CGA NEWS
(5-12-14)
To: CGA
From: A۰P۰L۰U Congressional and Governmental Affairs Staff
· Important Changes to the Fraudulent Overseas Recruitment and Trafficking Elimination Act, H.R. 4586
If you attended the CGA Spring Meeting last week please don’t forget to fill out the online evaluation form and submit it at your earliest convenience.
The presentations from the meeting are now available on the “CGA Member Only” page on the APLU website. Individuals must have a username and password to gain access to that section of the website which provides access to meeting presentations as well as working papers, news items, discussion boards and other internal documents.
To create a username and password for the A۰P۰L۰U website and access the CGA Members Only site, click APLU login then select “New User Registration” and follow the directions provided. Once your registration has been accepted (usually immediately), the CGA-only site will be available to you, and you can access the presentations by following the instructions below. If you already have an APLU account but forgot the password, access the login page above and click on “Forgotten password” and follow the instructions.
Instructions to Access CGA Presentations:
On Thursday, May 8, the Senate unanimously confirmed Dr. Ted Mitchell as the Under Secretary of Education. In this role, Dr. Mitchell will oversee all programs and policies in postsecondary education; career, technical and adult education; federal student aid; and six White House Initiatives. APLU issued a statement on the confirmation offering congratulations to Dr. Mitchell, “who has long focused on expanding access and quality”.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) has introduced a new version of the Fraudulent Overseas Recruitment and Trafficking Elimination Act, H.R. 4586. The bill’s aim is to combat human trafficking to the United States partly through expanding disclosure requirements on employers seeking to recruit foreign nationals for employment in the United States. As an example, the previous version of the bill, H.R. 3344, would have required employers, including public universities, to provide labor contracts to foreign national employees translated into the primary language of the foreign national. Additionally, the bill adds new potential for liability for violations of the disclosure requirements. APLU and members of the CGA were in contact with relevant Congressional staff to explain that universities are not a human trafficking threat and that the bill as drafted would have unnecessarily made recruitment of international researchers and educators more expensive and difficult. Fortunately, our concerns were heard and the new bill now contains an important exemption for state government entities from the definition of “foreign labor contractor.” The bill may be on the House floor later this month.
On Thursday, May 8, President Obama named Dr. Richard Spinrad as NOAA’s Chief Scientist. Dr. Spinrad has previously served as the Vice President for Research at Oregon State University (OSU) from 2005 to 2010. Dr. Spinrad received his M.S. and Ph.D in oceanography from OSU. For more information, please read the NOAA press release here.
Arizona State University invites CGA to attend a forum focused on improving the policy making process in Washington, D.C. and boosting overall government effectiveness. The forum will be held on May 22 from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. (refreshments at 9:30), at the National Press Club (529 14th St. NW, 13th). For more details and to RSVP by the May 15 deadline, please go here.
Floor Activities
The Senate reconvened this afternoon at 2 p.m. After a period of morning business until 5:30, they are expected to hold two confirmation votes and then vote for cloture on the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act (S.2262), legislation that would promote energy-efficient practices in residential buildings and industry.
The House is not in session this week, and will meet for a pro forma session on May 13 and May 16.
Committee Activities
Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
Full Committee Hearing: “Strengthening Minority Serving Institutions: Best Practices and Innovations for Student Success”
Witnesses: Marybeth Gasman, Professor of Higher Education and Director of the Center for Minority-Serving Institutions; Michael Lomax, President & CEO of the United Negro College Fund; Eloy Ortiz Oakley, President of Long Beach City College, among others.
For more information, including a complete list of witnesses, please click here.
10 a.m., 430 Dirksen
Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Full Committee Hearing: College Athletics and Academics: “Promoting the Well-Being and Academic Success of College Athletes”
For more information, please click here.
2:30 p.m., 253 Russell
Senate Appropriations Committee
Defense Subcommittee
Hearing: Defense Research and Innovation
Witnesses: Alan Shaffer, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering; Arati Prabhakar, DARPA Director; David Walker, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology, and Engineering; Rear Admiral Matthew Klunder, Chief of Naval Research; Mary Miller, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Technology; Terry Rauch, Director of Medical Research for the Assistant Secretary of Defense.
For more information or to watch live, click here.
10 a.m., 192 Dirksen