Volume 34 (2015)
House Passes FY16 NSF, Census, Justice Spending Bill
After two days of debate and consideration of dozens of amendments, the House passed the fiscal year (FY) 2016 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill this evening on June 4 by a vote of 242 to 183. Twelve Democrats voted in favor of the bill with 10 Republicans voting against. As previously reported, this annual spending bill–which provides funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Justice (DOJ) research programs, and the Census Bureau and other federal statistical agencies–includes very troubling provisions impacting social and behavioral science research (see COSSA’s analysis for full details). There were no amendments…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 10
Featured News House Advances Bills to Cut Social Science Funding Federal Agency & Administration News Census Bureau Outlines Content Changes to American Community Survey NIH Requests Comment on Precision Medicine Cohort, Strategies to Address Community Engagement and Health Disparities Publications & Community Events “Marshmallow Test” Researchers Named First 2015 Golden Goose Award Recipients The Census Project Sheds Light on the American Community Survey NRC Board on Children, Youth, and Families Seeks Director Funding Opportunities Events Calendar View the archived email.
House Advances Bills to Cut Social Science Funding
As we have been reporting over the last several weeks, the U.S. House of Representatives has been busy considering legislation to reauthorize the America COMPETES Act, landmark legislation first enacted in 2007 to reignite U.S. investment in scientific research. It serves as authorizing legislation for the National Science Foundation (NSF), among other agencies. The House version of COMPETES reauthorization is a major departure from earlier versions, garnering deep opposition from the broader scientific community, including from COSSA. Among the many problematic provisions in the bill is language to cut NSF’s Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) directorate by half. Despite…
Census Bureau Outlines Content Changes to American Community Survey
The Census Bureau issued a Federal Register Notice on May 29 outlining its proposal for updating the content and methodologies of the American Community Survey (ACS). As previously reported the Census Bureau proposes to retain the field of degree and marriage questions originally slated for elimination from the ACS beginning in 2016. In addition, the proposal plans to remove a couple of other questions that have been deemed of no or low benefit. The Notice states these changes are an “initial step in a multi-faceted approach to reducing respondent burden.” Public comment on the proposal is due by June 28;…
“Marshmallow Test” Researchers Named First 2015 Golden Goose Award Recipients
The first of the 2015 Golden Goose Awards, which recognize federally funded research that has had unanticipated societal and economic benefits, will go to three psychologists, Walter Mischel, Philip Peake, Yuichi Shoda, for their work related to self-control in children. In the late 1960s, Mischel developed the “marshmallow test” as a simple way to measure children’s ability to delay gratification. However, follow-up studies revealed an unexpected correlation between ability to exert self-control at a young age and success later in life. The work has had an enormous impact on our understanding of human behavior and changed the way we approach…
NRC Board on Children, Youth, and Families Seeks Director
The Board on Children, Youth, and Families (BCYF) at the National Research Council is inviting applications for a new Board Director. The Director is responsible for overseeing activities of the Board, which “brings a multidisciplinary and evidence-based perspective to bear on the development of policies and programs for children, youth, and families, drawing upon the collective knowledge and analytic tools of the behavioral, health and social sciences.” More information and application instructions are available here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Funding Opportunities
NIH Opportunities: The Health of Sexual and Gender Minority Populations (PA-15-261) Advancing Health Disparities Interventions Through Community-Based Participatory Research (RFA-MD-15-010/RFA-MD- 12-006) Building Population Health Research Capacity in the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands (RFA-MD-15-011) Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Events Calendar
Making Changes: Learning from Social Science Research to Drive Behavior Change, Washington, DC, June 18, 2015 OBSSR 20th Anniversary Celebration, Bethesda, MD, June 23-25, 2015 OBSSR Capitol Hill Exhibition & Reception, Washington, DC, June 24, 2015 American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Toronto, Canada, August 6-9, 2015 Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Madison, WI, August 6-9, 2015 American Statistical Association Joint Statistical Meetings, Seattle, WA, August 8-13, 2015 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, August 22-25, 2015 A list of COSSA members’ annual meetings and other events can be found on the COSSA website. COSSA members who have an upcoming event they would like…
NIH Requests Comment on Precision Medicine Cohort, Strategies to Address Community Engagement and Health Disparities
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking feedback (NOT-OD-15-107) to help it in creating a national research cohort of one million or more Americans as part of the President’s proposed Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) (see Update, May 19, 2015). The agency is specifically interested in feedback relating to the development and implementation of effective community engagement strategies for the cohort, and the ability to conduct transformative research to address health disparities. The aim is to assemble a “cohort reflective of the rich diversity of the U.S. population.”
NIMHD: Advancing Health Disparities Interventions Through Community-Based Participatory Research
Research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has resulted in an increasing growth in knowledge of the complexity of the interactive factors influencing health across the life course. There is extensive research evidence that report poorer health outcomes for socially disadvantaged populations, including low-income and racial and ethnic groups. Many community health promotion and disease prevention programs fail for various reasons that include the lack of a participatory approach or cultural sensitivity, despite the recommendation for tailored and multilevel interventions.
The Census Project Sheds Light on the American Community Survey
The Census Project held an informational briefing, The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey: Ten Years of Delivering Data for Smart Decision-Making, on May 27 that focused on the wide use of data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and the reasons to support keeping the survey mandatory. COSSA was one of the cosponsors of this event.
NIH: The Health of Sexual and Gender Minority Populations
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) focused on sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex populations. Participating institutes and offices include: Cancer, Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Deafness and other Communication Disorders, Dental and Craniofacial, Mental Health, Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research.
NIMHD: Building Population Health Research Capacity in the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands
The United States-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) consist of the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau. The U.S. is responsible for the essential operations, health, education, and defense for these jurisdictions. The residents of these jurisdictions are considered to be a U.S. health disparity population. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), however, acknowledges that this geographic region has received very little NIH support to conduct health and health disparities research.
House FY 2016 CJS Bill Advances to the Floor
On May 20, the House Appropriations Committee passed the FY 2016 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations bill by voice vote. Amendments to increase funding for the National Science Foundation and make other improvements to the bill were either defeated or withdrawn. The bill now heads to the House floor. The CJS bill totals $51.4 billion, which is a 2.5 percent increase over the FY 2015 CJS bill. CJS Subcommittee chairman John Culberson (R-TX) noted during the May 14 Subcommittee markup that this amount “is sufficient to fund essential programs.” The bill keeps within the spending caps currently tamping down discretionary spending,…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 9
Featured News House to vote on COMPETES Act Congressional News Analysis of the Draft 21st Century Cures Act House FY 2016 CJS Bill: Preliminary Analysis Federal Agency & Administration News OMB Asks Agencies to Plan for 5 Percent Reductions in FY 2017 PCAST Hears Interim Report on Precision Medicine Initiative NCHS Releases Health, United States, 2014 AHRQ Seeks Nominations for Advisory Council NSF Requests Nominations to Advisory Committees Publications & Community Events NRC Report Offers Guidance on Team Science Funding Opportunities NIH: AIDS Research Center/Developmental Research Centers on Mental Health and HIV/AIDS Events Calendar View the archived email.
House to vote on COMPETES Act
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1806) tomorrow, May 20. The bill, which authorizes funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other science agencies, has faced criticism from the scientific community. COSSA has published an analysis of the bill, as well as a statement opposing it. Click here to read all of our COMPETES coverage. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Analysis of the Draft 21st Century Cures Act
On May 14, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee approved by voice vote its discussion draft of the 21st Century Cures Act. An amendment to an earlier discussion draft was introduced by full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA), full committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), and Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Gene Green (D-TX). The bipartisan amendment incorporated federal agency and scientific community feedback to a draft bill the preceding day. The legislation is scheduled to be considered by the full Energy and Commerce Committee the week of May…
OMB Asks Agencies to Plan for 5 Percent Reductions in FY 2017
Although Congress is just beginning the process of working to enact fiscal year (FY) 2016 appropriations for federal agencies and programs, agency officials are beginning their work on the FY 2017 budget request. In a memo from Shaun Donovan, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), federal agencies have been advised to prepare their FY 2017 budget proposals with a five percent reduction below the net discretionary total provided in the FY 2016 President’s budget request. The scenario is meant to assist the Administration in its efforts to “deliver a Government that is more effective, efficient,…
NCHS Releases Health, United States, 2014
The National Centers for Health Statistics (NCHS) has released the 2014 edition of its annual report, Health, United States, which compiles data on Americans’ health, including life expectancy, fertility, disease prevalence, use of health care, and health expenditures. The 2014 edition includes a special feature on adults aged 55-64—baby boomers who are about to become eligible for Medicare, and whose aging is expected to have a significant impact on the U.S. health care system. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
AHRQ Seeks Nominations for Advisory Council
The National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality, which advises the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), is seeking nominations for new members to serve terms beginning in spring 2016. The Council is interested in individuals whose background includes: “(1) The conduct of research, demonstration projects, and evaluations with respect to health care; (2) the fields of health care quality research or health care improvement; (3) the practice of medicine; (4) other health professions; (5) representing the private health care sector (including health plans, providers, and purchasers) or administrators of health care delivery systems; (6) the fields of…