Keeping an Eye on Washington

Showcase of NASA Partnerships & Collaboration
GSA will feature NASA Earth Science research at this 25 July Capitol Hill event.

Managing Groundwater Storage
Attend this FREE Critical-Issues webinar from the American Geosciences Institute on Wednesday July 18 at 1:00pm EDT (cosponsored by GSA).

Volcano Monitoring:
Reducing the Risks of Volcanic Hazards for Society
The Congressional Hazards Caucus and Hazards Caucus Alliance are holding a congressional briefing on volcano monitoring on Monday, 25 June 2018.

Sizing Up Sinkholes:
Science and Technology to Mitigate Karst Hazards
The Congressional Hazards Caucus and Hazards Caucus Alliance are holding a congressional briefing on Monday, 7 May at 2 pm (Capitol Visitors Center, SVC201).

What’s in Store for FY 2019 Federal Science Spending?
Congress is currently in the process of working through the 12 appropriation bills that will determine the federal funding for fiscal year 2019. As of the July 4 congressional recess, funding bills that cover NSF, NASA, NOAA, DOI and EPA have moved in both the House and the Senate.

At Long Last, FY 2018 Spending Bills Provide Increases for Science
The Administration’s budget request at the start of the FY 2018 spending cycle signaled that a difficult year was ahead for the scientific community. Following the the Bipartisan Budget Act in late February, the final spending bill was signed into law on March 23, and  provides increases for science across the board.

Research and Technology Subcommittee Tackles the Issue of Sexual Harassment
On 27 February 2018, four witnesses appeared before the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology during a hearing entitled A Review of Sexual Harassment and Misconduct in Science. During the opening statements, Chairwoman Barbara Comstock (R-VA) and Ranking Member Dan Lipinski (D-IL) explained that the hearing was being held to explore how misconduct, specifically sexual harassment, is affecting the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women in STEM fields, and how different stakeholders are responding to the problem.

Concerns Raised about Proposed EPA Rule
GSA joined 68 other national health and scientific organizations to release a statement to express concern over the EPA's “Strengthening Transparency in Regulatory Science” proposed rule. In addition, GSA and other leading geoscience organizations submitted comments urging the EPA to withdraw the proposed rule.

Support for OSTP Director Nominee
GSA joined science, engineering and academic organizations to express support for the nomination of Dr. Kelvin Droegemeier as Director, Office of Science and Technology Policy.

Comments to Texas Sunset Advisory Commission
GSA Submitted Comments expressing concerns about the commission's recommendation to abolish the Texas Board of Professional Geoscientists and repeal the Texas Geoscience Practice Act.