Voting Reform Dominates the Headlines

Filibuster is Called Into Question

Days until the current Continuing Resolution expires: 35
Days until the State of the Union address: 46
Days until first-in-the-nation primary elections (IN & OH): 109
Days until the 2022 General Election: 298

With the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) stalled, the President and Democratic leaders have turned their focus and their political capital to voting rights. This week, ahead of Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, President Biden traveled to Atlanta to endorse changes to the electoral process in the U.S. and call on Congress to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. The House passed both bills Thursday morning. However, passing either bill through the U.S. Senate would require changes to the filibuster; in his speech, the President said that “[he] supports changing the Senate rules, whichever way they need to be changed to prevent a minority of senators from blocking actions on voting rights.” The President has historically defended the filibuster, so this speech marked a significant shift for him. To change the Senate rules and “go nuclear” on the filibuster, Senate Majority Leader Schumer would need the support of every single Democratic Senator. With her speech on the Senate floor this week defending the filibuster, Sen. Sinema (D-AZ) made it clear the Majority Leader is at least one vote short. This has not deterred the Majority Leader, who announced late Thursday night that the Senate will come back into session next week to consider the legislation.

The President still says he wants both priorities — BBBA and voting rights — completed before the November election, but the outlook is murky at best. In the meantime, here’s what you might have missed:

Update on Omicron Mitigation. On Thursday, the White House announced the purchase of one billion at-home COVID-19 rapid tests. The President said officials are “on track” to launch a website where people can begin ordering tests next week, though he did not specify when the full allotment of tests will be available to send to the public. The White House is also weighing whether to send KN95 or N95 masks to every American. This comes as CDC Director Rochelle Walensky noted that most American deaths from COVID-19 are still from the Delta variant; despite being highly infectious, the Omicron variant appears to be less deadly.

This past weekend, Speaker Pelosi floated including funding to combat the next phase of the pandemic in the yet-to-be completed FY2022 appropriations bills. Similarly, on Tuesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) teased that the White House will ask Congress for “substantial” investments to address the virus.

State of the Union Date Announced. The President’s State of the Union (SOTU) address will be held on March 1. Biden’s speech will be the latest scheduled State of the Union address since 1934, after Congress shifted the opening of its sessions to January. We expect the President’s Budget Request to be delayed until closer to the SOTU.

“Four Corners” Meet Regarding FY22 Funding. On Thursday, the “Four Corners” – the Chairs and Ranking Members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees – met to kickstart negotiations on an omnibus spending package. They will have to establish a topline figure, and then attempt to hash out policy “riders.” However, if Congress cannot agree on an omnibus and instead ends with a year long CR, hundreds of earmarks will be tossed aside. This is an item your WSW team will keep a close eye on.

Supreme Court Rules on Vaccine Mandates. Last Friday, January 7, the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) heard arguments on a challenge to the OSHA COVID-19 Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard, and to the CMS COVID-19 Vaccination Mandate. On Thursday, the SCOTUS issued opinions in both cases. Here’s what you need to know:

OSHA Vaccination and Testing ETS

  • The OSHA ETS has been blocked from being implemented – at least for the time being.
  • The SCOTUS’s granted a stay pending further consideration of the case. The decision was only regarding whether to grant a stay, not on the constitutionality of the ETS itself.
  • The focus now returns to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, where the two pending cases on the ETS will be considered and ruled on. As of today, there is no timeline for when rulings may be issued in those cases.
  • A link to the SCOTUS opinion is here.

CMS Vaccination Mandate

  • The SCOTUS has allowed the CMS Vaccination Mandate to go into effect nationwide, lifting two injunctions that had been blocking CMS from implementing the mandate. The ruling was only regarding the injunction, not on the constitutionality of the mandate itself.
  • Attention will now turn back to the two pending cases, one in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and one in the Eighth Circuit. As of today, there is no timeline for when rulings may be issued in those cases.
  • The opinion stated that Congress has given CMS the authority to issue rules to protect the safety of Medicaid and Medicare patients, and therefore was within its authority in issuing this mandate.
  • A link to the SCOTUS opinion is here.

Special Higher Education Update

Federal Funding Opportunities

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative: Data2Action Innovation Projects applications due March 10, 2022

The Helping to End Addiction Long-term (HEAL) Data2Action (D2A) Program is a coordinated effort to promote the synthesis and real-world application of existing data to guide and monitor improvements in service delivery to prevent or treat opioid use disorder and pain. Collectively, these projects will address gaps in the delivery of evidence-based practices in primary prevention, harm reduction, treatment of opioid use disorder, and recovery support. This funding opportunity solicits applications for HEAL D2A Innovation Projects, which are phased awards intended to support local efforts, either within a single system or in cross-sector partnerships, to improve utilization of data to drive prediction and real-time proactive responses to the overdose crisis.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health HEAL Initiative: Harm Reduction Policies, Practices, and Modes of Delivery for Persons with Substance Use applications due March 10, 2022

This funding opportunity announcement seeks projects aimed at increasing our understanding of the effectiveness, implementation, and impact of existing and new harm reduction practices to address the ongoing opioid crisis and substance use disorder more broadly. Projects may include developing and testing new harm reduction strategies; examining how to effectively implement new and existing harm reduction strategies; expanding the settings and delivery models through which harm reduction strategies are deployed; and examining the impact of new harm reduction policies implemented at state and local levels.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health HEAL Initiative: Planning Grants for Efficacy or Effectiveness Trials of Recovery Support Services for Individuals Treated with Medications for Opioid Use Disorder due March 10, 2022

This funding opportunity supports pilot and preliminary research to prepare for rigorous clinical efficacy or effectiveness trials of recovery support services for individuals who take or have taken medications for opioid use disorder. Relevant trials may test a wide range of services where rigorous evidence of efficacy and effectiveness are needed including peer-based recovery support, recovery community centers, active recovery communities, recovery residences, education-based recovery support services, continuing care models, recovery support services to meet the needs of specific minority health populations, recovery support services to meet the needs of specific health disparities populations, combinations of these recovery support services, or others.

Forecasted: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health HEAL Initiative: Advancing Health Equity in Pain and Comorbidities

This new forecasted funding opportunity will support research to develop, test, and implement novel, culturally appropriate pain interventions and/or adapt, test, and evaluate efficacy and effectiveness of existing pain interventions, in populations that disproportionately experience negative health outcomes. Desired outcomes of these interventions include reduction of pain and pain-related symptoms, and improvement in overall health outcomes, including function and quality of life. Interventions that target populations that experience health disparities with chronic pain in addition to at least one comorbid condition (opioid-use disorder, mental health disorders and/or chronic health conditions) are of the highest priority.

Forecasted: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health Evaluating the Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic-related Food and Housing Policies and Programs on Health Outcomes in Health Disparity Populations

The National Institutes of Health intends to issue a funding opportunity seeking applications that will identify and evaluate the ongoing and long-term impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing specifically on governmental (local, state, tribal, federal) policy and programmatic actions that address two specific social determinants of health: food/nutrition security and housing security. Applications will be requested to examine how these food/nutrition and housing policies and programs aimed at lessening the effects of the pandemic impacted health and health equity in individuals, families, and communities from health disparity populations.

National Science Foundation Partnerships for International Research and Education letter of intent due February 8, 2022

The Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) competition invites visionary, ambitious, interdisciplinary, use-inspired research proposals that address scientific challenges related to climate change and/or clean energy. Many cutting-edge research questions require international collaboration to achieve important advances and insights from diverse disciplines to address the full complexity of the research, as well as the active participation of stakeholders outside of academia to ensure research findings connect to real-world solutions to societal challenges related to climate change and/or clean energy. PIRE projects will utilize multi-stakeholder and international partnerships that are essential to address these challenges of critical societal importance at a regional or global scale. Research may include any combination of the natural and physical sciences, engineering, and social sciences., and proposals that advance understanding of the human and behavioral aspects of climate change and/or clean energy challenges are encouraged. Educational activities should also be integral to the project, and both research and education plans are expected to reflect intentional effort to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in science and engineering.

National Science Foundation Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions proposals due March 28, 2022

The goals of the Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) program are to enhance the quality of undergraduate STEM education and increase the recruitment, retention, and graduation rates of students pursuing associate’s or baccalaureate degrees in STEM. Achieving these, given the diverse nature and context of the HSIs, requires additional strategies that support building capacity at HSIs through innovative approaches: to incentivize institutional and community transformation; and to promote fundamental research on engaged student learning, about what it takes to diversify and increase participation in STEM effectively, and that improves our understanding of how to build institutional capacity at HSIs.

National Science Foundation Building Capacity in STEM Education Research proposals due March 29, 2022

The Directorate for Education and Human Resources’ Building Capacity in STEM Education Research (ECR: BCSER) supports projects that build investigators’ capacity to carry out high-quality STEM education research that will enhance the nation’s STEM education enterprise. ECR: BCSER seeks to broaden the pool of researchers who can advance knowledge regarding STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM fields, and STEM workforce development. Specifically, ECR: BCSER supports activities that enable researchers to expand their areas of expertise and acquire the requisite knowledge and skills to conduct rigorous research in STEM education. Career development may be accomplished through investigator-initiated professional development and research projects or through institutes that enable researchers to integrate methodological strategies with theoretical and practical issues in STEM education.

National Science Foundation and William T. Grant Foundation Partnership to Increase the Use, Usefulness, and Impact of Research about Youth

The U.S. National Science Foundation and the William T. Grant Foundation are launching a collaborative partnership supporting aimed at increasing the effectiveness of youth-centered research and its capacity to foster widespread societal benefits. The partnership invites research proposals that can provide decision-makers and other leaders with new discoveries and evidence that are timely and relevant to local and national challenges faced by youth. Multiple types of fundamental research will be supported, including those that can increase the uptake and public value of interventions for youth-related issues.

Special Higher Education Update

Federal Funding Opportunities

U.S. Department of Commerce; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ocean Acidification Program Education Mini-Grant Program proposals due February 18, 2022

This program provides support to develop coastal and ocean acidification education tools and programs aimed at increasing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility in ocean literacy, stewardship, and workforce development, particularly in non-coastal, inland and underserved communities. Priority goals include engaging diverse audiences in ocean acidification education and outreach, matching ocean acidification communication needs with existing research, education and outreach activities, while developing innovative approaches for community involvement.

U.S. Department of Education; Office of Postsecondary Education Upward Bound Program applications due January 31, 2022

The Upward Bound (UB) Program supports projects designed to provide high school students from low-income families and families in which neither parent holds a bachelor’s degree with the skills and motivation necessary to complete a program of secondary education and enter into and succeed in a program of postsecondary education. The goal of Upward Bound is to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from institutions of postsecondary education. Upward Bound projects provide academic instruction in mathematics, laboratory sciences, composition, literature, and foreign languages. As well as tutoring, counseling, mentoring, cultural enrichment, work-study programs, education or counseling services designed to improve the financial and economic literacy of students; and programs and activities that are specially designed for students who are limited English proficient, students from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education, students with disabilities, students who are homeless children and youths, students who are in foster care or are aging out of foster care system or other disconnected students.

U.S. Department of Education; Office of Postsecondary Education National Resource Centers Program applications due February 14, 2022

This program provides grants to establish, strengthen, and operate language and area or international studies centers that will be national resources for teaching any modern foreign language. Grants support instruction in fields needed to provide full understanding of areas, regions or countries; research and training in international studies; work in the language aspects of professional and other fields of study; and instruction and research on issues in world affairs.

U.S. Department of Education; Office of Postsecondary Education Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship Program applications due February 14, 2022

The Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Program provides academic year and summer fellowships to institutions of higher education to assist meritorious undergraduate and graduate students receiving modern foreign language training in combination with area studies, international studies, or the international aspects of professional studies. FLAS fellowships may also assist graduate students engaged in predissertation-level study, preparation for dissertation research, dissertation research abroad, or dissertation writing.

U.S. Department of Education; Institute of Education Sciences Research Networks Focused on Critical Problems of Education Policy and Practice due March 10, 2022

This program focuses resources on education problems or issues that are a high priority for the nation and that create both a structure and process for researchers who are working on these issues to share ideas, build new knowledge, and strengthen their research and dissemination capacity. Networks advance the field’s understanding of a problem or issue beyond what an individual research project or team can do on its own and assist policymakers and practitioners in using this information to strengthen education policies and programs and improve learners’ education outcomes. For 2022, proposals are sought for the Leveraging Evidence to Accelerate Recovery Nationwide Network which will focus on adapting and preparing to scale existing, evidence-based products that have the potential to accelerate students’ learning relative to pre-pandemic rates of growth for the many learners enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12, postsecondary education, or adult education programs whose learning was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Applications that address learning acceleration and recovery for students from underrepresented groups that were disproportionately affected by COVID-19 are of particular interest.

U.S. Department of Education; Institute of Education Sciences Improving Pandemic Recovery Efforts in Education Agencies due March 10, 2022

The Improving Pandemic Recovery grant program will support research to counteract instructional and learning loss encountered by many learners during the COVID-19 pandemic; identify, explore, and evaluate state and local programs and policies designed to accelerate learning and recovery of those learners; and provide evidence to state and local agencies to improve learner engagement, reengagement and achievement through recovery activities. This program seeks to establish two research networks, with one examining recovery activities in prekindergarten through grade 12 and the other examining recovery activities in community colleges.

U.S. Department of Energy; Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy Technologies with Untapped Potential concept papers due January 20, 2022

The Seeding Critical Advances for Leading Energy technologies with Untapped Potential (SCALEUP) funding opportunity supports innovative energy research and development (R&D) that complements Advanced Research Projects Agency Energy’s (ARPA-E) primary R&D focus on early-stage transformational energy technologies that still require proof-of-concept. SCALEUP builds upon ARPA-E-funded technologies by scaling the most promising funded technologies in their development pathways to ensure the U.S. does not lose the lead in the development, scaling, and manufacturing of technologies necessary to compete in the rapidly evolving global energy markets.

U.S. Department of Energy; Office of Science Biosystems Design to Enable Safe Production of Next-Generation Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biomaterials pre-applications due January 26, 2022

This funding opportunity solicits applications in the following research areas:

  • Microbial biosystems design: Interdisciplinary, fundamental systems biology research to advance the development of new genome-wide design and engineering technologies, innovative modeling, and high-throughput testing approaches for a broad range of prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbes relevant to the production of biofuels and bioproducts from biomass, from synthetic polymers, or as a byproduct of photosynthesis.
  • Plant biosystems design: Integrative, basic research in plant systems biology, genome scale modeling, design, and engineering to advance towards the development of enhanced bioenergy crops, capable of producing biofuels, bioproducts, biomaterials and/or their precursors while growing in marginal environments.

Applications must include strategies to address biocontainment, minimizing risks of potential release of engineered organisms into the environment or other unintended outcomes.

U.S. Department of Energy; Office of Science Energy Frontier Research Center pre-applications due February 15, 2022

The Energy Frontier Research Center program brings together diverse world-class multi-disciplinary teams of scientists to perform energy relevant, basic research with a scope and complexity beyond what is possible in single investigator or small-group awards. These multi-investigator, multi-disciplinary centers accelerate transformative scientific advances for the most challenging topics in materials sciences, chemical sciences, geosciences, and biosciences research that will enable future clean energy technologies and advanced manufacturing.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Rigorous Evaluation of Strategies to Prevent Overdose through Linking People with Illicit Substance Use Disorders to Recovery Support Services applications due March 14, 2022

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is soliciting investigator-initiated research that will support the identification and rigorous evaluation of effective strategies that link people in recovery for illicit substance use disorders to at least one evidence-based recovery support service available within their community, and, if needed, re-link people to such services following resumption of illicit substance use. Research is needed to evaluate strategies that are tailored to the individual to increase recovery capital and maintain recovery, or initiate return to care, among people with illicit substance use disorders through linkage to programs and services that help support recovery over time (i.e., recovery support services). Recovery support services can improve the quality of personal relationships among patients with illicit substance use disorders, increase the number of low-risk people in their social networks, and provide access to tangible resources such as training and employment opportunities to support and sustain their long-term recovery. Linkage to recovery ecosystems to meet individual needs may include connecting people to multiple recovery support services that work together, potentially multiple times, and rigorous evaluation can help to identify replicable strategies to accomplish such linkages. The focus of this funding opportunity is on understanding the effectiveness of strategies to link people who are in recovery, or re-link people following resumption of illicit substance use, to recovery support services across the social ecology that are available in their community to comprise a recovery ecosystem tailored to the needs of the individual.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health Helping to End Addiction Long-term Initiative: Exploratory Data and Methods to Address Urgent Needs to Stem the Opioid Epidemic applications due March 10, 2022

The purpose of this funding opportunity is to develop new, exploratory methods, approaches, and/or tools to apply to existing data streams (e.g., electronic health records, syndromic surveillance, claims data, registry data, pharmacy dispensing, and mortality records) that could provide novel insights into the dynamics of opioid and prescription drugs misuse, addiction, recovery, relapse, and recovery to facilitate rapid understanding of the opioid epidemic for prevention and treatment or to develop methods for small area estimation that inform decisions of local (e.g., substate) jurisdictions. It emphasizes approaches that shorten the lags between data capture and data availability so the data is available real-time or near real-time to provide actionable insights, and methods and tools that improve efficiency and practical use of surveillance, clinical or other relevant data that may allow for faster or better localized responses or better allocation of resources to address the opioid epidemic.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health issues Notice of Special Interest on Research to Address Vaccine Hesitancy, Uptake, and Implementation among Populations that Experience Health Disparities

This Notice of Special Interest highlights the need for research on strategies, and interventions to address vaccine hesitancy, uptake, and implementation among populations who experience health disparities. Research is needed to understand and address misinformation, distrust, and hesitancy regarding uptake of vaccines (e.g., SARS-CoV-2, pneumococcal, influenza, hepatitis B, human papilloma virus (HPV)) among adults in the U.S., especially in populations at increased risk for morbidity and mortality due to long-standing systemic health and social inequities and chronic medical conditions. This notice is focused on adults 18 years and older except for SARS-CoV-2 and HPV-related vaccine topics, which may include eligible children and adolescents. The purpose of this notice is to solicit research to: evaluate community-engaged interventions (e.g., expand reach, increase access, address psychosocial barriers) to facilitate vaccination uptake in clinical and community contexts; evaluate organizational, local, state, and federal policies and initiatives that mitigate or exacerbate disparities in vaccine access, uptake, and series completion, and understand and address barriers to increasing reach, access, and uptake of vaccinations among populations who experience health disparities.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health releases Technology Development to Reduce Health Disparities funding opportunity

The purpose of this funding opportunity is to reduce health disparities through the development and translation of appropriate medical technologies. This announcement encourages applications to develop medical devices, imaging systems, robotic systems, biomaterial interfaces, synthetic biological systems, mathematical and modeling solutions, and other technologies to address the healthcare needs of populations that experience health disparities. Proposed medical technologies must have the following basic characteristics: effective, affordable, culturally acceptable, and easily accessible to those who need them. Responsive grant applications will involve a formal collaboration with a healthcare organization or public health agency serving one or more populations that experience health disparities.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; National Institutes of Health releases Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies Initiative-Related Research Education: Short Courses funding opportunity

The overarching goal of this Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) Initiative program is to support educational activities that complement and/or enhance the training of a workforce to meet the nations biomedical, behavioral and clinical research needs in research areas relevant to the BRAIN Initiative. To accomplish this over-arching goal, this funding opportunity will support creative educational activities with a primary focus on Courses for Skills Development and Research Experiences. The purpose of this funding opportunity announcement is to encourage applications for the continuation and/or expansion of ongoing and new research education programs that will significantly advance the educational goals of the BRAIN Initiative.

National Science Foundation (NSF) Convergence Accelerator 2022 Joint NSF/Department of Defense Phases 1 and 2 for Track G: Securely Operating Through 5G Infrastructure letters of intent due February 16, 2022

Using a convergence research approach and innovation processes like human-centered design, user discovery, and team science and integration of multidisciplinary research, the Convergence Accelerator program seeks to transition basic research and discovery into practice to solve high-impact societal challenges. Specifically, this solicitation invites proposals for the Securely Operating Through 5G Infrastructure Track Topic (Track G). The overall objective of Track G is to provide military, government, and critical infrastructure operators with the ability to securely operate through 5G wireless communications infrastructures.

Sen. Manchin Slams the Brakes on Build Back Better Act

Timeline, Final Bill Remain Unclear

On Sunday morning, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) – long acknowledged as the pivotal 50th vote needed to pass the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) – used an appearance on national television to announce that he could not support the BBBA in its current form. Citing high inflation, a growing federal debt, and the Omicron variant outbreak, Manchin abruptly and unexpectedly ended negotiations, having given the White House only a twenty-minute heads up.

The White House and Congressional Democrats went quickly from disbelief to rage at the turn of events. House moderates fumed that they went on the record supporting an expansive spending bill that will not become law. House progressives were angry that they voted for the Bipartisan Infrastructure & Jobs Act with the promise of the passage of BBBA, and came up empty. Senate Democratic leadership and the White House felt blindsided by Manchin’s sudden opposition – especially after what the White House termed as “ongoing and productive negotiations” as late as last week.

Some in Washington – including Senate Finance Committee Chairman Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and New Democrat Coalition Chairman Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA) – have floated passing a scaled down version of BBBA, especially if it is tied to additional COVID-19 emergency relief. Manchin himself has since spoken on what changes he might be willing to support; he wants the bill to go through “regular order” and focus on rolling back the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. He has additionally indicated that the bill should include means-tested benefits and shrink the number of programs in the package to cover a 10-year budget window. It is still too soon to tell what revised legislation could look like, but the bill’s collapse right before the holidays nonetheless marks a defeat for the President and Congressional Democrats.

In response to Manchin’s about-face, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) released a Dear Colleague letter charting a new course of action for the Senate. After the holiday break, the Senate will vote on the BBBA as is, and will also vote to change the filibuster rules to include a carveout for legislation involving voting rights. Both measures will likely fail.

While Democrats across the political spectrum torched Manchin, it is important to keep three things in mind when surveying the political landscape:

1. Over the past 18 months, Manchin has supported about $6 trillion in new spending, including the American Rescue Plan, which passed through the reconciliation process.
2. Manchin is probably not the only moderate Democrat who opposes the BBBA. Should the Senate in fact vote on the bill, Leader Schumer will be forcing every Senator to go on record with their support (or opposition) — a move that will come with risks. In an increasingly hostile political environment for Democrats, forcing moderate Senators in competitive races to take a tough vote has the potential to become a political albatross.
3. Despite all the media chatter about Manchin changing parties, he has voted with the President’s agenda 97.4% of the time. Even if he changes his affiliation to “independent,” observers expect that he would still caucus with the Democrats.

Updates on OSHA ETS and federal contractor COVID mandates

There was news over the weekend about the 6th Circuit’s decision to let the OSHA ETS go into effect. There was also a decision in the 11th Circuit that kept the federal contractor vaccination mandate on hold.

WSW has put together reports giving background and an overview of both rulings, as well as some possible next steps.  The OSHA ETS update report is here.  The federal contractor update is here.

WSW Business Operations report

WSW’s most recent Business Operations report is available. This edition includes the latest updates on federal COVID-19 vaccination mandates, IRS guidance on the ERTC, and details on tax provisions included in the draft Senate Build Back Better Act (BBBA).

December 8, 2021 Special Higher Education Update

DECEMBER 8, 2021

Federal Funding Opportunities

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Strengthening Healthcare Infection Prevention and Control and Improving Patient Safety in the United States applications due February 11, 2022

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will establish and expand partnerships with academic, healthcare, and other organizations to address infection prevention and control (IPC) failure modes; enhance correct implementation of IPC protocols and processes; and strengthen healthcare worker training and competency assessment. This funding opportunity supports activities to assess and remove barriers to success; improve communication of IPC information and instructions to healthcare workers; and understand how to optimize the layout and functional flow of healthcare environments and processes. It will support organizations uniquely positioned to advance the design, delivery, and effectiveness of IPC training, education, and competency assessment to improve healthcare worker IPC practice and increase health department ability to support healthcare IPC and outbreak response. The work conducted supports public health and healthcare practice by informing development of guidance and recommendations; translating guidance and recommendations into practices implementable in diverse healthcare settings; and improving how healthcare and public health personnel are trained and how competencies are assessed.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Health Resources and Services Administration Nurse Education, Practice, Quality and Retention-Mobile Health Training Program applications due February 22, 2022

Through the expansion of experiential training opportunities in nurse-led community-based settings, the purpose of this mobile health training program is to increase and strengthen the diversity, education, and training of the nursing workforce to provide culturally aligned quality care in rural and underserved areas where there are health care disparities related to access and delivery of care. This program will provide enhanced education and training opportunities within collaborative, reciprocal partnerships, utilizing community-based, nurse-led mobile units. This program aims to strengthen the capacity of nursing students to address and manage social determinants of health and improve health equity for vulnerable populations in rural and underserved areas; and to expand on the nursing education provided by emphasizing leadership and effective communication skills as well as innovative technological methods (i.e. telehealth) to deliver quality care in a rural or underserved environment.

National Endowment for the Arts announces 2022 deadlines for Grants for Arts Projects

Through project-based funding, this program supports public engagement with, and access to, various forms of art across the nation, the creation of art, learning in the arts at all stages of life, and the integration of the arts into the fabric of community life. This program funds arts projects in the following disciplines: Artist Communities, Arts Education, Dance, Design, Folk and Traditional Arts, Literary Arts, Local Arts Agencies, Media Arts, Museums, Music, Musical Theater, Opera, Presenting and Multidisciplinary Arts, Theater, and Visual Arts.

National Science Foundation Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Program proposals due February 22, 2022

The main goal of the Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program is to enable low-income students with academic ability, talent or potential to pursue successful careers in promising STEM fields. Recognizing that financial aid alone cannot increase retention and graduation in STEM, the program provides awards to institutions of higher education not only to fund scholarships, but also to adapt, implement, and study evidence-based curricular and co-curricular activities that have been shown to be effective supporting recruitment, retention, transfer, student success, academic/career pathways, and graduation in STEM.

National Science Foundation Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education Postdoctoral Research Fellowships full proposals due March 1, 2022

The STEM Education Postdoctoral Research Fellowships (STEM Ed PRF) program funds individual and institutional postdoctoral awards designed to enhance the research knowledge, skills, and practices of recent doctoral graduates in STEM, STEM Education, Education, and related disciplines, with a goal of advancing their preparation to engage in fundamental and applied research in STEM education that advances knowledge within the field.

National Science Foundation Understanding the Rules of Life: Emergent Networks proposals due March 1, 2022

The Understanding the Rules of Life: Emergent Networks (URoL:EN) program aims to develop a predictive understanding of how key properties of living systems emerge from interactions of factors such as genomes, phenotypes, and environments and how emerging networks of organismal, natural, social, and/or human-engineered systems respond to or influence evolving environments. Successful projects of the URoL:EN program are expected to use convergent approaches that explore emergent network properties of living systems across various levels of organizational scale and, ultimately, to contribute to understanding the rules of life through new theories and reliable predictions about the impact of specific environmental changes on behaviors of complex living systems, or engineerable interventions and technologies based on a rule of life to address associated outcomes for societal benefit.

National Science Foundation Future of Work at the Human-Technology Frontier: Core Research proposals due March 2, 2022

The overarching vision of this program is to support multi-disciplinary research to sustain economic competitiveness, to promote worker well-being, lifelong and pervasive learning, and quality of life, and to illuminate the emerging social and economic context and drivers of innovations that are shaping the future of jobs and work. The specific objectives are to:

  • Facilitate multi-disciplinary or convergent research that employs the joint perspectives, methods, and knowledge of behavioral science, computer science, economics, engineering, learning sciences, research on adult learning and workforce training, and the social sciences;
  • Develop deeper understandings of how human needs can be met and values respected in regard to how new technologies, conditions, and work experiences are changing;
  • Support deeper understanding of the societal infrastructure that accompanies and leads to new work technologies and new approaches to work and jobs, and that prepares people for the future world of work;
  • Encourage the development of a research community dedicated to designing intelligent technologies and work organization and modes inspired by their positive impact on individual workers, the work at hand, the way people learn and adapt to technological change, creative and inclusive workplaces (including remote locations, homes, classrooms, or virtual spaces), and benefits for social, economic, educational, and environmental systems at different scales;
  • Promote deeper basic understanding of the interdependent human-technology partnership to advance societal needs by advancing design of intelligent technologies that operate in harmony with human workers, including consideration of how adults learn the new skills needed to interact with these technologies in the workplace, and by enabling broad and diverse workforce participation, including improving accessibility for those challenged by physical or cognitive impairment; and
  • Understand, anticipate, and explore ways of mitigating potential risks including inequity arising from future work at the human-technology frontier.

Proposals to this program should describe multi-disciplinary or convergent research that addresses technological, human, and societal dimensions of future work. Technological innovations should be integrated with advances in behavioral science, computer science, economic science, engineering, learning sciences, research on adult learning and workforce training, and the social sciences. Proposals that address the impact of large-scale disruptions such as the COVID-19 pandemic on the future of jobs and work are also of interest.

National Science Foundation releases new Smart and Connected Communities solicitation

The Smart and Connected Communities (S&CC) program encourages researchers to work with community stakeholders to identify and define challenges they are facing, enabling those challenges to motivate use-inspired research questions. The S&CC program supports integrative research that addresses fundamental technological and social science dimensions of smart and connected communities and pilots solutions together with communities. Importantly, this program is interested in projects that consider the sustainability of the research outcomes beyond the life of the project, including the scalability and transferability of the proposed solutions.

December 3, 2021 House and Senate Pass Continuing Resolution

December 3, 2021

House and Senate Pass Continuing Resolution

Heads to the President’s Desk

What You Might Have Missed
Congress Passes Continuing Resolution. Last night, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded through February 18, preserving FY21 funding levels. The bill also contains $7 billion to assist in the resettlement of Afghan refugees. While Democrats lamented that the extension was longer than they wanted, a government shutdown was avoided. Keen political observers have noted that Republicans may continue to draw out CRs in an effort to keep funding levels at the same level as it was during the Trump Administration. Please note that this means Community Project Funding and other pending new programs remain in flux.

Reconciliation Updates. While Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has project confidence that the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), otherwise known as the reconciliation bill, will be completed before Christmas, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) is not as certain. Media outlets have reported that she believes the BBBA will not pass until after Christmas. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has already gone on record saying that he believes a vote should be delayed until 2022. One key sticking point includes the state and local tax (SALT) deduction.

2022 House Calendar Released. On Tuesday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) released the House calendar for 2022, which begins on January 10, 2022. You can find it here.

What You Should Be Watching
A Combined National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)/Debt Ceiling Increase. This week, the NDAA, which has been approved by Congress every year since 1961, stalled 50-50 in the Senate. At the same time, the Treasury Department expects the debt ceiling to be reached on or around December 15. So, legislative leaders in the House and Senate are discussing whether to to combine both bills, with some arguing that the debt limit is a national security issue. This is a major development and something your WSW team will continue to monitor.

House Democratic Retirements Grow. As of Wednesday, 19 House Democrats have retired, with House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Chairman Peter DeFazio (D-OR) joining their ranks. This figure, at this point, outpaces the number of Democratic retirements leading up to the 2010 midterms – the last major wave year for House Republicans.

Redistricting Update. While redistricting has slowed down in the runup to the holidays, here are the current figures on anticipated Congressional outcomes:

  • 55 Democratic-leaning seats (+6 from 2020)
  • 90 Republican-leaning seats (+2 from 2020)
  • 12 highly competitive seats (-5 from 2020)

December 3 2021 WSW Business Operations report

December 3, 2021

WSW Business Operations report

December 3 2021 WSW Business Operations report is available. This report includes the latest on the various COVID-19 vaccine mandates as well as other developments in Washington that could affect business operations.

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November 19, 2021 House Passes Build Back Better Act

November 19, 2021

House Passes Build Back Better Act

Senate Outlook Unclear

Following weeks and months of negotiation, as well as last night’s record-breaking “filibuster” by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, the House passed the Build Back Better Act (BBBA) by a vote of 220-213. After analyzing the bill, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said it would increase the deficit by more than $367 billion over 10 years. However, that estimate does not include the revenue that could be generated by increasing IRS enforcement, which the CBO suggested would be about $207 billion. This “scoring” of the legislation was a key request of several House moderates as they weighed whether they would support the bill.

Here’s what is in the $1.75 trillion bill, among other provisions:

  • Free universal pre-school programs for all three- and four-year olds
  • Four weeks of paid family and medical leave
  • Extends the expanded Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit
  • Increases the maximum Pell grants by $550 and expands access to DACA recipients
  • A combined $300 billion for home and community based services, as well as construction of new housing
  • Workforce development and supply chain investments
  • Provides State ad Local Tax deduction (SALT) relief
  • Allows Medicare to negotiate the cost of prescription drugs, establishes a $35 out-of-pocket maximum for insulin, and creates a new $2,000 out-of-pocket limit for seniors’ expenses in Medicare Part D
  • Extends the expanded Affordable Care Act Premium Tax Credit
  • Permanently extends the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)Expands Medicaid coverage to cover hearing services
  • Provides support for environmental and climate justice policies
  • Provides $21.5 billion for grants and loans in electric vehicle investments, as well as approximately $300 billion in clean energy tax credits

Here’s how it is being paid for:

  • International and other business reforms
  • 15% minimum tax on the largest corporations
  • Adjusted Gross Income Surtax for Multi-Millionaires
  • Medicare tax loophole for high earners
  • Limit business losses for high earners
  • IRS Investments in compliance, IT, and taxpayer services

The biggest caveat is that this bill will likely change dramatically in the Senate. Already, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has expressed skepticism on several of the provisions, including paid family and medical leave and some of the organized labor requirement mandates for certain building projects. Other potential changes include modifying the SALT tax cap provisions and changing provisions related to immigration. In terms of timing, observers have prognosticated that the Senate will likely consider the bill in mid- to late-December, as other priorities must take their attention. This includes raising the debt ceiling and passing a stopgap government funding legislation – both of which expire December 3. Additionally, the Senate parliamentarian needs to go through the reconciliation bill before bringing it to the floor, making sure none of the language runs afoul of the bill’s protections from a Republican filibuster. It should be noted that a Senate-passed bill must then come back to the House, where they will have to vote on that measure.