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A Recap: The Week of June 8th

June 16, 2015 sswinters

On the Hill:

Last week was a big week in DC. While the House considered a number of appropriation bills, the Senate Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations Subcommittee (CJS) passed the Senate’s FY16 CJS appropriations bill. While the House version of this bill contained language that would direct the National Science Foundation (NSF) to fund four specific NSF office directorates within Congressional provided ranges, the Senate left that decision to the NSF. This represented a small win for institutions such as Washington State University that compete for funds for basic scientific related research beyond the four directorates listed in the House version of the bill.

The Senate CJS Appropriations Bill would provide $7.3 billion for the National Science Foundation, $18.3 billion for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and $893 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

See the status report of appropriations bills provided by McBee Strategic Consulting:

House Appropriations*:

Subcommittee	Legislation	Subcommittee Markup	Full Committee Markup	Considered on Floor	Status
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
Commerce, Justice, and Science	H.R. 2578	May 14	May 20	June 2	Passed, 242-183
Defense	H.R. 2685	May 20	June 2	June 10	Passed, 278-149
Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies	H.R. 2028	April 15	April 22	April 29	Passed, 240-177
Financial Services and General Government		June 11	June 17
Homeland Security
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies		June 10	June 16
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies		June 17
Legislative Branch	H.R. 2250	April 23	April 30	May 19	Passed, 357-67
Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies	H.R. 2029	April 15	April 22	April 29	Passed, 255-163
State and Foreign Operations		June 3	June 11
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies	H.R. 2577	April 29	May 13	June 4	Passed, 216-210

Senate Appropriations*:

Subcommittee	Legislation	Subcommittee Markup	Full Committee Markup	Considered on Floor	Status
Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
Commerce, Justice, and Science		June 10	June 11
Defense		June 9	June 11
Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies		May 19	May 21
Financial Services and General Government
Homeland Security		June 16
Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies		June 16
Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
Legislative Branch			June 11
Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies		May 19	May 21
State and Foreign Operations
Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

*Graphs courtesy of McBee Strategic Consulting

This week the Senate is expected to continue consideration of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Once business on the NDAA is completed, Senate Majority Leader McConnell has announced his intention to move shortly after to consideration of the defense appropriations bill.

Senate Democrats have stated their intention to block all appropriations bills on the Senate floor due to the use of money from the Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) fund to sidestep spending caps. Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY) described the Democrats’ motivations: “We will not vote to proceed to the Defense appropriations bill or any appropriations bills until Republicans have sat down at the table and figured out with us how we’re going to properly fund the Defense Department … and our families’ domestic needs.”

After a trying week for President Obama and Speaker Boehner on trade, the House will vote again on Trade Adjustment Assistance. If the procedural motion passes, the House will hold a new vote on Trade Adjustment Assistance.

The House is expected to consider a number of healthcare and Medicare bills, including H.R. 160, the Protect Medical Innovation Act, H.R. 2507, the Increasing Regulatory Fairness Act, and H.R. 6, the 21st Century Cures Act. The House may also consider its State and Foreign Operations appropriations bill.

Additionally, today the House Rules Committee released a notice that it will meet on June 16 regarding H. Con. Res. 55, which directs the president to remove US Armed Forces deployed to Iraq or Syria on or after August 7, 2014, pursuant to the War Powers Resolution. After the Committee meets, the House could consider this measure next week.

WSU in DC:

Visiting last week, Chancellor of WSU North Puget Sound at EverettBob Drewel and Dean Paul Pitre, had the opportunity to introduce themselves and discuss the needs that the campus has been designed to meet.

Dr. Guy Palmer, Director of the Paul G. Allen School of Global Animal Health, met with individuals from several key agencies, including the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, to discuss the importance of the institution’s research.

Additionally, WSU grid experts Dr. Anjan Bose and Dr. Chen Ching Liu, met with Washington delegation staff to discuss the Grid Security project. This project could have large scale implications for how electric power services are delivered.

COMPETES on the floor

May 18, 2015 sswinters

As DC warms up, so have things for the House and Senate.

The America Competes Act- commonly known as Competes- is the authorizing legislation for all Federal science research investments, particularly those that support partnerships with public research institutions like WSU. The bill will be on the floor this week, likely Wednesday. Encompassed in this legislation is funding for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education programs, the National Science Foundation, the Department of Energy’s alternative energy work, and the Department of Energy’s Office of Science.

H.R. 1806 – America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 was signed into law in 2009 by then President George W. Bush. The intent of the bill was “To invest in innovation through research and development, and to improve the competitiveness of the United States.” Because of budget constraints, the bill that will be considered on the floor this week has noticeable cuts to the National Science Foundation as well as other agencies that fund programs at Washington State University and many of our collaborations with the University of Washington and PNNL. The three institutions have partnered in educating our Congressional delegation on the importance of these programs. The House Rules Committee will determine today which amendments can be voted on before the bill moves to final passage. We are hopeful the bill will continue to improve as it moves through the legislative process.

On May 19^th the House Energy and Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on national grid security. WSU has been working diligently in partnership with PNNL to meet the goal of creating energy reliability and security for the U.S. The hearing is expected to cover potential impacts on grid reliability resulting from conflicting Federal laws; the role of reliable generation resources in regulated and restructured electricity markets; and emerging advanced grid technologies, such as combined heat and power, energy storage, microgrids, and energy analytics.

Who is out East:

While there are no visitors from the West coast this week, early last week we were joined by the College of Veterinary Medicine’s Dean Bryan Slinker as he communicated the importance and impact of the WSU Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health. On Thursday and Friday Brian Dixon, WSU’s Assistant Vice President for Financial Services, met with most of the Washington State delegation to share with it how WSU addresses the financial needs of its students. Dixon also discussed the importance of affordability, access, and attainment. As Congress begins to evaluate the Higher Education Act, we look forward to having more opportunities to highlight WSU’s most important resource, its students.

Two Week Recess

March 30, 2015 sswinters

What’s coming up this week:

Last week the Budget Resolution was passed, leaving this week to mark the beginning of a short congressional recess. While members have departed for their respective destinations, staffers will be using this two-week recess for a fair amount of catch up and preparation for the upcoming weeks of session. Recess will conclude and sessions will kick off into high gear on the 13th of April.

Who is out East:

This week will be one of the quieter weeks for WSU in DC. While we do not have any visitors this week, last week graduate students from both WSU and UW joined forces to speak to the importance of funding graduate research, via federal vehicles such as NSF (National Science Foundation) or NIH (National Institutes of Health).

Tim-Melanie
GPSA also spoke to the need of access and affordability for graduate and professional students, as well the harmful impacts of crippling student debt for graduate students, who often carry over student loans from their undergraduate studies.

Shown in this picture Melanie Thornton, WSU GPSA President-elect and Tim Elliot-Ross WSU GPSA Director of Legislative Affairs.

What’s the word on the Hill?

Last week, Senator Harry Reid, announced that he would not seek re-election in the 2016 election. With this unexpected announcement serving as his ‘notice of retirement’ both Democrats and Republicans have taken a sharp interest in vying over who will take this seat in the upcoming 2016 election.

SBDC Visits DC

March 20, 2015 sswinters

Kilmer_AP Duane Fladland, State Director of the Washington Small Business Development Center, along with Andrew DePaula a Washington State constituent, who is also the CEO and Founder of IntelliPaper visited the Hill this week. Highlighting his tech-savvy concept, DePaula was well received on the Hill.

Presenting at the SBDC 35th Anniversary reception, DePaula had a moment to showcase his invention to Congressman Derek Kilmer(D-WA-6)

See a fantastic highlight of this week’s meetings here.

WSU( and Ice Cream) Visit DC

March 11, 2015 sswinters

Last week, was a busy week for the WSU Office of Federal Relations. WSU Spokane Chancellor Lisa Brown and Acting Dean of the Medical Sciences, Ken Roberts traveled to DC to share updates with the Congressional delegation on the WSU Spokane Medical Science Campus. In addition, Dr. Jim Moyer, the Director of the WSU Agriculture Research Center, and Deborah Moore, WSU’s CARET Representative were in DC to advocate for agriculture research at land grant institutions.

FullSizeRender

While on a panel at the Inventing America Conference at the Newseum, WSU Spokane Chancellor Lisa Brown spoke to the importance of the University’s commercialization efforts and pending federal patent legislation. Chancellor Brown was joined on the panel by Former Congressman Jim Greenwood, CEO of BIO; Jeff Pott, General Counsel of AstraZeneca and Eb Bright, Executive Vice

President & General Counsel of Exploramed. More than 100 policy makers and thought leaders were there for the event where Chancellor Brown discussed the patent industry, jobs, the global economy and the important role of universities in this process.

WSU’s Ferdinand’s Creamery was highlighted at the annual APLU Council
on Government Affairs reception, where Members of Congress including WSU Alumni Congressman Dan Newhouse (R, WA-04), Congressman Rick Larsen, and Congressman Derek Kilmer sampled the much coveted Cougar Gold and award winning Apple Cup Crisp Ice Cream.This was a first for Ferdinand’s as the ice cream traveled across the country and to Capitol Hill for the event. We are grateful to our colleagues at the University of Delaware for making this happen and are already looking forward to doing this again next year!

To add to the excitement of the week, The Science Coalition on behalf of Washington State University hosted a Headliner Breakfast, where Congresswoman Suzan Delbene (D,WA-01) spoke to the importance of funding higher education federal research efforts.

147 In attendance where representatives of universities from across the United States, including Notre Dame University, The Ohio State University, Princeton University, Texas A&M University, the University of California, the University of Michigan, Harvard, the University of Washington as well as many others.

ASWSU: Student Government Leaders in DC

March 10, 2015 sswinters

Cantwell_ASWSU

Last week, ASWSU President Jared Powell and Jansen VanderMeulen were on Capitol Hill to discuss the great work students at Washington State University are doing to combat the serious issue of sexual assault and violence on college campuses. Powell and VanderMeulen invited members of the Washington delegation to join them this spring for an It’s on Cougs event to showcase WSU’s efforts to implement the It’s on Us campaign. Additionally, Powell (a senior) and VanderMeulen (a junior) discussed the importance of strong Title IX protections as Congress considers reauthorizing the Higher Education Act. The students also urged the members to continue supporting federal student aid, specifically year-round Pell Grants, which would be helpful to all students, but in particular, non-traditional students who may also be working or raising families.

Penned by Katie Cordingley, Lewis Burke

Welcoming the 114th Congress

January 7, 2015 sswinters

BreadCheese On Wednesday, January 6^th the 114^th Congress was sworn into office. Amid, enthusiasm and ecstatic greetings, Washington’s Congressional members welcomed visitors in their offices. To join in the occasion, Washington State University greeted the members of the Washington State delegation with some Cougar Gold and fresh baked bread from the WSU Mt. Vernon Research Extension.

New to the Washington State delegation is WSU alum, Congressman Dan Newhouse(R) who will be representing the 4th Congressional District including Yakima, Pasco, Kennewick, Richland, Prosser, Moses Lake and Omak. WSU Alumni Senator Patty Murray paid a visit to the new Congressman’s office as well. We now have two alumni in the Washington Congressional Delegation.

The 114^th Congress will commence with a substantial Republican majority in the House (246 to 188) and a majority in the Senate where Republicans now maintain a 54-44 seat majority over Democrats. Despite controlling the House and Senate, Republicans are still several votes shy, in both chambers, of being able to overturn a Presidential veto. The sense on the Hill is that Republicans in the first few weeks will look to hit the ground running while championing many vital pieces of legislation.

Election 2012: Now What

November 8, 2012 mariah.luft

Update on the Results of the Election from Glynda Becker, Director of Federal Relations

The election is finally behind us and it brought little change to Washington DC. Congratulations to President Obama and his team on re-election and to Senator Maria Cantwell and our Congressional Delegation up for re-election!

Democrats maintained and grew their majority by 2 seats thanks to the work of our Senator Patty Murray, a WSU Alum, who lead the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, while Republicans kept the majority in the House, losing 7 seats after many thought they would lose more. Despite the gains by Congress, political voices are calling this a status quo election. Now all eyes are watching how or if the President and Congressional Leaders come together to get work done back here or if it’s just talk.

Nevertheless, Congress will return for the Lame Duck session on November 13, where Congressional Leadership will be elected in both parties, discussions over the looming sequestration and the expiring tax credits will begin and we hope a Farm Bill will be completed.

But first, here is a snapshot of what the election means for Washington State University and what should you keep an eye on:

On Tuesday we will have one new Member of Congress earlier than the rest, as Congresswoman-elect Suzan DelBene will be sworn in to serve out Former Congressman Jay Inslee’s term in the “old”1^st Congressional District for the lame duck session. Because she will be sworn in as early as Tuesday November 13, she will be the most senior member of the freshman class in the 113^th Congress. Giving her seniority over her new Washington State colleagues.
On January 3 we will have two new members sworn in as Congressman-elect Derek Kilmer (D, 6) and Congressman-elect Denny Heck (D, 10) join Congresswoman DelBene. Over the next six weeks we will start to see the Committee assignment shuffle as the more senior members consider moving committees based on spots that open up. The biggest decision besides finding an office for these members will be campaigning to get the best Committee assignments.
These won’t be the only changes to Committee staffs effecting WSU and Washington State.
WA State is currently not represented on the House Appropriations Committee with the retirement of Congressman Norm Dicks. (D, 6) Rumors are that Congressman Rick Larsen (D, 2) is looking to replace him on that committee. We should know in the next few weeks.
WA has not had a member on the House Committee since Congressman Larsen left to join the House Armed Services Committee. Will Congresswoman DelBene, who has a partly rural district break that streak or will she try for a committee that will keep her more connected to the high tech community?
Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Buetler currently sits on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and House Small Business Committee – rumor has it she is angling to get on the House Financial Services Committee.
Will Senator Murray add new responsibilities to her plate after her successful run as DSCC chair?
Congresswoman McMorris-Rodgers election is not done as she is in the middle of a leadership race to run the House Republican Conference. House Republicans hold their leadership elections the week of November 12^th when Congress comes back to town. If she is victorious, this will make her the 4^th highest-ranking person in Congress, below the Speaker, Majority Whip and Majority Leader.
Finally – House Majority Whip Eric Cantor said while campaigning in rural districts this fall that the House would move a Farm Bill during the lame duck session. Will this get done before the end of the year? We will be watching this issue very closely.

Keep an eye out on the blog as we will keep you posted back here on the changes going on, legislative updates and how all of this will impact our work at WSU.

Go Cougs!

Washington DC Update for 9/22/11

September 23, 2011 alexisholzer

Please see excerpts from the Washington DC activities update, by McBee Strategic prepared for Washington State University. Covered in the document are:

2012 fiscal year appropriations and the introduction of a Continuing Resolution, and
President Obama’s deficit reduction proposal, related to agriculture and biofuels

Please contact Kristi Growdon in Federal Relations with any questions you may have: growdonk@wsu.edu

Super Committee and debt negotiations

September 8, 2011 alexisholzer

Just this morning, a public organizational meeting of the Super Committee took place marking the beginning of debt negotiations by this special committee. The group is made up of 12 members from both Houses and is charged to produce a proposal to create $1.5 trillion in debt savings over the next 10 years. See the Super Committee Overview and Updates from McBee Strategic for details on what we could expect to see from this group as they work towards the December 23rd deadline.

Co-Chaired by Senator Patty Murray, Washington is in a key position to engage in the process, and WSU is working with coalitions statewide around the institution’s pillars of excellence.