Washington Update

Supreme Court Denies Trump Administration’s Appeal of DACA Injunctions
On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court released an order denying the Trump administration’s request to review lower courts’ rulings that preserve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Federal district court judges in California and New York issued nationwide injunctions blocking the Trump administration from ending the program effective March 5, 2018, as the administration initially proposed. The administration appealed those rulings directly to the Supreme Court rather than taking the customary step of first petitioning in federal appeals court.

In its order, the Supreme Court said it expects the lower court to “proceed expeditiously to decide this case.” In the meantime, the injunctions require the Department of Homeland Security to continue to accept renewal applications from current DACA participants when their two-year permits expire. The administration is not required to accept new DACA applications.

APLU Urges Appropriators to Fund NSF at $8 billion for FY2018
On February 21, the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) sent a letter to the chairmen and ranking members of the Senate and House Appropriations Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, Science, urging them to fund the National Science Foundation (NSF) at $8 billion for FY2018. APLU signed on to the CNSF letter, which argues that the $63 billion increase in funding for non-defense discretionary programs included in the Bipartisan Budget Control Act of 2018 provides the opportunity to strongly invest in America’s research enterprise. APLU strongly agrees with this recommendation and urges APLU member universities to contact their Congressional delegations in support of $8 billion for NSF in the FY2018 funding bill.

APLU Submits Comments to HELP Committee on HEA Priorities
APLU submitted comments to Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA) in response to their call for feedback on Higher Education Act (HEA) priorities. In the comments, APLU outlined a list of priorities—including strengthening federal student aid, transparency of higher education, encouraging states to reinvest in public higher education, combatting sexual assault, and global learning—that are aimed at improving student success while enhancing the nation’s economic competitiveness.

NSF Releases Publication on Transforming the World Through Science
The National Science Foundation (NSF) released the second edition of its annual publication, Transforming the World Through Science. The book highlights how NSF investments in basic research and education lay the foundation for innovations that directly impact the U.S. economy, security, competitiveness and well-being.