and skepticism about climate change, but also extreme views previously espoused by Clovis. If his nomination is not withdrawn, at least three Republican senators would have to join Democrats in opposing his appointment to block Clovis' confirmation in the Senate. On his blog and radio show, Clovis has notoriously made racially charged accusations about progressives and President Obama, referred to LGBT "alternative lifestyles" as a choice, speculated that the U.S. government would define conservative activists as terrorists, and accused Obama-administration officials of bribing scientists to rig research results.

NIH environmental health site drops climate change mentions

On August 20, the Environmental Data and Governance Initiative reported that the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has removed the word "change" from many of their articles about the impact of climate change on health. There is concern that these changes in terminology are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to implement more government-wide censorship of climate change discussion.

Congress faces budget showdown in September

The House and Senate will return from their August recess on September 5 and members of Congress will need to focus on be passing a budget—or a continuing resolution—before October 1st, the start of the next fiscal year. Their work is made more complicated by a looming showdown over the debt ceiling, which would need to be raised by sometime in October, and Trump's threats of a government shutdown if Congress refuses to fund his border wall project.

Senate to hold bipartisan health care hearings

Next week, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will hold two hearings on stabilizing insurance marketplaces. After a months-long Republican-only push to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that bypassed Congress' traditional committee-based legislation process, these hearings mark a new, more serious, bipartisan effort to address key health care issues. The committee will hear from state insurance commissioners on September 6 and governors on September 7.

Have comments or something to add? Contact the RISE Stronger Science & Technology Policy Working Group at [email protected].