COVID-19 Pandemic Response

UF is working closely with the federal agencies and the Florida congressional delegation as the impact of the pandemic unfolds and the coronavirus relief packages take shape.  We are continuing to identify federal resources for support within the CARES Act and the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act, and to identify additional university COVID-related needs.   

 

Health Provider Relief Funding

• The CARES Act created the Provider Relief Fund, which provides essential relief to our UF Health enterprise.  The HHS funding allocation formula disadvantages providers that care for large numbers of Medicaid and low-income patients. The funding is distributed based on net patient revenue, which typically favors providers with higher commercial payer mixes. As a result, safety-net hospitals did not receive aid proportional to their needs in that initial distribution.  UF will continue to urge Congress and the Administration to provide additional investment using a targeted methodology that prioritizes safety-net hospitals.

 

Higher Education Emergency Relief Funding

• The CARES Act created the Education Emergency Relief Fund, which provided UF with $30.1 million equally divided for student assistance and UF institutional assistance.   UF has already received and distributed the majority of the student financial assistance to our neediest students.  We have just received the institutional assistance portion of these funds and will begin drawing down the funds to fill some of the financial gaps caused by the pandemic.    
• UF is working with the higher education associations to support a request for an additional $46.6 billion for higher education relief as the impacts and duration of the pandemic have increased.  These funds will provide further assistance to allow our students whose financial circumstances have changed since the pandemic and may be unable to begin or continue their education.  It would also assist with mounting institutional costs for the necessary measures to keep our campuses safe for our students to return to in the fall.   

 

Additional Relief Needed - Legislative Liability Protection

• The unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic poses unique challenges for universities across multiple operational settings.  Despite our best efforts to prevent community transmission, we cannot guarantee against COVID-19 exposure given the practical limits on an institution’s ability to monitor and control situations.  We are seeking legislation to create a temporary federal safe harbor from liability for illness or the spread of illness when good faith efforts are made to comply with all applicable local, state, and federal public health standards. 
• Our concern is the lack of well-defined standards surrounding reopening campuses offers an opportunity for lawsuits challenging reasoned decision-making and exposes the university to significant risk.  The intent of the legislation is to provide universities with the protection necessary to sensibly, safely, and swiftly reopen our campuses.  
• The higher education community is not seeking to avoid responsibility or to immunize colleges and universities for their own or others’ gross negligence or willful misconduct. 

 

Research Relief Assistance

• To date, the relief measures signed into law neglect to address the significant and growing cost of the pandemic on our nation’s university research enterprise.  We are working with OMB and the research agencies to continue the temporary regulatory and audit flexibilities for our research grants during this period.  We are also joining the higher education community in advocating for the creation of a $26 billion Research Relief Fund, to allow agencies to extend funding for grants and to continue support for our researchers and post-docs who may soon run out of funding while restarting their experimental laboratory work.

 

Agriculture Relief and Assistance

• UF joined the higher education associations to advocate for $380 million in coronavirus relief funding for USDA.  This includes $300 million for NIFA research grant support and capacity funding, along with new $80 million for expanded cooperative extension outreach programs to communities impacted by the pandemic. 

 

Paid Family and Sick Leave

• The Families First Coronavirus Response Act created two new forms of paid leave for workers impacted by the outbreak: 1) paid emergency leave through the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA); and 2) paid sick leave. To help employers pay for these leave provisions, the Act created a refundable tax credit, which public institutions are currently ineligible to receive. UF continues to advocate that the tax credit be expanded to make governmental entities eligible to help recoup the associated costs of implementation.  UF estimates the leave provisions would cost $35 million. 

 

IMMIGRATION – Potential Elimination of OPT

The strain on the U.S. scientific workforce due to restrictions on the international flow of talented students and researchers is growing during the COVID-19 crisis.  Potentially compounding the situation, the Trump Administration is considering measures to pause or end the F-1 Optional Practical Training program, or OPT. According to news reports, the administration is considering restrictions to reduce competition for recent American college graduates who are entering the workforce as the economy contracts because of the coronavirus. 

• The OPT program is a critical tool for universities to recruit international students and a priority for tech industry partners.  It allows international students to remain in the U.S. for 12 - 24 months post-graduation for practical work experience in their field of study. 
• UF is the largest university employer of OPT recipients with over 262, and among the top 50 OPT employers in the country. These are some of the brightest students who have chosen to stay in the US to gather the requisite training to either continue to pursue higher degrees or become part of the innovation workforce on which we depend.   In Spring 2020, UF had 4,067 F-1 visa students and 1851 UF students received OPT for additional training.  This is a powerful contribution to our state and the nation of talented, young innovators. 
• Federal policies and rhetoric that discourage foreign students and researchers from coming to and staying in the United States hurt our ability to develop the innovations that drive our economy.  UF is working with the FL Congressional Delegation to stress the importance of international students and the OPT program. SUS is also working on a potential communication to the Administration and Delegation voicing concerns.

 

FY2021 Appropriations Outlook

The Coronavirus relief measures are intertwined and complicating the regular annual appropriations process.  Both the House and Senate have set preliminary allocations based on the Budget Control Act which hold spending at relatively flat levels.  With the truncated calendar and the election cycle, we may not see many full appropriations bills be marked up and/or come to the floor for a vote before the start of the fiscal year on October 1.  If this follows a normal election year funding cycle, the CR will extend past the election, with the remainder of FY21 funding being negotiated either at the end of the year or in January with the new Congress.  Regardless of whether we see a CR or individual bills, programs likely will not see very large increases in funding due to budget caps and the amount of COVID related spending.

 

ATHLETICS – Name, Image and Likeness

Policy discussions have shifted to the national level regarding new opportunities for college student-athletes to receive compensation for their name, image, and likeness.  The NCAA has released a framework recommendation for NIL compensation that is under review and will be voted on by the membership in January.  Our SEC conference and the Autonomy Five (A5) conferences released last week a Consensus Principles on NIL that provide an appropriate guide for compensation within guardrails that protect the character and nature of college sports. 

 

UF recommends that Congress move forward immediately to set a clear national policy for compensation before a myriad of pending state legislation begins to take effect and unintentionally create a pay-for-play environment.  Efforts are underway to develop legislation to create one national standard for compensation and retain university self-governance of their athletic programs. We anticipate legislation will be introduced later this month.

 

China and undue foreign influence issues

Several pieces of legislation are pending in the House and Senate that would restrict or remove federal funding for universities that do not adequately safeguard federally funded research from foreign influence or theft.   Both Senator Rubio and Senator Scott are sponsoring multiple bills that would create new restrictions on foreign nationals conducting research and escalating security and clearance requirements. In addition, Rep. Mike Waltz is sponsoring legislation that would require disclosure of foreign support for researchers that is modeled after and compatible with the new Florida legislation.  We are continuing to work with our key members to educate them on UF’s new research compliance and disclosure requirements and all efforts to protect national security and intellectual property.     

 

 

UF Washington Update is a newsletter from the UF Office of Federal Relations. Please contact us if you have any questions or need additional information at 202-220-1381 or UF-FederalRelations@ufl.edu