Washington Update

House Begins FY23 Appropriations Markups
Last week, the House passed a resolution to set a topline spending number and begin the FY23 appropriations process. The deeming resolution, H.Res. 1151, matches President Biden’s discretionary budget request of $1.6 trillion. House and Senate leaders have not yet reached an agreement on an FY23 budgetary framework. In addition to finding agreement on a topline spending number, the split between defense and nondefense funding and how to handle policy riders are among the hurdles to overcome.

The House will begin subcommittee markups this week and APLU will continuously update our Fiscal Year 2023 appropriations priorities chart as funding levels for our priority programs are released.

USAID Administrator Power Addresses APLU Council of Presidents
On Monday, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power addressed the APLU Council of Presidents. Administrator Power touched on the critical role public research universities play in supporting “a global transformation of agriculture and food systems that now feed twice as many people as they did a generation ago.” Administrator Power also recognized APLU President McPherson’s role as then-USAID Administrator from 1981 to 1987 in combating historic droughts that led to a famine in Ethiopia and a global food crisis. She also underscored USAID’s commitment to deepening its partnership with HBCUs and MSIs to power agricultural discoveries and global development.

APLU Joins FASEB Letter
APLU signed onto the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) letter on the importance of federally-funded animal research. The letter to the Chair and Ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, requests funding in support of large animal research conducted at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and for nonhuman primate research at the NIH and the National Primate Research Centers (NPRCs). Additionally, the letter promotes the development of an interagency committee to create a long-term federal plan to address the shortage of nonhuman primates for research use.