Congress Continues to Negotiate Major Spending Legislation
Congress has made progress this month on President Biden’s legislative agenda, passing the $1 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act with bipartisan support. The President’s other major legislative priority, a reconciliation package focusing on social programs and health as well as funding academic and research infrastructure, continues to be negotiated in Congress. Late last month, the White House released the framework of a plan significantly paired back from the $3.5 trillion package the House released over the summer. The current $1.75 trillion framework would maintain some level of support for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF would receive $2 billion for its core research budget through the reconciliation bill, part of which would be directed towards the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE) and would also see an additional $1.5 billion to start programs within NSF’s new Translation, Innovation, and Partnerships Directorate (TIP) once it is established. The House is expected to consider the current reconciliation framework before Thanksgiving. If the House passes the reconciliation bill, it will be sent to the Senate where it could again change substantially before becoming law.
The timing of reconciliation will be crucial for how Congress tackles its remaining agenda. Both chambers will turn their focus to negotiating annual appropriations funding once work on the reconciliation package concludes. The government is currently funded by a continuing resolution, which will expire on December 3. While negotiations between the two parties have been ongoing for the last two months, little progress has been made. Democrats and Republicans must still come to an agreement on fundamental issues such as the overall amount of spending and the division of defense and domestic funds. Without swift agreement on the reconciliation package, full passage of annual appropriations before December 3 seems increasingly unlikely and a second continuing resolution may be required to avoid a government shutdown. Such a delay has increasingly raised the possibility of a year-long continuing resolution, which would maintain fiscal year 2021 funding levels through September 2022.
SIOP Nominates Kristin Saboe to DOL Veterans Advisory Committee
SIOP has nominated Dr. Kristin Saboe, Senior Manager for Employee Listening & Talent Strategy at The Boeing Company, to join the Department of Labor (DOL) Advisory Committee on Veterans’ Employment, Training, and Employer Outreach (ACVETEO). ACVETEO is responsible for assessing needs, reviewing current efforts, and making recommendations to improve the Department’s veteran outreach, education, and training initiatives. The committee plays an important role in making recommendations on how to integrate veterans back into the civilian workforce. Dr. Kristin Saboe is a key figure in SIOP’s Military and Veterans Initiative. SIOP’s veterans support initiative intends to ensure evidence-based I-O findings are adopted into policymaking. If selected, Dr. Saboe will be able to leverage her unique insights and expertise in this space while ensuring a seat at the table for the I-O community as ACVETEO tackles crucial workforce development issues facing the nation’s returning veterans.
Seeking opportunities to nominate SIOP members for federal advisory committees remains a core objective for GREAT and SIOP leadership. The SIOP government relations team would like to encourage members to identify advisory committee openings of interest and reach out via the contact information below to see how SIOP could provide additional support.
Publication Type
Washington InfO
Topic
Government Relations