Category: Blog Page 7 of 18

There has been a flurry of activity in just one month of the Biden administration and 117^th Congress. In his first few weeks in office, President Biden has already ordered a significant number of executive actions and laid out many of his legislative plans, several of which directly impact Duke. At the same time, the new Congress has brought about a handful of changeups on House and Senate committees.

Duke’s Office of Government Relations has created new and updated pages on its website that keep track of all executive orders, regulations and cabinet-level appointments relevant to Duke, as well as letters and statements from Duke and Duke-affiliated associations and updated info on the North Carolina delegation and the 117^th Congress.

The Chronicle of Higher Education also provides regular updates on new developments in higher education in the early days of the Biden-Harris administration.

Biden-Harris Administration: Executive Orders and Appointments

The President passed several key executive orders in just his first few days in the White House alone. Another one of Biden’s first actions was to issue a regulatory freeze and review on all existing federal agency regulatory activity from the prior administration. A regulatory freeze is often requested by a newly installed President who seeks to ensure that the rules taking effect during their term reflect their administration’s priorities.

Over the last few weeks, Biden has also named the vast majority of his selections for cabinet-level positions and federal research agency leads in his administration. For a comprehensive list of administration positions and the status of nominations and confirmations, you can visit our website here.

COVID-19

Congress successfully passed the 2021 budget resolution on February 5^th, which is the vehicle to complete the budget reconciliation process and by extension, pass another COVID-19 relief package. President Biden has proposed a COVID-19 stimulus package that totals $1.9 trillion. Of this amount, $600 million will be provided to the National Science Foundation to fund new or extend existing projects to prevent, prepare or respond to COVID-19, 150 million for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, $135 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities and $35 billion for the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF),

Members of Congress also reintroduced the Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act. The RISE Act, which was co-led by Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) and also originally signed by North Carolina Reps. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC), David Rouzer (R-NC) and Deborah Ross (D-NC), would authorize emergency funding to the federal research agencies to mitigate impacts of COVID-19 to the research enterprise. Duke is an original endorser of the RISE Act.

Research

For the first time in history, the Presidential Science Advisor is a Cabinet-level position. President Biden appointed Eric Lander to this position, who is also nominated to be the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). President Biden also created a new position at OSTP, deputy director for science and society, which has been filled by sociologist Alondra Nelson.

On January 27^th, the President issued a memorandum, Restoring Trust in Government Through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policymaking, which outlines the priorities of the Biden administration on research and science. The memo emphasizes the administration’s goals to make evidence-based decisions and also creates a Task Force on Scientific Integrity.

In Congress, North Carolina’s newly-elected member Rep. Deborah Ross (D-NC) has been selected to serve on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer recently announced his intent to introduce a legislative package to “outcompete China.” Core to this proposal will be a revamped Endless Frontiers Act, which would create a new Technology Directorate at the newly renamed National Science and Technology Foundation and provide substantial investments in key technological areas like artificial intelligence, quantum and advanced manufacturing.

Climate

President Biden has made a number of executive actions related to climate during the first few weeks of his administration, including the creation of the Climate Innovation Working Group, which is part of the National Climate Task Force, and calling for the creation of an Advanced Research Projects Agency-Climate (ARPA-C). The Climate Innovation Working Group will coordinate federal government-wide activities for climate innovation and, as one example of this work, the Department of Energy announced a $100 million investment through the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) to support transformational low-carbon energy technologies.

Higher Ed

Biden has stated that a priority of his administration will be on student loan debt relief. In his first few days, the President requested that the Department of Education extend its pause on federal student loan borrowers’ repayment and interest through October 2021, in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite pressure from Democrats in Congress, the Biden White House has signaled their reluctance to write-off student loan debt through executive action, instead preferring Congress to act. Along the lines of affordability, Duke and several higher education associations are advocating for a doubling of the maximum Pell grant; a request that is in-line with a Biden campaign proposal.

In Congress, Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) was selected to serve as Ranking Member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, following the retirement of former committee chair Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN).

Immigration

The President has issued numerous orders around immigration including ending family separations at the border, a reversal of the Trump administration’s Muslim ban, a reversal of the public charge rule, a reversal of a Trump administration rule that would seek to raise the admissions cap.

On February 18^th, the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021, which seeks to create a path to citizenship for immigrants and prioritize visas with the highest paying jobs, was introduced by Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Representative Linda Sanchez (D-CA).

The legislation builds on President Joe Biden’s efforts mentioned above and would strengthen the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, remove per-country caps that prevent residents of any single country from getting more than 7 percent of the total number of employment-based green cards and also create a pilot program setting aside 10,000 visas for immigrants whose employment is deemed “essential” to economic development in the areas they will settle. Under the legislation, American universities would be better able to retain and recruit talent in scientific research.

There are several other higher education specific provisions included, but this bill will be the start of a long process and passage remains uncertain.

However, the speed of action and prioritization of immigration reform could change depending on the outcome of a current challenge to DACA by several states, led by Texas. A federal judge is expected to rule in the coming weeks.

Science & Security & Foreign Influence

Congressional proposals to address issues related to foreign influence in the nation’s research enterprise and higher education have arisen early in the 117^th Congress. Several bills that languished at the end of the 116^th Congress have been reintroduced, and several amendments scrutinizing various ties to China were proposed during both House and Senate consideration of the budget resolution.

By Lizzie Devitt, posted on 3/5/21

On February 26^th, Duke in DC hosted the event “Health Inequalities & Racial Injustice During COVID-19,“ as part of its Beyond Talking Points series. The conversation covered issues related to existing structural inequities in the United States and how they have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 public health crises. The panelists also provided their recommendations for the Biden administration and Congress on how to address many of these structural, embedded issues.

The panelists included Keisha Bentley-Edwards, assistant professor at the Duke University School of Medicine and director of the Health Equity Working Group at the Duke Samuel W. DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity, Tiffany Day, Systems Change and Policy Analyst at the Aspen Institute and Anna Gassman-Pines, associate professor at the Duke Sanford School of Public Policy and faculty affiliate at the Center for Child and Family Policy. The discussion was moderated by Teresa Wiltz, senior editor on Washington and politics at POLITICO.

How the CARES Act Supported Families During COVID-19:

Anna Gassman-Pines

“We have evidence that the stimulus and other supports from the CARES Act that were made available to families in the spring and summer in 2020 really worked. So, we know that any additional stimulus for families that are still struggling is going to immediately stabilize family income and promote wellbeing.”

On the Structural Inequities Involved in the COVID-19 Vaccine Rollout:

Keisha Bentley-Edwards

With the exception of nursing homes, the vaccine has been prioritized for people who are exposed to communities of risk, rather than the people and communities who are actually at risk. We know that Black and Latinx communities are overburdened, but they are not getting the vaccine. Vaccine hesitancy is real, but it isn’t the only reason (why certain people aren’t receiving the vaccine).”

The Importance of Paid Family Leave and Other Government-Funded Programs:

Anna Gassman-Pines

“What has happened in the absence of a (paid family leave) federal program is that states have stepped forward to fill the void for their communities. State policymakers have realized that this is the type of policy that can build our workforce, can be implemented in ways that promote equity… a federal policy would provide that for everyone.”

“We have made accessing unemployment insurance difficult as an explicit policy choice. In practice, folks that are facing the most barriers and have the most difficulty are actually the ones who aren’t able to get it. In our own data… Black workers were more likely to get through the process, but for whatever reason had a delay in getting their benefits. That kind of delay means families are struggling with the basics like food and rent.”

Keisha Bentley-Edwards

“For those who argue that you can’t just throw money at problems, sometimes your problem is money. These moratoriums, because they aren’t “relief”, people will have to pay back their electricity and rent at some point, so we actually have to put money in people’s pockets. Throwing money at the problems will solve them.”

Tiffany Day

“Systems change cannot happen in a vacuum. It’s going to be important to think about if we increase the minimum wage, how it’s going to impact the benefits access for families. If we don’t correct and reconcile on the benefits and eligibility side, they will not be able to access these programs.

What the Biden Administration Should Do to Address Inequities in Health Coverage Right Now:

Keisha Bentley-Edwards

“I don’t believe that health insurance should be tied to employment, especially when we know that for low and even mid-wage jobs… We also need to make sure that we actually hold accountable and take into account our longstanding health disparities. Morbidity is something that we need to account for so that we can know where the holes and the gaps are in the system. These aren’t genetic issues; they are social issues.”

Tiffany Day

“The conversation happening at the national level is shifting from social determinants of health to structural determinants of health, because it truly is the infrastructure and structural racism that has been in place that has really prevented families from accessing adequate health care, adequate schools and food.”

On Mental Health & Inequities Related to Telehealth and Access to Care:

Anna Gassman-Pines

“An under-appreciated aspect of the pandemic is the ongoing mental health crisis, especially for parents… In our sample, half of the parents are screening positive, meaning that they are experiencing depression or anxiety, or both. It starts with acknowledging that investing in mental health is just as important as investing in physical health.”

Keisha Bentley-Edwards

“The telehealth aspect was seen as impossible for both mental health and physical health. However, there were physical health waivers put in place to allow doctors to work across state lines, that have not been put in place for mental health. You should be able to have access to this care that you need, quickly.”

Tiffany Day

“The digital divide that exists in the U.S. is another inequity. We have to have access to computers and networks. As we move forward, it will be important for those investments in infrastructure be put in place at the federal level.”

The Importance of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) for Educating the Country Around Health Disparities Affecting Black and Brown Communities Outside of COVID-19:

Keisha Bentley-Edwards

“I think it is key and with a caveat – it has to be done with myth busting. Especially around maternal and mental health. A big part of this is disaggregating the data, not just looking at comparing people by race, but also looking within race and learning from success. We have to be forthright about what we’ve been taught in the past and what isn’t accurate.”

You can also read Anna Gassman-Pines’ evidence brief, “COVID-19 Job and Income Loss Jeopardize Child Well-Being: Income Support Policies Can Help,” for more information and resources related to this conversation.

A panel of national security experts discussed the policy landscape in the Biden administration and new Congress on February 19^th. This conversation, part of Duke in DC’s Beyond Talking Points series, covered issues related to cybersecurity, international and private partnerships, and how our nation can rebuild and strengthen many of these priorities.

The panelists included former U.S. Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence and current Rubenstein Fellow Susan “Sue” Gordan; Duke Professor and Director of the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy (AGS), Peter Feaver; and Managing Director of the Cybersecurity Group at the Aspen Institute, David Forscey. The discussion was moderated by Kori Schake, director of foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI). 

On cybersecurity:

David Forscey:

“The government and private sector, including our international partners, frequently cooperate, but there is also a lot of tension there. Private industry has always been essential for national security, but increasingly, the private sector is the actual medium in which cybersecurity takes place. Cyber space is not managed by the government at all. Government is operating in private territory.”

“What we need to do is move past the information sharing conversations to actual joint operations. We need people working shoulder-to-shoulder, and we need folks at national security agencies to become friends with their counterparts at leading companies, and that is something Congress should be focusing on.”

Sue Gordon

“Private sector and the private citizens are the decision-makers when it comes to national security. What those companies do affects what we do. We need companies to understand and feel the weight of their responsibilities. The government needs to think of itself as a supporting command.”

On U.S. vulnerabilities and how we can rebuild:

Sue Gordon

“The military needs a foundational, fundamental change in how it does warfighting and the intelligence community needs to get on its horse and collect the information it needs for today’s national security challenges. Secondly, we do not have the international coalitions and partnerships that we are going to need…this cannot be America first led, these problems are global.

“We still have too much U.S. hubris. This is a world of pesky sovereignty where every nation has their own demands, we have got to go after these things by recognizing our values are what unites us, but the implementation needs to be locally trusted.”

David Forscey

“There aren’t enough [champions on Capitol Hill], at least when it comes to cybersecurity. However, there are so many opportunities and issues members can engage on, almost all of which are bipartisan.”

“Known unknowns are our greatest vulnerabilities. It is crazy how little data we have on a lot of our digital vulnerabilities. For instance, we don’t have data to show that election offices are affected hit at a higher rate than hospitals – nobody knows – if we don’t have evidence, we can’t make evidence-based policy.”

On civil-military relations:

Peter Feaver

“All of these problems we’ve been talking about are embedded within a larger civil-military dynamic. We are at a time where a lot of our civ-mil relations are in need of repair. A lot of these problems will be harder to solve because the Biden administration is going to have to  recreate muscle memory for what healthy relationships look like. They inherit some of the challenges from the last administration, and they also are bringing some baggage from the Obama administration. If they don’t repair civ-mil dynamics, then a lot of these problems will become harder to solve.”

On balancing transparency with privacy:

David Forscey

“For public information, one of the best ways to improve security is to create market pressure for security. The best way to do that is to give customers the information they need to make purchasing decisions based on security. Right now, that is extremely difficult. All we need is something really basic that is based on basic security standards that allows customers to know whether they are buying secure or less secure products.”

On recommendations for the Biden administration:

Peter Feaver

“Secretary Austin is going to have to channel his inner civilian and become known as Secretary Austin, not General Austin… he needs to find out what Secretary Mattis did to empower the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) and double it.”

You can tune in for the next two events of the series:  Health Inequalities & Racial Injustices During COVID-19 on 2/26 and Energy & Utilities on 3/5, at 10am ET.

As we round out 2020, our nation’s capital has not slowed down. Over the past few months, there has been an election accompanied by new activity from the White House and Congress, that directly impact Duke University. In this blog, our office has summarized the major events and developments from Washington, DC in the second half of the year that hold significance for the Duke community.

Election Recap

Presidential Election

Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election on November 7^th, with the Electoral College formalizing the win on December 14^th.  The transition process was delayed, but President-elect Biden has begun to roll out his picks for key cabinet and advisor positions. Two Duke faculty members, Robert Bonnie and Christopher Schroeder, were appointed as leads to the Biden-Harris Department of Agriculture and Department of Justice agency review teams, respectively.  Duke’s Office of Government Relations (OGR) is closely monitoring the Biden-Harris transition activities and noting any connections to Duke.

Changes in Leadership and Makeup for the 117^th Congress

The 2020 election precipitated several new changes to the North Carolina delegation. Three new members to the delegation will be Democrats Deborah Ross (NC-2) and Kathy Manning (NC-6) and Republican Madison Cawthorn (NC-11). Additionally, following the protracted redistricting process in North Carolina, Duke’s main campus has moved back to the 4th Congressional District for the 117^th Congress, which is represented by Representative David Price (D-NC).

Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC) was re-elected as he defeated his Democratic challenger Cal Cunningham. Control of the Senate still hangs in the balance and won’t be determined until after the January 5, 2021 runoff election in Georgia.

Four Duke alumni currently serving in Congress were re-elected and will return for the 117th Congress. In the House, Mo Brooks T’75 (R-AL), Scott Peters T’80 (D-CA) and Mike Levin L’05 (D-CA) were all re-elected. Senator Shelley Moore Capito T’75 (R-WV) also won another term, where she serves alongside Sen. Rand Paul M’88 (R-KY).  After having lost the primary election earlier this year, Rep. Dan Lipinski M’98 (D-IL) will not be serving in the next Congress. Rep. Bradley Byrne T’77 (R-AL) gave up his seat in the House earlier this year to run for Senate, which he lost in the primary. 

Moving into the 117^th Congress, there will also be several Congressional committee leadership changes. Notably, chair of the House Appropriations Committee, Nita Lowey (D-NY), both a Duke parent and grandparent, is retiring and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) will take the gavel in her place. Reps. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Mike Rogers (R-AL) were elected as the new ranking members of the House Energy and Commerce and House Armed Services Committees, respectively.

Meanwhile, the House Education and Labor and House Science, Space and Technology Committees will maintain the same leadership with Chair Bobby Scott (D-VA) and ranking member Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Chair Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and ranking member Frank Lucas (R-AL), all re-elected respectively. Reps. Jerold Nadler (D-NY) and Jim Jordan (R-OH) will continue to serve as chairman and ranking member on the House Judiciary Committees.  In the Senate, Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and will continue to serve as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and the ranking member has yet to be determined. Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA) will also continue to serve as chair for the Ways and Means Committee, with Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) as ranking.

The House of Representatives has released their legislative calendar for the 2021 calendar year.

Legislative and Presidential Administration Activities

FY 2021 Budget and COVID-19 Relief

On the evening of December 21^st, 2020, Congress passed the $1.4 trillion FY 21 omnibus spending measure along with a $900 billion coronavirus relief package. This omnibus bill will fund the federal government through September 30, 2021 and includes the following funding recommendations for programs of interest to the Duke community. Below is a chart highlighting the legislation’s topline allocations for federal agencies that are relevant to Duke:

The COVID-19 Response and Relief legislation includes $20.2 billion additional funds for the Department of Education’s Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) for public and private, nonprofit institutions based on headcount and full-time student enrollment.

In addition to the FY21 and COVID-19 relief packages, Congress also tacked on several provisions related to higher education and tax. The legislation includes language to simplify Federal Application for Student Aid (FAFSA), increase the maximum Pell Grant to $6,495 and reinstates Pell eligibility for incarcerated students. Related to employer and tax benefits, there is also language to expand and extend charitable giving deductions and the employee-retention tax credit for private employers through June 30^th, 2021. 

Immigration policy

This year, accompanied by the coronavirus pandemic, included several pieces of legislation and executive action on immigration policy that had significant impact on universities.

The Department of Labor (DOL) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) both proposed changes to H-1B visa rules. The DHS interim final rule would restrict H-1B qualifications and the DOL interim final rule would dramatically raise wage requirements for employees who have H-1B visas. At the beginning of December, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California decided that both the DHS and DOL rules should be rendered invalid nationwide. On December 14^th, another federal judge ruled against the DOL proposed regulation. Duke has continued voice its opposition to both rules on the basis that they would be unnecessarily harmful to international students and faculty as well as our U.S. universities.

The Supreme Court voted to uphold the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program earlier this year and on December 4^th, a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to fully restore DACA. The ruling effectively reestablishes the program and places a mandate on the Department for Homeland Security (DHS) begin accepting new applicants.

Science & Security and Foreign Influence

Congressional actions

After months of negotiations, the House and Senate released the conference agreement for the FY 21 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). In addition to setting funding recommendations for Department of Defense programs, including its Science and Technology programs, it also includes a handful of policy measures aimed at addressing science and security and foreign influence issues.

Both the House and Senate bills contained a mix of positive proposals and items of concern. The final conference package contained mostly good news for the higher education and research community. Most notably, the conference agreement contained language that would harmonize funding disclosure requirements, including domestic and foreign sources, among all federal agencies. The conference agreement also contains a provision that will create a new academic liaison position at DOD with the responsibility to work with academia on initiatives to protect DOD-sponsored research from undue foreign threats. Although several proposals to create programs to help attract and retain foreign talent at DOD did not make it into the conference report, the final agreement requests a National Academies comparative analysis of efforts by China and the US to recruit and retain foreign researchers and recommendations for the US – DOD and other federal agencies – to recruit and retain researchers and scientists relative to China. Finally, though not related to foreign influence, the final NDAA bill does contain the National AI Initiative.

The conference agreement passed both the House and Senate by wide margins, well beyond the votes needed to overturn President Trump’s threatened veto.

Administration/agency actions

Last month, the Department of Education published a Notice of Interpretation (NOI) on “the department’s enforcement authority for failure to adequately report under Section 117.” As a reminder, Section 117 of the Higher Education Act requires colleges and universities to report any foreign gift and contract they receive that is valued over $250,000. In the NOI, which is currently in effect, the Department of Education implies it has authority to tie Section 117 compliance failures to an institution’s eligibility to participate in Title IV student aid programs. The higher education associations submitted comments in response stating the interpretation is not consistent with the HEA and requests a formal rulemaking process.

Other activities at Duke and Duke in DC

Moving into 2021, Duke OGR plans to continue its efforts to support the university and students’ policy interests into next Congress and the Biden-Harris administration. Duke in DC will hold a series of programs, including its original Beyond Talking Points event series beginning in February. Duke in DC also held an event on December 10^th entitled “Housing is Where the Health is,” with several faculty experts about their research on environmental justice.

Posted 12/22/20

By Lizzie Devitt

Housing can be linked to a wide variety of systemic inequalities, including health outcomes. Like many issues, these consequences and inequalities have been exacerbated during COVID-19, as people are spending more time in their homes than ever before.

On December 10^th, Duke in DC hosted a virtual congressional briefing with two Duke professors, Kay Jowers and Christopher Timmins, along with their colleague, and Duke alum, Lala Ma from the University of Kentucky to discuss the interconnectedness of one’s home and other life outcomes.

The briefing covered the confluence of compounding factors including housing precarity (housing affordability, housing quality, and other conditions related to housing), racial injustice, COVID-19 and environmental injustice that can effect an individual or family’s overall wellbeing. Professor Jowers noted, “This year we also saw huge attention to racial injustice and environmental justice movements… we know that all of these underlying issues also play a role in the pandemic.”

While research on housing discrimination over the last several decades indicates that rates of discrimination appear, on the surface, to be decreasing overtime, Timmins’ research explains that this is not necessarily true. “We examined the characteristics of the houses people are being offered, not just the number,” said Timmins, “Relative to an average neighborhood the African American tester was offered a home with 23.8 more assaults in the neighborhood compared to the white tester.”

His research reports that Black homebuyers are also more likely to be offered a home closer to a superfund site and have higher levels of exposure to air toxins, and this probability is even higher for single Black mothers.

Timmins also cited his research, done in collaboration with Peter Christensen at the University of Illinois, regarding discrimination in rental markets.  “In all the cities we looked at, when a white renter received a response for an apartment availability, the minority identity (either Black or Latinx) received a response 68% of the time.”

Timmnis thanked the National Science Foundation (NSF) for supporting research on housing markets and also stated, “the Department for Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is the source of a lot of our data… which we use for measuring discrimination in housing and real estate markets.”

Housing discrimination, which contributes to a variety of differences in housing quality, also has direct implications for natural disaster resiliency. Low-income housing is often hit hardest by severe weather storms and may lack the resources to properly rebuild. Lala Ma spoke directly on these issues by citing additional research on floods and climate change.

“Flood exposure may differ by socioeconomic status and if so, policies to address flood risk will have a heterogeneous impact,” explained Ma “policies that are aimed to mitigate some of these losses are going to be really important for strategies to adapt to climate change.”

Certain policies enacted at the federal, state and local levels during COVID-19 have effectively addressed some of the socioeconomic issues mentioned above. Jowers specifically spoke about the federal utilities and rent moratoria and their effectiveness in helping families.

“Using these kinds of measures,” Jowers explained can, “allow people to come back to equilibrium when there’s been a major disruption in their lives.”

Posted 12/21/20

by Lizzie Devitt

As our nation commemorates Veterans Day this month, we want to give special recognition to Duke’s military-affiliated students and alumni.

Over the years, Duke’s student veteran community has continued to grow, becoming one of the fastest-growing student population on campus and prompting Student Affairs to create an office specifically for them. The Duke Student Affairs Office of Veterans works collaboratively with students, faculty and staff to provide resources, support and community to current and former student veterans.

Duke’s military-affiliated community now totals 444, which includes 259 veterans, and the remaining members are comprised of those on active duty, guard, reserves, as well as part-time duty. Vice Dean of Students Clay Adams, among other responsibilities, directs all student veteran initiatives.

“The office is still relatively new and so there has been a constant effort to focus on “rightsizing” our support of the community,” Adams explained. They have also aimed to provide better support “through resource allocation from a standing budget, to staffing, and space allocation.”

The student veteran community at Duke has representation in nearly all schools on campus, from the Divinity School to the Pratt School of Engineering and everything else in between. Postgraduate opportunities for members of the community are equally as wide-ranging. “You name it they’ve done it,” said Adams, “From business, to public service, continued leadership within the Department of Defense, faculty members, and more.”

Adapting to life and school is not without its difficulties for the military-affiliated community. “The transition-related adjustments associated with leaving a highly structured environment to higher education, which has a very distinct and different approach,” can be difficult for student veterans and the military-affiliated community as a whole.

In the midst of such new challenges, having a community of people for support and advice is critical. From admission to post-grad, Duke’s military-affiliated community maintains close-knit relationships. Three years ago, the Office of Student Veterans also partnered with the Duke Alumni Association to build a military-affiliated alumni network.

As an extension of the Duke Student Veterans and the Office of Student Veterans, the Duke Military Alumni Network creates community for military affiliated Duke alumni. As such, the Duke Military Alumni Network primarily serves to connect military affiliated Duke alumni and their families with peers around the globe to offer support, resources, and connection – no matter where our alumni are.

Adams also said that Duke’s “cross-institutional approach to supporting our graduate and professional school students, which serve as home to 98% of student military-affiliated community,” is one of several factors that sets Duke apart and helps foster a strong community for veterans. “Building a centralized support network and community to serve students collectively allows us to streamline and efficiently tailor our efforts.”

By Lizzie Devitt

With a presidential election approaching, voting is top of mind and during COVID-19, voter turnout is more complicated and uncertain than ever before. Professor of Political Science at Duke University Sunshine Hillygus has been studying voter behavior for many years. In her newest book with co-author John Holbein, Making Young Voters, she brings insight to voter turnout dynamics and helps explain why young voter turnout is consistently so low.

With funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF), Hillygus and Holbein bridged research in political science, education and human development to determine the barriers for youth voter turnout and develop a solution to remove such obstacles that could be hindering young voters from showing up to the polls. Through large-scale student surveys exploring early-life civic attitudes and behaviors, education administrative records from secondary and post-secondary schools in Wake County, North Carolina, Hillygus and Holbein helped effectively trace students’ formative experiences from early life to today. Our office has previously profiled Hillygus’ research on youth voting, which you can access here.

Using her expertise, Hillygus answered five questions for us about the upcoming presidential election, key drivers for youth voter turnout and more:

1. When the youth voter turnout increases in some elections, what are the main drivers?

Although there are some elections in which youth turnout is higher—driven by frustration with the direction of government (whether about racial injustice, mass shootings, or Vietnam)—the more consistent pattern is that the majority of young people don’t vote, even when they are politically interested and motivated.  Our book shows that persistent low levels of youth turnout in the United States is not because young people are apathetic or disinterested, it is because obstacles, barriers and distractions too often get in the way of young people following through on their civic attitudes and intentions. Some obstacles that keep them from following through on their voting intentions are personal—a reflection of stage in life—but others are institutional—the various rules about when, where, and how Americans can vote, which impact new voters more than experienced ones.

2. What can a college campus do to encourage participation amongst their students?

Voter registration or verification should happen as part of the orientation process and should be revisited every year. Colleges need to ensure that their student IDs can be used as a valid form of ID in states in which they are required for voting and should fight for a voting precinct to be located on campus. 

3. How has NSF funding helped your research?

This research would not have been possible without NSF funding and the support of Duke’s Social Science Research Institute (SSRI).  Two grants from the NSF political science program provided the necessary funding for data collection, research assistance, and the dissemination of results. The NSF grant also helped to catalyze a collaboration with Wake County Public School System and provided John and I with the time to focus on the project. At Duke, SSRI was critical in helping us to apply for the grant, to design and implement original data collection, and in supporting data storage, management, and analysis.

4. What is an assumption most people hold about the youth vote that is incorrect?

People have long assumed that young people have not voted because they are apathetic or disillusioned about politics.  Our research shows that political motivation and interest is already high among young people–so this isn’t the key to improving youth turnout. The problem for young people is not that they are disinterested in politics; rather, barriers and obstacles to registration and voting often prevent them from following through on their intentions.

5. What are you watching for in this 2020 election in terms of turnout for youth voters?

Unfortunately, most of what is needed to increase youth turnout has to happen between elections—by making the registration and voting process easier and by rethinking civic education in the country. I worry that the COVID-19 pandemic has created considerable uncertainty and confusion about the registration and voting process. The (sometimes sudden) shift to online teaching on college campuses has displaced college students around the country, creating significant disruptions to daily life and confusion about residency rules, registration requirements, and ballot access.

Here on campus Hilllygus has lent her expertise to Duke Votes, a student-led campaign that helps raise awareness about local resources available for registration and voting. Hillygus joined Duke Votes’ efforts to address the gaps in youth voter turnout and speak about the importance of voter participation. Duke continues to devote resources and time leading up to the 2020 election to encourage voter turnout. More information is available at vote.duke.edu.

Posted on 10/22/20

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 25^th, 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 30^th, 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 22^nd 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 14^th, 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.

By Lisa Zhao ’23

As I sat in my childhood bedroom completing my “Washington, D.C.- based” internship with the Duke Office of Government Relations, it felt like I was watching the world fall apart around me. Each day, I saw the death toll rise, watched cities go up in flames, and heard stories of small businesses closing permanently—all while I couldn’t even go to the grocery store.

This untraditional year created an interesting backdrop for Congress. It felt like every virtual hearing I attended, regardless of the topic, referenced the pandemic and growing movement against systemic racism. Everyone seemed to agree on one thing: we are at a critical point in history. We have a unique opportunity to build back better, and we must use it to protect vulnerable populations that were historically overlooked. Members of Congress repeatedly emphasized that the COVID-19 pandemic did not create more inequalities; it only exposed and exacerbated systematic conditions that have existed in the U.S. from the beginning.

Over the summer, I focused on how environmental justice and STEM education can be reformed to be more equitable. Completing this work parallel to the uproar of the Black Lives Matter movement and stark inequalities in COVID-19 outcomes gave me a more comprehensive and urgent perspective of my work. After studying issues related to equity in science policy, it became clear that most problems are related and build on one another. I’ve learned that while science can provide us with data about the effects of institutional racism on different communities, it requires informed policy to address the issue head-on.

I had this privilege to intern in policy during such a critical moment because of the Duke Engage program. In a typical year, Duke Engage sends cohorts of around 10 interns to different areas of the world for service projects, including the Washington D.C. cohort, which specializes in science policy. However, all projects were moved online in the wake of the pandemic.

Thomas Williams, the Duke Engage DC cohort leader, explained that the isolation and online format made it very challenging to develop group dynamics and other enrichment aspects of the program. He said, “This really limits the space in which students are thinking about the work they’re doing and how it connects to policy, history, and place.”

Although it sometimes felt isolating to complete my internship from my laptop, I knew that I wasn’t alone. The other 7 interns from the DC cohort of Duke Engage were also participating in internships virtually during this historical moment in our lives.

James Zheng, who interned with the Margolis Center for Health Policy, expressed his gratitude to have the opportunity to work in policy during the pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement. 

“It’s shown me just how interconnected many of these policy issues are – for example, there is a ton of work describing and analyzing race/ethnicity disparities in health outcomes,” said Zheng, “It’s mostly nonmedical factors (i.e. socioeconomic status, homelessness) that have been contributing to these differences.”

Megan Wang, who interned with the Global American Business Institute, felt there was not enough conversation about institutional racism in energy policy. She explained how that motivated her to “emphasize its importance in the work I do in the energy space”.

Additionally, while the pandemic restricted important face-to-face interactions, Wang was glad she had the ability to tune into workshops easily and re-watch recordings to gain a deeper understanding of the content.

It was a very unusual time to be interning in science policy, but we have all found our own silver linings. At the very least, it seems everyone is glad to have some work to keep them sane during the unexpected quarantine this summer.

Reposted from Duke Today

The start of the new academic year will bring some changes in the way that Duke and other colleges and universities address sexual assault and harassment as a result of a revision of Title IX, the law that prohibits sex discrimination at institutions that receive federal funding.

The coming changes are in response to recently released and long-awaited final regulations from the U.S. Department of Education, which took several years to write and will be implemented in August.

While the new regulations will lead to modifications in some aspects of Duke’s conduct process they will only apply to a subset of all sexual misconduct matters and “the university remains committed to being a place where every member of the Duke community can learn, teach, study and work free from sexual misconduct and sexual harassment,” said Kimberly D. Hewitt, Vice President for Institutional Equity.

A working group of students, staff and faculty have been meeting regularly since the federal regulations were released in order to develop the implementation plan.  The new university policies and procedures will be made available for review before the Aug. 14 deadline for implementation.

“We are most focused on ensuring that our continued commitment to addressing and preventing sexual misconduct on campus aligns with Duke’s values and the need to comply with the new regulations,” Hewitt said.  “While the timeline is challenging, we will be launching new efforts to educate and with our stakeholders about the ways in which the regulations will impact the response to sexual misconduct at Duke.”

The American Council on Education (ACE) has provided a detailed compilation of resources on the new Title IX regulations including the full text and recaps put out by the Department of Education, as well as a presentation on key insights and changes. Those full resources can be found here.