Lewis-Burke Associates LLC – January 19, 2017 On January 18, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) nominee Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), an orthopedic surgeon by training, testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee as part of his confirmation process. The HELP Committee does not vote on the HHS Secretary nomination, but … Read more
Lewis-Burke Associates LLC – December 16, 2016 On December 16, Congress passed the American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (AICA, S. 3084) which sets policy for the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education, and other cross-agency research programs. The legislation represents the culmination of … Read more
Recently, ASPB and AAAS and 27 other leading U.S. scientific organizations and professional societies sent a letter to President-Elect Donald Trump. The letter urges Trump to “quickly appoint a science advisor with the title of Assistant to the President for Science and Technology who is a national respected leader with the appropriate engineering, scientific, management … Read more
On December 9, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund government operations through April 28, 2017. The bill passed with bipartisan support, with a Senate vote of 63-36 and a House vote of 326-96. The first CR of fiscal year (FY) 2017 funded government operations through December 9 and with only one hour to … Read more
As we all know, the divisive 2016 presidential election elicited a broad range of emotions and opinions, including within the ASPB community. Ultimately, President-elect Trump achieved his victory with strong support from rural America, including communities and industries with which plant scientists are closely aligned. Clearly, plant science will continue to have an essential role … Read more