Biophysical Society Bulletin | June 2023

APnunbulaicl MAfefeatirinsg

BPS Announces Joseph Long as 2023–2024 Congressional Fellow

The Public Affairs Committee (PAC) is pleased to announce the new BPS Congressional Fellow for 2023–2024, Joseph Long . Since receiving his PhD in biomedical engineering from Cornell University, Long has worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell. “I am excited to serve as the Biophysical Society Congressional Fellow and utilize my scientific expertise in the realm of policy making and see how scientific knowledge and thinking can be effectively integrated into policy decisions,” said Long. “I believe it is critical for the scientific community to translate scientific research into tangible positive outcomes for communities, which requires engagement with and comprehension of policymaking.” Long will spend a year working in a congressional office on legislative and policy areas requiring scientific input. He will also participate in the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s (AAAS’s) Science and Technology Fellowship Pro gram, which includes an orientation on congressional and executive branch operations and a year-long seminar series on is sues related to science policy. Read more about the Congressional Fellowship at https:/www.biophysics.org/policy-advocacy/ congressional-fellowship.

U.S. House of Representatives Launches Investigation into NIH House Republicans on the Energy and Commerce Committee announced that they are launching an investigation to scruti nize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for spending $1 billion over the past five years on public relations con tracts. These funds included $300 million in public service announcements and advertising as part of a COVID-19 public health campaign during the pandemic. Lawmakers didn’t appear to flag any specific allegations of wrongdoing but are looking to determine how the NIH contracts public relations firms and whether it is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars. Congress and the White House Continue Stalemate on Debt Ceiling Negotiations With the House of Representatives’ passage of the “Limt, Save, Grow Act of 2023 (HR 2811),” which raises the U.S. debt

ceiling and enacts spending cuts for fiscal year 2024 of $130 billion that bring overall spending back to 2022 levels, the country is facing a political deadlock with the United States’ financial stability on the line. The government is facing a possible default on more than $31 trillion in debt once it hits what is known as the “X Date,” the date by which all possible options for resolving outstanding debt have been exhausted. While the actual date by which the debt ceiling will be reached is drawing closer, it is a constantly changing scenario. As recently as May 15, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin has esti mated the “X Date” to be as soon as June 1, though the actual date could fall any time between early June and early August. There are two legislative approaches when it comes to lifting the debt limit. Congress can lift it by a dollar amount or by a certain date. The Republican-backed “Limit, Save, Grow Act” would increase the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion, enough to avert a payment default until March 31, 2024. However, it would place a cap on non-defense discretionary funding (which includes National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation funding) and freeze budget increases at

June 2023

6

THE NEWSLETTER OF THE BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY