This Week in Government and Community Relations at UC Berkeley
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Federal Government Relations
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Trump Administration Calls for Additional Cuts in Spending The Trump Administration has asked Congress to boost spending for Defense and Homeland Security by $33 billion in Fiscal Year 2017, to be paid for in part by
cutting $18 billion from domestic programs. Among the suggested cuts are $1.3 billion from the Pell Grant program surplus, $350 million from the National Science Foundation, and $1.2 billion from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Congressional appropriators say they will turn down the request for now.
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Indirect Costs under Scrutiny The Trump Administration has seized on
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ndirect cost cuts as a significant way to meet its goal of cutting $5.8 billion from NIH in Fiscal Year 2018. The
budget document proposed refocusing the agency on the “highest priority research” and also said it “reduces administrative costs and rebalances federal contributions to research funding.” Republican Rep Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee on the HHS budget, told reporters that the panel would take a look at indirect costs as they worked on the spending bill.
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UC Berkeley Students Stand Up for Science in D.C.
Graduate student Katherine Shield and undergraduate Hannah He traveled to Washington D.C. to advocate for federal investment in science in meetings with Congressman Jeff Denham (R-CA) and Congresswoman Mimi Walters (R-CA) as well as meetings with the NSF, NIH, and DOE. Shield is spearheading a national effort to encourage STEM students to get involved with science policy through the National Science Policy Group and its outreach organization,
Stand with Science.
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State Government Relations Updates
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Assemblyman Quirk at POWER Conference
Assemblyman Bill Quirk, (D-Hayward) visited campus to participate in the Hass School of Business's 22 Annual
POWER Conference on Energy Research and Policy. He is Chair of the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee and the Select Committee on California’s Clean Energy Economy.
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FUEGO Fire Detection Collaborators
UC Berkeley astrophysicist Carl Pennypacker and his collaborators on
FUEGO, participated in the Assembly Budget Subcommittee hearing on Natural Resources and Transportation last week. FUEGO is a UC Berkeley patent-pending innovation for fire detection and management, and a project initiated in 2012 by scientists at UC Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, to apply intelligence tools to solve the challenge of early detection and management of wildland fires.
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Local Government and Community Relations
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Cal Move-Out Coordination
Coordination has begun between the campus, the city, the office of the ASUC External Affairs Vice President and other student groups for
Cal Move-Out 2017. Cal Move-Out provides resources to students, encouraging them to develop plans to recycle, reduce and reuse. Property owners and managers are encouraged to contact the city to request extra trash service and order pre-paid refuse bags. These efforts align with the zero waste goals of
UCOP,
t
he campus and the
city. Visit
CalMoveOut.Berkeley.edu to learn more.
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Join Cal Advocacy to Support UC Berkeley
As UC Berkeley’s enrollment grows, state support for Cal is down about 34 percent from pre-recession levels. Join
Cal Advocacy to share your story with legislators and fight for UC Berkeley. Plus, learn about the Cal Alumni Association's upcoming
panels and events on campus. Sign up to
be an advocate here.
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"Understanding Change in the Federal Landscape"
Gina Daly, Director of Federal Relations
Thursday, April 20
10-11:30 am
150 University Hall
Part of the "Bridging the Gap" speakers series from Berkeley Audit and Advisory Services.
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Cal Day is Coming! Saturday, April 22
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Become a UC Advocate on Cal Day! On Saturday, April 22, from 1-2pm, join former Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, CAA Executive Director Cloey Hewlett, and State Government Relations Director Adrian Diaz at the Alumni House to discuss why the state is contributing less and what you can do to advocate for Cal. Register to attend the
Cal Day panel here.
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Supporting Science on Campus
Cal Day is an annual opportunity to highlight the best of UC Berkeley. This year, Cal Day falls on Earth Day and is the same day as the March for Science, when people who support scientific research and evidence-based policies are calling on all of us to support and safeguard the scientific community. Cal Day participants can “Stand Up for Science” at a number of events around campus. #ShareCalDay
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Share your Voice! Take Selfies for Science! 9:00 am-4:00 pm Lawrence Hall of Science, VLSB, other locations #ShareCalDay
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Government and Community Relations | UC Berkeley | jenloy@berkeley.edu | chancellor.berkeley.edu/gcr
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