Welcome to MeriTalk News Briefs, where we bring you all the day’s action that didn’t quite make the headlines. No need to shout about ‘em, but we do feel that they merit talk.
White House Releases R&D Priorities for FY 2020
The White House released its research and development priorities for FY 2020 today. In a memo, signed by Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney and Office of Science and Technology Policy lead Michael Kratsios, the Trump administration provided guidance to agency heads on what their budgeting should look like in FY 2020. Mulvaney and Kratsios highlight eight areas of interest for the administration: security of the American people; American leadership in artificial intelligence, quantum information sciences, and strategic computing; American connectivity and autonomy; American manufacturing; American space exploration and commercialization; American energy dominance; American medical innovation; and American agriculture. The memo also highlights what it calls research and development “priority practices,” including educating and training a workforce for the 21st century economy; managing and modernizing research and development infrastructure; maximizing interagency coordination and cross-disciplinary collaboration; transferring technology from laboratory to marketplace; and partnering with industry and academia.
House Introduces Companion to Senate’s Cybersecurity Disclosure Act
On Friday, Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn, introduced H.R.6638, a companion bill to the Senate Cybersecurity Disclosure Act. The Cybersecurity Disclosure Act is intended to promote transparency in the oversight of cybersecurity risks at publicly traded companies. As part of the legislation, publicly traded companies would have to disclose whether they have any cybersecurity experts on their board of directors. Before the House left for a month-long recess, Himes’ legislation was referred to the House Financial Services Committee.
