AAU Update

November 19, 2014

To: Council on Federal Relations
From: AAU Staff
Subject: CFR UPDATE (14-No. 44, 11-19-14)

-- University Research Community Continues to Urge Congress to Close the Innovation Deficit

-- Higher Education Associations Testify on Copyright Issues in Education

-- AAU Makes Available Information on the Budget Reconciliation Process

-- Rep. Rush Holt to Become Next Leader of AAAS

UNIVERSITY RESEARCH COMMUNITY CONTINUES TO URGE CONGRESS TO CLOSE THE INNOVATION DEFICIT

The university research community and its allies continue to press Congress to move a full-year FY15 omnibus appropriations bill with strong funding for research and higher education to help close the innovation deficit.

Among these efforts are the letter sent to all Members of Congress on November 12 by 133 national organizations, which continues to be amplified through conventional and social media, including by your campuses, and by visits to congressional offices. Along with two letters in support of the National Institutes of Health-from the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research and United for Medical Research -and one in support of climate science, the community has also sent letters of support for research in the physical sciences and engineering (the Task Force on American Innovation), and for the National Science Foundation (NSF) (the Coalition for National Science Funding).

AAU, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, and The Science Coalition sent memoranda to campuses earlier today, asking them to focus their social media efforts on biomedical research. (Federal relations and public affairs officers received the memoranda, which included sample tweets.) The goal is to use the continued drumbeat on the close the innovation deficit theme to help move congressional decisions in the right direction.

CFR members are strongly encouraged to communicate with their congressional delegations during the Thanksgiving recess and urge them to support passage of an FY15 omnibus appropriations package.

HIGHER EDUCATION ASSOCIATIONS TESTIFY ON COPYRIGHT ISSUES IN EDUCATION

The six presidentially based higher education associations, including AAU, today offered testimony on copyright issues in education before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet. The hearing was held to consider copyright issues in education and for the visually impaired.

Presenting the testimony on behalf of the associations was Jack Bernard, Associate General Counsel for the University of Michigan. Along with detailing the role of copyright law in encouraging and supporting the creation and dissemination of knowledge and creative works for public benefit, the testimony addresses such issues as the basic structure of rights in the Copyright Act, fair use of copyrighted material, copyright issues in online education, the challenges of managing orphan works, and the importance of providing expanded public access to scholarly publications.

AAU MAKES AVAILABLE INFORMATION ON THE BUDGET RECONCILIATION PROCESS

In anticipation that Congress will use reconciliation legislation as part of next year's FY16 budget process, AAU has posted links on its website that explain how reconciliation works. Reconciliation legislation is used to make changes in existing law in order to meet the spending and revenue levels in a budget resolution. It is the result of instructions contained in the congressional budget resolution. The instructions require committees to report legislation containing such statutory changes and can require tax increases or reductions, deficit reduction, or changes in mandatory spending. Like a budget resolution, reconciliation legislation is not subject to filibuster in the Senate and thus requires only a majority vote to pass.

REP. RUSH HOLT TO BECOME NEXT LEADER OF AAAS

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) announced on November 18 that retiring Rep. Rush Holt (D-NJ) will become the association's next chief executive officer, effective in February, 2015. He replaces Alan Leshner, who announced last April that he would retire after serving as the association's CEO for the past 13 years.

As a research physicist and educator, Rep. Holt has been a strong, knowledgeable advocate for scientific research and education on Capitol Hill. He announced in February that he would retire from Congress at the end of his eighth term representing the 12^th congressional district in central New Jersey. The district includes Princeton University, among other colleges and universities.