RISE Stronger has teamed up 500 Women Scientists, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and the Engaging Scientists and Engineers in Policy (ESEP) Coalition to launch an exciting op-ed writing campaign. Join us, and speak up for science by writing an op-ed in support of government funding for science, technology, and the programs that improve our society in general. Learn more here. Environment Wins as EPA Loses. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia recently halted the Trump administration's efforts to roll back the EPA's Obama-era rule limiting methane emissions from oil and gas operations. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced in June that he would delay implementation for two years so the agency could reconsider the rule. Six environmental groups filed suit against the EPA, and the Court agreed that the EPA had no legal authority to prevent the regulations from taking effect. If the agency wishes to undo the rule, then it must go through the normal admini...

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RISE Stronger has teamed up with 500 Women Scientists, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and the Engaging Scientists and Engineers in Policy (ESEP) Coalition to launch an exciting op-ed writing campaign. Join us, and speak up for science by writing an op-ed in support of government funding for science, technology, and the programs that improve our society in general. Learn more here.Trump nominates Wall Street executive to be DOE Undersecretary for ScienceOn Tuesday, July 1.jpg1.jpg, President Trump nominated Paul Dabbar to be Undersecretary for Science at the Department of Energy (DOE). Currently Managing Director for Mergers and Acquisition at J.P. Morgan, Dabbar's nomination adds to President Trump's nominees for key administrative positions drawn from Wall Street banks and industry. Dabbar currently serves on the DOE Environmental Management Advisory Board. Previously, the role of Undersecretary of Science was tasked with overseeing the $5 billion budget allocated to the Office o...

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UPDATE: View the the list of published op-eds here.RISE Stronger, 500 Women Scientists, the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), and the Engaging Scientists and Engineers in Policy (ESEP) Coalition have come together to call on you to speak up for science by writing an op-ed in support of government funding for science, technology, and the programs that help build our society, support our local communities, and make the world a better place.Speak to your local community and lawmakers by writing an op-ed for your local paper.Benefit from editing assistance to help present your message clearly and convincingly.Learn more about how to join this exciting project, including the timeline, op-ed guidelines and examples, and helpful resources on the FY1.jpg8 budget.Sign up to join the project as a writer and/or editor.Join us for a conference call/webinar on July 24 or July 28 (Update: see below for links to recordings).Submit your first draft to [email
.jpg60;protected] by August 4.Final ...

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Net Neutrality Day of Action this Wednesday, July 1.jpg2To protest Federal Communications Commission (FCC) proposals to allow Internet providers to throttle Internet speeds based on content, some of the world's most heavily trafficked Internet sites are taking part in this Wednesday's Internet-Wide Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality. Participants, including Google, Amazon, Facebook, Twitter, Yelp, Dropbox, and Spotify, will encourage their users to contact the FCC and their members of Congress directly to voice their opposition to the erosion of a free and open Internet. In January 201.jpg2, Internet companies rallied users against the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and its Senate counterpart the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA), and support for the legislation effectively vanished.Trump plans halt to Immigrant Entrepreneur RuleThe Trump administration will take steps to delay, and ultimately rescind, an Obama administration rule allowing foreign entrepreneurs to come to the US to start companies. Ca...

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Explainer by Patrick O'Mahen, Health Services ResearcherBackground and Guide to a Single Talking Point + Phone Script for a Coordinated Defense of the ACA XXIII: A Delayed Medicaid cutoff is still a cutoff Relevant Policy Background: The House: One of the most damaging parts of the House-passed American Health Care Act is the destruction of Medicaid (1.jpg) Starting in 2020, the AHCA drastically reduces the federal government's matching funding for states seeking to cover able-bodies childless adults under the program from 90 percent to 57 percent, which effectively would end the Medicaid expansion in most states. Beyond that, the AHCA also caps federal funding for all other participants in the program, limiting growth by an artificially low measure of inflation. The results would likely lead to drastic reductions in the numbers of kids, disabled, parents and adults needing nursing care in the program, as well as a likely drastic reduction in the scope of services covered fo...

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Appropriations bills advance in House; Republicans reject largest Trump cuts to science but make plenty of their ownThe first appropriations bills for next year's budget (FY1.jpg8) began coming out of House appropriations subcommittees last week, including bills that cover several of the scientific agencies. For the most part, House appropriators are ignoring President Trump's most egregious requests for deep budget cuts, with spending at agencies mostly held at roughly the same levels at the current year (FY1.jpg7). However, House Republicans have made cuts to some key scientific programs and to scientific budgets overall (see below). Also, appropriations bills covering the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others, have not been released yet, and some these are likely to be more contested.After passing their subcommittees, these appropriations bills will still have to be passed by the full House. The Senate will also have its versions, which...

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Introduction The Dodd-Frank Act is under threat. Republicans have long targeted the act, which was passed to strengthen and reform the US banking and financial system after the global financial crisis of 2008. Now they're acting to undermine it. In May, the House of Representatives took a step towards weakening Dodd-Frank Act by passing the Financial CHOICE Act, which repeals most of it. In addition, last week the Treasury released a summary of part of its proposal to weaken Dodd-Frank, which isn't as extreme as the Financial CHOICE Act, but still will have a large effect. We expect that any bill that's debated in the Senate will look more like the Treasury proposal than the Financial CHOICE Act, but we don't know that yet. What we do know, though, is that Republicans will try to push through changes to Dodd-Frank that Wall Street wants, even if they make another catastrophic financial crisis more likely. Financial regulation can be confusing; this explainer is intend...

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Much of the attention last week was again on efforts to rush Trumpcare through the Senate, though after the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its analysis estimating that the bill would cause 22 million more Americans to become uninsured, Republicans have scrapped their plans to try to pass the bill before July 4th. Here's what has been happening in science and technology policy in the meantime. EPA axes 38 science advisers, cancels panel meetings It emerged last week that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will not renew the appointments of 38 members of the Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) whose first term will expire in August. The BOSC advises the EPA's Office of Research and Development on scientific research. The office's leader, Acting Assistant Administrator Robert Kavlock, delivered the news in emails to BOSC members last week. These 38, combined with the nine advisors dismissed in May, mean that only 1.jpg1.jpg advisors remain, with no committee cha...

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The room where it happens. Power industry executive met with U.S. Environmental Protection Administrator Scott Pruitt. Many of the executive said that if EPA is considering withdrawing the Clean Power Plan rule, they should instead replace it with a less stringent carbon regulation to provide regulatory certainty when making new investments. EPA has sent its proposed review of the Clean Power Plan to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). EPA is expected to rescind the Obama-era rule regulating carbon pollution from existing power plants.Goodbye scientific advisory board. Dozens of scientists on EPA's Board of Scientific Counselors (BOSC) have been informed that they will not be renewed for their roles advising the agency. The move dismisses 38 out of the 49 remaining subcommittee members, and leaves the board for "complete reappointment." The BSOC advises EPA's Office of Research and Development — which has been targeted by this administration for extreme budget cuts — on wheth...

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1.jpg. Apprenticeships: In an effort to reduce the skills gap, in which job applicants lack the skills needed by employers, Trump signed an executive order to double funds (currently $200 million) spent on learn-and-earn programs under ApprenticeshipUSA. While there is bipartisan support for apprenticeships, Trump's budget proposal cuts funding from job training programs by 40%, or $1.jpg.1.jpg billion, and the ApprenticeshipUSA program will be funded by further cuts to existing job training programs. Trump has ordered the streamlining of 43 workforce programs into 1.jpg3 agencies. While efficiency is important, job training programs are essential for mobilizing individuals into new industries, particularly when layoffs are expected in manufacturing.2. The Financial CHOICE Act passed the House. The act rolls back consumer protections from the Dodd-Frank Act, weakens the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau considerably, and reduces the power of shareholders, among other things. Republican argue tha...

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