After a spring and summer unlike any other, where do Duke University’s federal priorities stand heading into the fall?
In a typical year, Congress would be buzzing over the summer as the upcoming fiscal year funding decisions are being formulated, hearings and legislative markups are taking place on a variety of topics and an influx of interns learn the ropes. This year, the halls of Congress were much quieter as much of the legislative work has gone virtual, but there have been bursts of productivity. Congress has successfully passed, and the President has signed, three coronavirus relief packages over the past several months, with a fourth currently wrapped up in partisan gridlock.
This year is also an election year, which typically signals a quiet fall on Capitol Hill as members of Congress go home to campaign. Although there won’t be much in terms of legislative progress, the recent passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the coming confirmation process for her replacement will at the very least keep the Senate from completely going into its campaign season repose.
Below is a brief overview of federal actions initiated by Congress or the administration that have impacted Duke since our spring update.
Budget & Appropriations and COVID Stimulus Packages
On March 25th, Congress successfully passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which was the third bipartisan bill in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act totaled over $2 trillion, making it the largest rescue package in American history. The package set aside at least $14.25 billion specifically for higher education emergency relief for institutions to prevent, prepare for and respond to coronavirus. Colleges and universities are allocated funds based on enrollment, heavily weighted towards those with large shares of Pell Grant recipients.
The higher education community has urged Congress to provide further relief for U.S. universities and students in the next Coronavirus relief bill. Additionally, over 100 members of Congress, including several members of the North Carolina congressional delegation, have signed on to the bipartisan Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act, which aims to provide emergency supplemental funding for federal science agencies mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on the nation’s research enterprise.
Congressional leadership and the Trump administration have struggled to find a compromise on the fourth COVID-19 relief bill. Both the House and Senate have been working on their respective packages including the House Democrats’ Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act, the Senate Republicans’ Health, Economic Assistance, Liability Protection and Schools (HEALS) Act and the later proposed, Senate “Skinny bill,” which is a pared down version of the HEALS Act. With the defeat of the Senate proposal this month, hopes are dimming for any action on a phase four relief package before the November election.
FY 21 Budget
In addition to working on COVID relief packages, the House of Representatives has made some progress on the FY 21 funding bills by passing ten of the twelve bills by the end of July. As the chart below illustrates, the House has proposed level funding or modest increases for most of the programs of interest to Duke. The Senate has yet to draft or pass any of its bills, assuring the need for a continuing resolution to keep the government funded beyond September 30th, the end of the fiscal year.
Science and Security and Foreign Influence
Science and security issues continue to be near the forefront of conversations in Washington. All agencies are working to refine financial and disclosure policies, as well as address participation in foreign talent (students and scholars) recruitment programs. There is intense pressure from Congress and the Administration, to stem foreign influence and enact new proposals to tighten requirements on foreign students and researchers.
Congressional action:
As in past years, the bulk of the congressional activity related to science and security or foreign influence issues has aligned with the House and Senate consideration of the annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA not only supports military personnel, equipment, and training, it also authorizes funding and policy for the Department of Defense (DOD) research initiatives. Both the House and Senate approved their own versions of the NDAA this summer and both versions contain multiple provisions related to science and security that will need to be negotiated to develop a final package to send the White House by the end of the year.
Positive provisions of interest include: creation of a new traineeship program to cultivate domestic STEM talent and new immigration pathway for non-citizens working to promote or protect national security, harmonization of foreign funding disclosures, and the creation of an academic liaison at DOD. The bills also contain a few provisions that need improvement, including an expansion of the collection of information on personnel working on research grants and awards.
This summer also saw the introduction of the Safeguarding American Innovation Act, a bipartisan Senate bill that would tighten the security of the U.S. research enterprise against competing governments. The bill would provide the State Department more flexibility in rejecting visa applications, enhance criminal penalties for nondisclosure of ties to foreign governments, establish a new research security entity within the White House Office of Management and Budget, and amend the Higher Education Act’s Section 117 reporting requirements for foreign gifts.
Earlier this spring, the House Republicans announced the creation of the China Task Force, which seeks to counter current and emerging threats from China. The Task Force has been drafting a legislative package to achieve these goals, which could be released later this month.
Administration/agency actions:
In late May, the Trump administration issued an Executive Order that prohibits entry into the US by Chinese nationals with connections to institutions supporting China’s “civil-military fusion” who are seeking F or J visas to study or conduct research. Earlier this month, the State Department reported that nearly 1,000 Chinese nationals have had visas revoked under this proclamation.
In June, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos unveiled a new online portal that expanded the scope of information colleges and universities are required to report foreign gifts and contracts. Under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act (HEA), colleges and universities are required to report any foreign gift and contract they receive that is valued at more than $250,000. The American Council on Education and other higher education associations had urged the Department of Education to delay implementation of this new reporting requirement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Immigration
In addition to the executive order revoking visas for certain Chinese nationals noted in the section above, President Trump also issued an executive order on June 22nd that suspended new applications for a number of foreign worker visas, including the he H-1B limited-term work visa, until the end of 2020 entitlted, “Proclamation Suspending Entry of Aliens Who Present a Risk to the U.S. Labor Market Following the Coronavirus Outbreak.”
In July, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that international students who plan to only enroll in online classes this fall would be barred from entering the country. Amid extreme criticism and several lawsuits filed by universities including Harvard, MIT and Johns Hopkins, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) decided to walk back the order. While the directive was rescinded, concerns remain that the Trump administration’s position will adversely impact immigration and the rate of international students attending U.S. institutions in future years.
This summer also included the Supreme Court’s consideration of the Trump administration’s efforts to overturn the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. In a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court effectively blocked the administration’s plans to dismantle DACA. While the court decided that the way President Trump went about cancelling DACA was illegal, it did not assert that the president couldn’t cancel the program. While the future of DACA is unclear, it is unlikely that President Trump could try again to abolish the program again before January of this year.
Higher Education and Institutional Support
At the beginning of this year, Congress was discussing in earnest the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). However, when the COVID-19 pandemic emerged, conversations on the HEA paused. The HEA package was expected to include provisions to simplify the application for student aid and increase the size of Pell Grants, among other things.
In August, President Trump signed a memo ordering the Department of Education to extend student loan relief policies that were included in the CARES Act through the remainder of 2020.
In the coming weeks and months, Congress is expected to assist college students by passing additional coronavirus stimulus relief aid.
On August 14th, new Title IX regulations went into effect on college campuses despite the higher education community urging the Department of Education to delay its implementation until after the coronavirus pandemic subsided. The final rule modifies certain aspects of the university sexual misconduct process including requiring colleges to hold live hearings, allowing for cross-examination when adjudicating sexual misconduct complaints and narrowing the scope of complaints that colleges are required to investigate.
Taxes
The CARES Act provided a variety of benefits that Duke was eligible to pursue in the tax arena including a deferral of employer’s portion of the social security tax and an employee retention credit. The CARES Act also allows individual taxpayers that use the standard deduction (rather than itemize) to also take up to a $300 charitable contribution deduction.
Hopefully such tax law changes will encourage philanthropy for the remainder of 2020 and benefit Duke.