Biophysical Society Bulletin | July/August 2020

Public Affairs

Financial Crunch and Faculty Layoffs Continue Under Pandemic The pandemic continues to make its presence known in budgets at universities and colleges across the United States and beyond. As a result of the actions taken to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, schools have lost millions of dollars in revenue — and many expect further losses due to the uncertainly about whether the 2020 – 2021 school year can convene on campus this fall. To deal with this financial strain, many universities have started to reduce their workforces. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education , at least 48,086 employees (faculty and other staff) across 190 US institutions have been affected by a COVID-19 - related layoff, contract non-renewal, or furlough. Some institutions have had to permanently shutter their doors. The CARES Act, a $2 trillion stimulus bill passed in March by the US federal government to address the economic fallout of the pandemic, earmarked approximately $7 billion for higher education institutions to deal with pandemic-related losses and another $7 billion for affected students. However, the question remains whether it will be enough to help institutions avoid catastrophe.

Public Policy and the BPS Congressional Fellowship: The NewBattleground for Science There is a dichotomous nature to the relationship between the US Congress that sets public policy on science, research, and the funding that supports those endeavors and the scientists like you, who spend their days in the lab trying tomake breakthroughs and improvements to basic and biomedical research. However, as we have had to adjust all aspects of our lives over the past several months due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, we have seen the very tangible need for research scientists in public policy positions. Due to the nature of Congress, the limits on staffing mean each personmust develop expertise in a wide array of policy areas. When the scale of the pandemic was realized, scientific and medical fellows were in demand to provide briefings, explain the processes being used to find treatments and vaccines, and to of- fer their extensive expertise to not only the member of Congress they were working for, but for others with significant outbreaks in their district and state. The need for scientific expertise this year has put a spotlight on the work being done by fellowships such as the BPS Congressional Fellowship and the demand continues to grow.

For biophysicists interested in public policy, the BPS Congressio- nal Fellowship is an ideal opportunity to explore the innovation and breakthroughs you can bring to science and biophysics through the public policy arena. Applications for the 2021 – 2022 BPS Congressional Fellowship open on August 3, 2020. The BPS Congressional Fellowship Programprovides an invalu- able and unique opportunity for BPSmembers to gain practical experience and insights into public policy by working on Capitol Hill. The fellowship program sponsors one fellow annually to serve as a staff member in a Senate, House of Representatives, or Committee office. BPSmembers who have an interest science policy should consider this program as an ideal way to spend an academic sabbatical or leave of absence from a company. Read more about the Congressional Fellowship: https:/www.biophys- ics.org/policy-advocacy/congressional-fellowship. White House Looks to Increase Roadblocks for Chinese Grad Students’ and Researchers’ Visas Republican lawmakers and officials in President Donald Trump’s administration have been discussing bans on visas for Chinese students and researchers in STEM fields and those with ties to China’s military schools. In late May, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Trump talked about plans to cancel visas for Chinese nationals who are already conducting research in the United

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