This first edition of The Week in Science & Technology for 2018 covers events since our last edition (roughly the last month).

What you can do

Time running out on government funding resolution; shutdown possible

On December 21, Congress passed a continuing resolution to fund the government through January 19, but a longer-term spending bill remained out of reach -- risking a government shutdown -- after an angry outburst by President Trump imperiled a bipartisan immigration reform plan. A shutdown, such as the one in 2013, would temporarily suspend most government-funded research services, and would impact NASA, the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and other federal agencies that award and manage research grants and informational websites.

GOP tax plan passes, with uncertain effects on research and innovation

On December 22, President Trump signed the Republican-sponsored tax bill, which was passed days earlier by the House and Senate. The final version of the bill eliminated the controversial proposed tax on graduate student tuition benefits, and preserved some tax incentives for investment in research. However, it still included provisions for oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, halving the "orphan drug" tax credit for research into rare-disease treatments, and taxing the wealthiest universities on earnings from their endowments. The bill also lowers the tax rate on offshore corporate cash holdings, which could make more money available to invest in the domestic workforce and its productive capacity -- but might merely incentivize raising shareholder dividends. However, it also imposes a 10.5% tax on future offshore profits, so its long-term effects on the technology sector are difficult to predict.

Interior Department requires grant proposal scrutiny by political appointees

In a December 28 memo, the Interior Department ordered a new review process for grant proposals, requiring Interior's budget department to scrutinize discretionary funding requests for their compliance with Trump Administration priorities. While previous Interior secretaries have issued similar directives, the memo is unprecedented in its scope and its assignment of grant review tasks to political appointees. Former Deputy Secretary David J. Hayes described the new process as "arrogant, impractical, and in some cases, likely illegal", as these priorities are normally set by Congress, not a Cabinet department. The Interior policy change follows a similar September 2017 Environmental Protection Agency decision to refer grant proposals for review by non-scientist appointees.

The seven terms you can't use in a CDC budget document

On December 15, the Washington Post reported that seven terms -- diversity, entitlement, evidence-based, fetus, science-based, transgender, and vulnerable -- had been banned from Centers for Disease Control (CDC) budget documents. CDC officials briefed their policy analysts on alternate terminology; one suggestion was to replace "evidence-based" and "science-based" with "in consideration with community standards and wishes". American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) CEO Rush Holt slammed the ban, and 48 other scientific societies and research institutions joined AAAS in signing a December 18 letter of protest sent to White House Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney. CDC director Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald has denied that any words are banned at CDC; an anonymous Health and Human Services official characterized the policy as not an outright ban, but a suggestion that Congress would be more favorable to CDC budget proposals that did not include any of the seven terms.

FCC considers classifying cellular data service as broadband internet

The Federal Communications Commission may vote in February on a proposal to include cellular data service in its definition of broadband internet. Broadband standards currently specify minimums of 25 megabits per second (Mbps) download and 3 Mbps upload speeds, but the proposal would define cellular data with minimum 10 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload speeds as broadband. By law, the FCC is tasked with bringing broadband service to communities that lack it, but under the new proposal, these communities would no longer be in line for broadband expansion funding if cellular data service is available -- while their residents would bear the much higher costs and the technical limitations of cellular data. Next Century Cities, a coalition of city governments advocating universal broadband access, has launched a #MobileOnly protest against the proposal, challenging Internet users to spend one day in January using only cellular data and then share their experiences with the FCC via Twitter.

Net neutrality supporters continue effort to reverse FCC ruling

Since the FCC's December 14 decision to roll back the net neutrality rules and re-classify Internet access as an information service, pushback has been rapid at the federal, state, and municipal levels:

  • On December 14, some state attorneys general announced that they will sue to roll back the FCC action, with support from a trade group, the Internet Association. Some state legislatures have also introduced bills to restore neutrality, defying the FCC's claim that states cannot exempt themselves from the ruling.
  • A Republican bill introduced on December 19 would modify the repeal to prevent content blocking or throttling, but would still allow ISPs to charge for content prioritization and eliminate most FCC protections.
  • On December 22, Newark (NJ) Mayor Ras Baraka pledged that his city's municipal broadband network will adhere to the strong Net Neutrality rules just rescinded by the FCC. Other cities may be moving in the same direction.
  • On January 5, FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn issued a blistering dissent opposing the final net neutrality order.
  • On January 9, Senate Democrats announced that they have 40 co-sponsors, including Maine Senators Susan Collins (R) and Angus King (I), of a bill to invalidate net neutrality repeal. This is more than the 30 votes required to invoke the Congressional Review Act, which could reverse the FCC decision via a majority vote in both houses followed by the President's signature.
  • As of January 16, 50 Senators -- all 49 members of the Democratic caucus, plus Republican Susan Collins -- are backing repeal. Democrats Ed Markey (MA) and Brian Schatz (HI) are leading the effort to recruit one more Republican vote.
  • The activist group Fight For The Future is promoting grassroots support for net neutrality restoration (see above). The group is planning to text participating voters on Election Day in 2018 to remind them how their lawmakers voted.

Quick takes

  • The Trump administration has fired all members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS.
  • All 50 states and Washington, D.C. have opted into AT&T's FirstNet, a nationwide, interoperable public safety broadband communications network.
  • Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) placed a hold on a self-driving vehicle implementation bill due to her concerns about highway safety..
  • As of December 26, 67 cities around the world had signed on to Mayor Rahm Emanuel's "Chicago Climate Charter", a pact to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to or below levels compliant with the Paris climate agreement.
  • Energy Secretary Rick Perry is reorganizing the DOE, separating its science and energy divisions and assigning a different undersecretary to each.
  • House Science Committee Chair Lamar Smith (R-TX) declared December 18 "Science Day" in the House of Representatives, in anticipation of five science-related bills being considered (all five bills subsequently passed the House).

Highlights from partner organizations

  • RISE Stronger is partnering with Jobs-First.Org and the Women's National Democratic Club, who are hosting a National Messaging and Policy Task Force Summit on Tuesday, January 23, 6 - 9 pm EST, in Washington, DC. Learn more and RSVP for the event here.

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

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