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Administrator’s ForumRay Martinez, Director of Government

RelationsOct. 7, 2008

Government Relations Update

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Government Relations

Responsibilities

• Identify and prioritize Rice’s legislative and grant objectives and develop and execute strategies for achieving them

• Cultivate relationships with state and federal decisionmakers

• Inform, advise and deploy Rice leaders and faculty

• Arrange visits by government and public officials

• Build a grassroots and grasstops network

• Coordinate with higher education associations and institutions

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Government Relations

Measures of success

• Measurable increase in grants, special appropriations and earmarks

• Improved relationships with key political leaders

• Measurable increase in faculty members invited to testify before and advise policymakers

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Getting ready

January 2008: • Rice University issues its first formal

“Call for Proposals” to deans and faculty for FY 2009 funding priorities.

February 2008: • Subcommittee on Energy and the

Environment holds congressional hearing on Rice campus.

Major milestones in 2008

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Getting ready

April 2008: • Rice delegation visits Capitol Hill to advocate

for legislative priorities. Delegation visits with Reps. John Culberson, Nick Lampson and Gene Green, and with staff for Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison and John Cornyn, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer.

May 2008: • Rice hires new D.C. government affairs firm.

Major milestones in 2008

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Getting readyJune 2008: • Public Affairs begins regular “Government Relations update,” a

weekly e-mail to more than 100 faculty and staff.

July 2008: • Rice formally became “federal registrant” to comply with revised

federal ethics laws.

August 2008: • Texas Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst visits Rice.

September 2008: • Rep. Culberson and Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, commissioner of

the Food and Drug Administration, tour Rice labs.

October 2008:• “Call for Proposals” to deans and faculty for FY 2010.

Major milestones in 2008

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FY 2009 Federal Funding Priorities

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Rice’s growth in federal research is strong relative to peers

Institution 2001-2006

Duke 90.2%

MIT 56.5%

Rice 51.0%

Princeton 49.9%

Washington U. 43.3%

Stanford 40.5%

Yale 39.0%

Harvard 34.3%

AAU Median 49.5%

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Rice’s total federal research is well below

peers

Institution 2006 Total Federal Research Expenditures

Stanford $540,069,000

Columbia $451,187,000

Duke $414,419,000

Washington U. $408,402,000

Harvard $403,458,000

Yale $348,500,000

Princeton $117,845,000

Rice $ 53,880,000

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RICE UNIVERSITYSponsored research funding (all

sources)

FISCAL YEAR TOTAL

FY 2003 $ 57.4

FY 2004 $ 67.1

FY 2005 $ 70.5

FY 2006 $ 71.8

FY 2007 $ 77.1

FY 2008 Over $100 million!

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Federal Issues in FY 2009

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Federal issues in FY 2009

1. Presidential election: Distraction• Higher education is not likely to be a central issue,

but criticism of tuition and endowments continues

2. Earmarks: Under attack• A recent Senate vote to eliminate earmarks for one

year failed by a wide margin, but momentum remains to eliminate or reduce “pork”

3. Federal budget • Congress recently passed a continuing resolution to

fund domestic agencies through March 2009; action on appropriations bills could slide even further.

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Federal issues in FY 2009

University endowments and college affordability

• Senate Finance Committee leaders Max Baucus, D-Montana, and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, call for detailed reports on higher ed finances – endowments, tuition, student aid.• Months later, reports still being digested.

• Grassley and Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vermont, held a roundtable on the issue last month.

• So far no action to regulate tuitions or impose mandatory payouts on endowments, but threat still looms.

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Federal issues in FY 2009

Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008

• HEOA signed into law Aug. 14, 2008.• Department of Education holding hearings to develop rules

for implementation.

• Adds extensive reporting and disclosure requirements across a range of activities including university finances, textbooks, peer-to-peer file sharing and more.

• The DOE will publish annual lists that report schools with largest tuition increases beginning July 1, 2011.

• Institutions must post “college cost calculator” on Web site.

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State Priorities Update

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Texas Cancer Prevention and Research Institute (CPRI):

• $3 billion in funding for cancer research • Developing Rice’s proposals (Rice lead:

Gene Levy)• Malcolm Gillis named vice chair of the CPRI

governing board

Severe Storm Prediction, Education and Evacuation from Disaster (SSPEED) Center:

• Program authorized by Texas Legislature in 2007

2009 state legislative priorities

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Cross registration for schools in the Gulf CoastConsortium(Rice lead: Dean Kathleen Matthews)

Right-to-carry arms on college campuses (Rice lead: Chief Bill Taylor)

Proposed restructuring of state financial aid• Total TEG funding for Rice for FY ’08-’09 was $2.4

million

Additional state priorities

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Federal Ethics and Reporting Requirements

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• Passed by Congress on Sept.14, 2007, HLOGA strengthens ethics rules for all elected officials, political appointees and staff of the legislative and executive branches.

• Primarily focuses on institutions and corporations that

employ a federal lobbyist

• Restricts allowable activities and increases the frequency and detail of reporting requirements

• Because Rice employs full-time lobbyist and retains the services of a lobbying firm in D.C., it is subject to the new rules

– All Rice employees must comply with HLOGA.

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA)

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Covered executive branch official:

• The president• The vice president• Officers and employees of the executive office of the

president• Any official serving in an executive level I through V

position• Any member of the uniformed services serving at

grade 0-7 or above• Schedule C employees

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA)

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Covered legislative branch official:

• A member of Congress• An elected officer of either the House or the

Senate• An employee who works for a member,

committee, leadership staff of either the Senate or House, a joint committee of Congress, a working group or caucus organized to provide services to members, and any other legislative branch employee serving in a position described under section 109(13) of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978.

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA)

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Lobbying disclosure reports: Government Relations will compile and file all required reports on a quarterly basis. The following information is needed:

– Time spent lobbying a “covered official” from legislative and/or executive branch

– Time spent preparing for lobbying activity (work done with the intent that the results will be used for lobbying contact)

– All expenditures made with the eventual intent of lobbying (travel, meals, entertainment, etc.)

– Exceptions to lobbying activity include: Testimony given before Congress, divulging information expressly requested by Congress or a federal agency and preparing information for a grant request

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA)

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Gifts: • Rice University and all of its employees are now heavily

restricted from providing gifts of any kind to any “covered employee.”

• The “$50 dollar or less” rule has been removed from the books!

• Rice employees should no longer offer anything of value to any covered governmental official without full reimbursement including, but not limited to:

– Meals, alcoholic beverages, parking fees, etc.– Tickets to sporting events or concerts– Travel or hotel accommodations– In an attempt to avoid any violation, an employee may not

use personal funds to pay for any of the above items, either.

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA)

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THERE ARE EXCEPTIONS TO THE GIFT RULE…BUT BE CAREFUL!

• Personal friendship of up to $250—Rice employee must pay for said gift with own funds and there must have be an established history of, not only friendship, but mutual gift giving between the parties

• Nominal foods at a meeting—bagel, coffee, muffin, etc.

• An item of nominal value—greeting card, baseball caps and t-shirts (*Note: these are the only items that are permitted under this clause, not something of equal value to a t-shirt, but a t-shirt only)

• Books or other informational material

• Special plaques or awards

• Meals at special meetings of groups of constituents, as long as a lobbyist is not in attendance (civic group, student group, etc.)

• Any political donation lawfully made under the Federal Election Campaign Act

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA)

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Accountability and punishment:

• The new rules broaden accountability for ethics violations. If a faculty member, administrator, or staff person is found in violation of federal ethics laws, Rice University is also found in violation.

• The punishment for infringements have been increased as well, with the maximum civic penalty raised to $100,000 and the criminal penalty heightened to 5 years in prison.

Honest Leadership and Open Government Act (HLOGA)

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Check out our new Web site!Rice University Government Relations

http://www.staff.rice.edu/staff/Home4.asp?SnID=2