House Science Committee Passes Nine Bills to Support the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence
The House Science Committee passed nine pieces of legislation covering a diverse set of topics around artificial intelligence.
CRA Government Affairs
Biden Administration Announces Immigration Actions to Attract STEM Talent
/In: CS Education & IT Workforce Highlights, People, Policy, STEM /by Brian MosleyThe Biden Administration announced several new immigration actions they are taking to attract STEM talent and strengthen the nation’s competitiveness. The actions are being taken by both the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and are designed to ease the pathway for foreign students studying in the US to stay and work in the country once their studies have finished.
House of Representatives Passes NSF & DOE Science Legislation by Wide, Bipartisan Margins
/In: Policy, Research, STEM /by Brian MosleyLast week, the full House of Representatives passed the National Science Foundation for the Future Act (H.R. 2225) and the DOE Science for the Future Act (H.R. 3593). Both bills passed by wide, bipartisan margins; the NSF bill passed on a 345-67 vote, while the DOE SC bill passed by 351-68. The bills now head into a conference process with the Senate’s United States Innovation and Competition Act of 2021.
House Science Committee Advances NSF & DOE Science Legislation; Both Bills Head to Full House for Consideration
/In: Policy, Research, STEM /by Brian MosleyLast week, the full House Science, Space, and Technology Committee considered their NSF for the Future Act (H.R. 2225) and the recently introduced DOE Science for the Future Act (H.R. 3593). In another departure from their counterparts in the Senate, the committee marked-up both bills in a bipartisan environment with each amendment being approved on unanimous voice-votes. Both pieces of legislation were likewise approved on a bipartisan basis, with no votes in opposition.
Bipartisan “NSF for the Future Act” Introduced in the House; Crafts Audacious Vision for the Agency’s Future
/In: Policy, Research, STEM /by Brian MosleyLate last month, the Chairwoman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), joined by the Committee’s Ranking Member, Frank Lucas (R-OK), as well as the Research and Technology Subcommittee Chairwoman and Ranking Member, Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Michael Waltz (R-FL), introduced the H.R. 2225, “The National Science Foundation for the Future Act.” This legislation, which is a reauthorization of the agency, lays out their vision of the Foundation’s future, and it’s fairly audacious.
Trump Administration Rescinds Foreign Student Visa Rule
/In: Policy, STEM /by Brian MosleyThe Trump Administration on Tuesday reserved course and rescinded its change that would have stripped visas from international students whose courses move exclusively online during the pandemic.
CRA Releases Statement on Reported Plans to Suspend or End the Optional Practical Training (OPT) Program
/In: Computing Education, CRA, Economic Stimulus and Recovery, People, Statements, STEM /by Peter HarshaCRA opposes efforts to end or suspend the OPT program, which would cause great harm to an innovation ecosystem that continues to be a crucial part of our recovery effort.
House Passes CRA-Endorsed Bill to Combat Sexual Harassment in the Sciences
/In: Policy, Research, STEM /by Brian MosleyOn July 23rd, the House passed by voice-vote H.R.36, The Combating Sexual Harassment In Science Act of 2019, which aims to advance efforts to decrease the prevalence of sexual and gender harassment in the STEM research fields.
“This Is a Moral Issue”: Hearing Calls Attention to Sexual Harassment in Science
/In: Diversity in Computing, People, STEM /by Brian MosleyOn Wednesday, June 12 the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee convened a hearing, titled Combating Sexual Harassment in Science, to explore what the federal research agencies are, and are not, doing to confront sexual and gender harassment in the Federal research community. The committee received important insights regarding the measures that have been implemented across different Federal agencies and research fields. Though the committee agreed that the agencies need to do more to confront this issue, there was not a consensus on specific policies Congress wants to see.
“Second Place America?” Major Report Detailing the Nation’s Declining Leadership in Research and Technology Released at Capitol Hill Event
/In: CRA, Events, People, Research, STEM /by Brian MosleyOn Tuesday May 14th, the Task Force on American Innovation (TFAI), an alliance of leading American companies and business associations, research university associations, and scientific societies, released a major report assessing the United States’ investment in science and engineering research. The report, titled “Benchmarks 2019: Second Place America? Increasing Challenges to U.S. Scientific Leadership,” is the fourth such “benchmarking” report that TFAI has released since it’s founding in 2004. The report found that the trends found in the original Benchmarks report in 2005, and the two subsequent follow-up reports, persist and the U.S. continues to lose ground to other nations in investments in science, technology, and talent.
