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Good afternoon,

The goal of this email is to provide a regular source of useful information to staff and faculty of the University of èßäapp System regarding the federal government and higher education. We have put together a list of news articles that will keep you informed of the actions taken by the executive, legislative, and judicial branch of government. These articles are meant to be informative and are not a reflection of the views or stance of the system regarding these issues. 

If you would like more information regarding any of the stories we share, or if you have any suggestions, please feel free to contact Dusty Schnieders and/or Emily Lucas .

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Athletics News

Forbes – December 5, 2023

The National Collegiate Athletic Association’s president proposed a new tier of Division I sports for the schools with the most resourced athletic departments Tuesday, in which students can be paid directly through a trust fund, have name, image and likeness deals directly with their schools and receive unlimited educational benefits—a move that could mark a major shift for college sports and acknowledges one of its biggest criticisms.

Capitol Hill News

United States House of Representatives Science, Space, & Technology Committee – December 5, 2023

The U.S. House of Representatives passed three bipartisan Science Committee bills which leverage the unparalleled expertise, resources, and research of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Legislation includes the following:

• H.R. 1713, the DOE and USDA Interagency Research Act, which authorizes cross-cutting and collaborative research and development activities between DOE and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 
• H.R. 2980, the DOE and NSF Interagency Research Act, supports the DOE’s longstanding partnership with the National Science Foundation, working on a wide range of research topics such as physics, quantum information sciences, artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, and workforce and education development.
• H.R. 2988, the DOE and NASA Interagency Research Coordination Act, which will improve interagency coordination between DOE and NASA. The two agencies have a long history of collaboration on fundamental research, particularly on nuclear propulsion and power for spacecraft.

Defense News

United States Senate Committee on Armed Services – December 7, 2023

Through months of hard-fought and productive negotiations, we have crafted a bipartisan and bicameral conference report that strengthens our national security and supports our servicemembers. Text of conference report can be found here . Key highlights of the legislation below.

• Authorizes a defense budget of $886 billion
• Includes a 5.2% pay raise for service members
• Advancements in nuclear fuel production, mineral acquisition, and environmental remediation.
• Does not include restrictions on abortion and transgender care for service members, or efforts to address climate change.

Federal News

US National Science Foundation

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) will be holding a briefing for the artificial intelligence research community to provide an overview of the Biden administration's newly release executive order (EO) on AI and its potential to support and accelerate AI research while ensuring the safety and trustworthiness of AI systems. In addition to a short summary of the EO's actions, there will be time set aside for interactive question and answer with the research community.

Department of Energy – December 7, 2023

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) today announced $42 million for a program that will establish multi-institutional and multi-disciplinary hubs to advance foundational inertial fusion energy (IFE) science and technology, building on the groundbreaking work of the Department’s researchers into harnessing the power of the sun and stars. The hubs will be led by researchers at Colorado State University, the University of Rochester, and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where last year a team successfully achieved fusion ignition for the first time, proving that creating energy from fusion is possible.

Higher Education News

Senator JD Vance Press Release – December 5, 2023

Senator JD Vance (R-OH) and Congressman Jim Banks (R-IN-03) have introduced the , which would require universities to respect applicants’ constitutional rights and comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling on affirmative action in Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard. The legislation would condition eligibility for federal student assistance and institutional aid on universities’ adherence to the Equal Protection Clause and Title VI prohibitions on racial discrimination or racial preferences. The legislation would also create a Special Inspector General for Unlawful Discrimination in Higher Education to investigate any college admissions department that employs policies or practices violating applicants’ constitutional rights. Senators Hawley (R-MO), and Eric Schmitt (R-MO) join as original cosponsors in the Senate.

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik Press Release  – December 5, 2023

Congresswoman Elise Stefanik, Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee Ranking Member Mark DeSaulnier (D-CA), and Education and the Workforce Committee Ranking Member Robert C. Scott (D-VA) introduced the  which provides opportunities for students and workers looking to gain skills in high-demand fields by allowing Pell Grants to support students enrolled in high-quality short-term workforce programs that will lead to career advancement.

House Committee on Education & Workforce Development – December 6, 2023

The House passed the Defending Education Transparency and Ending Rogue Regimes Engaging in Nefarious Transactions , legislation that brings transparency, accountability, and clarity to foreign gift reporting requirements for colleges and universities across the nation. This is the first in a series of bills to reform the Higher Education Act. Specifically, the legislation changes the foreign gift reporting threshold for colleges and universities from $250,000 down to $50,000, with an even stricter $0 threshold for countries of concern.

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USA Today – December 6, 2023

The college presidents – Claudine Gay of Harvard, Liz Magill of the University of Pennsylvania and Sally Kornbluth of MIT – have all come under scrutiny recently over how their institutions have handled a rise in antisemitism on their campuses since the start of the Israel-Hamas war. All three testified Tuesday during a hearing before the Republican-led House Committee on Education and the Workforce, where they faced questions as their campuses have become hotbeds for protests, anti-Jewish graffiti and harassment of students. But it was their response to questions about whether calling for the genocide of Jews violates their schools’ code of conduct against bullying and harassment that touched off a firestorm. All three offered carefully worded statements that danced around the question.