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Roll Call – August 9, 2023
Senate appropriators may have kept up the earmarking pace even after several heavyweights retired at the end of the 117th Congress, but a handful of states are feeling the loss. Alabama, Vermont, Oklahoma, Missouri and North Carolina combined would see nearly $1.4 billion less in “congressionally directed spending,” as senators call earmarks, in the chamber’s fiscal 2024 appropriations bills compared to fiscal 2023 Senate bills. That’s about four-fifths of the $1.7 billion decline of earmarked funds across 18 states compared with the versions Senate appropriators released last year.

US Representative Sharice Davids – August 9, 2023
On the one-year anniversary of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act being signed into law, Representative Sharice Davids hosted a roundtable discussion with local elected officials, manufacturers, and researchers to discuss how semiconductor manufacturing investments are bringing jobs to Kansas, lowering costs for consumers, and supporting workforce development. The law, for which Davids served as a key negotiator, also includes support for small- and medium-sized manufacturers, a Davids-led priority to ensure funding is distributed beyond large corporations.

The White House – July 28, 2023
The White House released an Executive Order on Federal Research and Development in Support of Domestic Manufacturing and U.S. Jobs. The order will encourage federal agencies to better track and encourage domestic manufacturing of technologies developed with federal funding and covered by the Bayh-Dole Act. The order includes four core objectives: to improve transparency, cut red tape, and streamline reporting requirements in the Federal R&D process to better track progress towards manufacturing goals; boost the incentive to manufacture new inventions in the U.S. when those inventions are developed using Federal funds; encourage the expansion of domestic production for critical industries while maintaining flexibility to build strong international R&D partnerships; and make the domestic manufacturing waiver process clearer, timelier, and more consistent.

Missouri Independent – August 8, 2023
In a visit to Missouri, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm attended a groundbreaking ceremony for a $400 million battery materials manufacturing facility located in St. Louis. Her visit comes as her agency faces an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would expand an existing program to offer compensation to residents who have become ill because of possible exposure to radioactive waste. The legislation, which still faces a vote in the House of Representatives, would expand the to Missouri and long-overlooked communities downwind of where nuclear weapons were tested during World War II.

Inside Higher Ed – August 9, 2023
Addressing student mental health needs remains a top priority among higher education leaders, but identifying solutions remains a challenge.

US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation – August 2, 2023
After significant engagement and conversations with major universities, conferences, and other key stakeholders, U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today unveiled a discussion draft of legislation aimed at addressing major issues in college athletics that have wrought a patchwork of pending litigation, inconsistent state laws, and labor complaints. Cruz’s committee has jurisdiction over athletics.