On November 6, 2020, the White House abruptly removed Michael Kuperberg from his position as Executive Director of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), which oversees the production of the National Climate Assessment (NCA)—a scientific report on climate change that is congressionally mandated to be prepared every four years by scientists from 13 federal agencies.

House Science Committee Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and Research and Technology Subcommittee Chairwoman Haley Stevens (D-MI) have criticized the appointment of Dr. Jason Richwine, an independent public policy analyst, to a new senior role at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

Sixteen organizations, as part of the scientific community, would like to thank Majority Leader Hoyer and Representatives Connolly and Maloney for introducing the “Saving the Civil Service Act” to reverse the recent “Executive Order on Creating Schedule F in the Excepted Service” that would create a new classification of “Schedule F” employees serving in "confidential, policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advocating positions” and deprive these employees of their civil service protections.

Are you a science graduate student looking to make a difference in science policy and funding? The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) is now accepting applications for the 2021 Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award. This award recognizes graduate students in the biological sciences who are demonstrating an interest and aptitude for working at the intersection of science and policy.

Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) has won the 2020 U.S. Presidential elections after securing narrow but crucial victories in the battleground states of Arizona and Pennsylvania. He is also currently leading in the vote tallies in Georgia.

The Public Policy Report has been released. The report provides analysis and communication on important issues in the scientific community.

On October 27, 2020, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released a report describing President Trump’s science and technology (S&T) accomplishments during his first term in office. Notably, a press statement released along with the report highlighted “ending the COVID-19 pandemic” as one of the achievements.

On October 29, 2020, the Trump Administration announced the removal of the gray wolf from the Endangered Species Act list, ending federal protections for one of the first species safeguarded by the Act and placing the responsibility of overseeing the predators on states and tribes. The delisting would affect gray wolf populations in the lower 48 states.

AIBS is deeply concerned by this proposal to impose complicated new visa restrictions on international students and urge that the proposed rule be withdrawn in its entirety.

After public outcry over a months-long delay, the Trump Administration has moved ahead with the fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) by soliciting nominations for authors and technical input.