Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
january 2018

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federal agencies

Department of the Interior mandates political review for grants of at least $50K to universities and nonprofits

January 16, 2018

Based on a December 28, 2017 memorandum obtained by the Washington Post, the Department of the Interior (DOI) is now mandating review by a political appointee for all grants and cooperative agreements with an individual or aggregate award of at least $50,000 to a nonprofit organization that can legally engage in advocacy or to an institution of higher education, and for all grants or cooperative agreements of over $100,000. In the memo, Scott Cameron, DOI’s principal deputy assistant secretary for policy, management, and budget, instructed other assistant secretaries and heads of bureaus and offices to submit qualifying grants and agreements to one of his senior advisors for approval. The memo also states that financial decisions will promote the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke’s “Top Ten Priorities” listed in an attachment.

A DOI spokeswoman told the Washington Post that political appointees have been reviewing grants and cooperative agreements totaling at least $100,000 since April 2017, and an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) memorandum obtained by E&E News this past summer directed all grant solicitations to the agency to be reviewed by John Konkus, the deputy associate administrator in EPA's Office of Public Affairs, before they are posted online and there is any external engagement relating to the solicitation.

Concerned about maintaining the scientific integrity, transparency, and accountability of the grant review process, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine released a statement on January 16 indicating that they “view any political review of scientific proposals as inappropriate, as it gives the appearance of political interference in science.”

Sources: E&E News; Department of the Interior; National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine; Washington Post

White House announces intent to nominate Director of the U.S. Geological Survey and re-nominates heads of key science agencies

January 26, 2018

One year after taking office, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Dr. James Reilly to be Director of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) at the Department of the Interior. After a 13-year career at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), during which he flew three spaceflight missions and conducted five spacewalks, Dr. Reilly currently serves as a technical advisor on space operations for the U.S. Air Force’s National Security Space Institute in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Dr. Reilly earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in gesociences from the University of Texas at Dallas; his studies included a scientific expedition to Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica, to research isotope geochronology. Prior to joining NASA, Dr. Reilly worked for 15 years as an oil and gas exploration geologist with Enserch Exploration, Inc. Following his career at NASA, Dr. Reilly served as an administrator for the American Public University System, retired from the U.S. Navy as a Lieutenant Commander, and started his own firm, March 25 Management. Reflecting on his experience working at the International Space Station, Dr. Reilly stated, “There hasn’t been a moment when I had the chance to look down on our planet from orbit when I haven’t been amazed at how geology has played a significant role in the development of humankind.”

After 98 presidential nominees were returned to the President on January 3 pursuant to Senate Rule XXXI, paragraph 6, President Trump sent a list of several of these nominations back to the Senate on January 8 seeking to fill key science positions in his administration. The list included Barry Myers to be Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), James Bridenstine to be Administrator of NASA, Kathleen White to be Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, Andrew Wheeler to be Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and Steven Gardner to be Director of the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement. This list did not include Michael Dourson, who was previously nominated for Assistant Administrator for Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances for the EPA. On January 18, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation approved the nominations of Barry Myers to be Administrator of NOAA and James Bridenstine to be Administrator of NASA on party line votes (14-13); they are awaiting confirmation by the full Senate. Committee votes have yet to be announced for Kathleen White, Andrew Wheeler, or Steven Gardner.

On January 25, R.D. James was confirmed as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works by a vote of 89-1. To track the confirmation process of key geoscience presidential nominations from the Trump Administration, visit AGI’s Federal Nominations page.

Sources: Library of Congress; U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation; White House

President Trump briefly covers energy and infrastructure issues in 2018 State of the Union address

January 30, 2018

One year after his inauguration, President Donald Trump delivered his first State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on January 30. He covered a range of policy topics throughout his speech, including immigration, the economy, workforce development, and infrastructure issues. President Trump touted some of the administration’s accomplishments from this past year, such as passing tax reform and eliminating many federal regulations.

Despite the administration’s efforts over the past year to make energy independence and dominance a priority, the President only made a few passing remarks relating to energy and natural resource issues during his speech. “We have ended the war on American energy, and we have ended the war on beautiful, clean coal,” President Trump stated, adding that, “We are now, very proudly, an exporter of energy to the world.” In contrast, others noted that the Energy Information Administration’s most recent annual projections indicate that, although the U.S. does export energy, it will not be a net exporter of energy until 2026, if current trends continue.

President Trump called on Congress to produce a bill that generates at least $1.5 trillion for new infrastructure investment and directed that any bill must also streamline the permitting and approval process, “getting it down to no more than two years, and perhaps even one.” The Trump Administration has already moved to revise the federal environmental review and authorization processes for infrastructure projects, but legislation to rescind or revise environmental regulations will likely face strong opposition from Democrats in Congress. In addition, President Trump urged lawmakers to invest in job training, open vocational schools, support paid family leave, and end the defense sequester.

Sources: C-SPAN; E&E News; Energy Information Administration; FactCheck