Washington Update September 15, 2014
CONGRESSIONAL ISSUES
CAMPUSES ASKED FOR RESPONSE ON FAA REGULATION OF DRONES FOR EDUCATION
AND RESEARCH
As the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) works to meet its congressional mandate to integrate small
unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS, commonly known as “drones”) into the National Airspace System,
universities face uncertainty and confusion about the use of sUAS for their research and instructional
activities.
The FAA has narrowed the kinds of sUAS activities that public entities (e.g., state universities) may
conduct under an FAA Certificate of Authorization (COA), while private universities have no means to
obtain FAA authorization for sUAS operations.
Further details about the issue are available in an AAU document that is available here in the Members
Only section of the AAU website.
Steps to take:
1.
2.
2.
Speak with campus constituents to determine whether the FAA’s various actions and policy positions
on sUAS are perceived to be a genuine threat to campus research endeavors and/or whether the FAA’s
actions and policy positions have already negatively affected campus research activities (e.g., ceaseand-desist letters from, or fines imposed by, the FAA). Please contact Jessica Sebeok
(jessica.sebeok@aau.edu ) with feedback.
Email Madeline Nykaza at APLU (mnykaza@aplu.org) to join a listserv to stay abreast of and
participate in AAU and APLU’s efforts on this issue.
Consider whether your congressional members and federal agencies that fund sUAS research activities
at your institution might be interested in supporting efforts to create an academic research exemption or
academic research approval process within the statute or attendant regulations.
BRIEFING ON THE COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SCHEDULED FOR SEPTEMBER 16
A briefing for university representatives on the College Football Playoff, which will be held Tuesday,
September 16 from 3-4:30 p.m. at Hogan Lovells LLP, 555 13th Street, NW.
Bill Hancock, Executive Director of the new College Football Playoff, will discuss the structure of the
new post-season system and the process that will be used to select the teams.
Those interested in attending the briefing are asked to RSVP to Michael Bell at
Michael.bell@hoganlovells.com.
EXECUTIVE BRANCH
ASSOCIATIONS DEVELOPING COMMENTS ON WHITE HOUSE INNOVATION STRATEGY
Earlier this year, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the National
Economic Council (NEC) issued a request for information to inform the update of an Administration
policy document, Strategy for American Innovation, which was last issued in February 2011. The
deadline for responses to the new request is Tuesday, September 23.
Five associations—AAU, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, the Council on
Governmental Relations, the American Council on Education, and the Association of American Medical
Colleges—are crafting a joint response to the RFI, which features a list of 25 questions that respondents
may address. The associations will make a draft set of their comments available to campuses next week,
in case campuses want to use them in developing their own responses. Campuses are encouraged to focus
their responses on questions of most interest or concern to their institutions, rather than try to address
them all.
In 2011, the same group of associations responded to a similar request from the Obama Administration.
OTHER NEWS
INVITATION TO ATTEND RECEPTION – WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17
Kansas State University on behalf of the Feed the Future Innovation Lab Council, the Association
of Public and Land-Grant Universities and the Association for International Agriculture and Rural
Development are hosting a reception on Wednesday, September 17 (6:00p.m. – 7:30p.m. at 106
Dirksen Senate Office Building). See the invitation here.
LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITIES OF INTEREST THIS WEEK
FLOOR ACTIVITIES
The Senate reconvenes at 2 p.m. and will be in a period of morning business until 5:30 p.m. At that time,
they are expected to hold cloture votes on nominations and on S.2199, the Paycheck Fairness Act.
The House reconvenes at 2:00 p.m. for legislative business and will consider a number of measures under
suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 p.m.
Suspension calendar items of potential interest:
·
Monday, September 15
*
H.R.5108 – To establish the Law School Clinic Certification Program of the United States
Patent and Trademark Office, and for other purposes
*
H.R.2996 – Revitalize American Manufacturing and Innovation (RAMI) Act
COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES
·
Wednesday, September 17
Senate Judiciary Committee
Full Committee Hearing: “Why Net Neutrality Matters: Protecting Consumers and
Competition Through Meaningful Open Internet Rules”
10:30 a.m., Hart 216
House Science, Space and Technology Committee
Full Committee Hearing: “The Administration’s Climate Plan: Failure by Design”
Witnesses: John Holdren, Director, OSTP; Janet McCabe, Acting Assistant
Administrator, Office of Air and Radiation, EPA
10:00 a.m., 2318 Rayburn
CGA Monthly Call on Thursday, September 18 at 4 pm ET
The monthly CGA call for September is scheduled for this Thursday, September 18 at 4 PM
EDT. An agenda will be sent out later this week. For those calling in, please use (800) 264-8432
and the participant code is 854677#.
CGA Members in DC on Thursday are welcome to join in-person at the APLU offices at 1307
New York Ave., NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20005.
Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY) Gives House Floor Speech in Honor of the Impending
Retirement of Bill Schweri from the University of Kentucky
On September 10, Congressman Hal Rogers (R-KY), Chair of the House Appropriations
Committee, gave a heartfelt tribute on the floor of the House of Representatives in recognition of
Bill Schweri’s impending retirement, after 42 years at the University of Kentucky. Congressman
Rogers’ floor speech may be viewed here, or click here to read his remarks.
REMINDER: Invitation to Hill Reception Featuring Feed the Future Innovation Lab this Wednesday,
September 17
APLU, working with Kansas State University and the Association for International Agriculture
and Rural Development, is sponsoring a reception on the Hill featuring the Feed the Future
Innovation Laboratories. The reception will be held on Wednesday, September 17th, from 67:30PM in 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building. The CGA is invited to attend and strongly
encouraged to invite their congressional delegations. The reception will include the directors of
many of the Innovation Labs. While there are 24 labs, many additional APLU-member
universities participate in the research through subgrants. The invitation is attached.
Invitation to Attend National Lab Day on Capitol Hill – September 16
CGA are invited to attend National Lab Day on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, September 16.
Beginning at 2:30 p.m. in G50 Dirksen, there will be a roundtable discussion about the role of the
National Laboratory system. The discussion will be moderated by Dr. Ernest Moniz, Secretary of
Energy and the panelists include: Dr. Norm Augustine, former Chairman and CEO of Lockheed
Martin; Dr. Harold Varmus, Director, National Cancer Institute; Jennifer Rumsey, VP of
Engineering, Cummins Inc.; and Clark Gellings, Fellow, Electric Power Research Institute.
Following the roundtable discussion, there will be a science and technology exhibition of
Department of Energy National Laboratory system research and its contributions to our nation’s
well-being. This will take place from 4:30 – 6:30 p.m., also in G50 Dirksen. Further information
is attached.
Position Available – Office Head, Office of Legislative and Public Affairs, NSF
The National Science Foundation is conducting a search for Office Head, a full-time position
available within their Office of Legislative and Public Affairs. The position will be open until
Monday, October 6. For further information or to apply online, please click here.