Volume 37 (2018)
House Panel Passes FY 2019 Funding for NSF, Census, NIJ
On May 17, the House Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year (FY) 2019 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Bill; the bill was marked up in subcommittee on May 9. The CJS bill serves as the vehicle for annual appropriations for the National Science Foundation (NSF), Census Bureau, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and many other federal departments and agencies. The Senate has not yet released the details of its CJS bill. At a Glance… The House CJS bill includes $8.2 billion for NSF in FY 2019, which is 5.2 percent above the…
COSSA Presents Rep. Dan Lipinski with Distinguished Service Award
On May 17, following the 2018 COSSA Science Policy Conference and Social Science Advocacy Day, representatives of COSSA’s governing member associations presented the 2018 Distinguished Service Award to Representative Daniel Lipinski (D-IL). Lipinski, who serves on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, as Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Research, and holds a Ph.D. in political science, has been a strong advocate for scientific research at all levels and across all fields of study. He has worked productively with his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to enact legislation that strengthens the U.S. scientific enterprise and has…
House and Senate Committees Approve FY 2019 Agriculture Funding
The House and Senate Appropriations Committees have approved their fiscal year (FY) 2019 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bills. This bill contains funding for the two U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) statistical agencies, the Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), as well as the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), which funds competitive research projects. The House bill (H.R. 5961) was approved by the subcommittee on May 9 and by the full committee on May 16. The Senate version of the bill, which does not yet have a…
Senate Subcommittee Holds Hearing on 2019 NIH Budget
The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) hosted leadership from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to testify on the agency’s fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget request. NIH Director Francis Collins, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Director Walter Koroshetz, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci, National Cancer Institute Director Norman Sharpless, and National Institute on Drug Abuse Director Nora Volkow all testified. Senators from both parties praised NIH for its accomplishments, further solidifying its position as a bipartisan priority. Subcommittee Chair Roy Blunt (R-MO), Ranking Member…
CNSF Hosts 24th Annual Capitol Hill Exhibition
On May 9, the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF), of which COSSA is a member, hosted its 24th Annual Capitol Hill Exhibition and Reception, titled “Investments in Scientific and Educational Research: Fueling American Innovation.” Several COSSA member associations and universities featured researchers whose work has been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The event seeks to highlight the importance of NSF-supported basic research with policymakers. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) produced a video featuring some of the presenters. COSSA co-sponsored the event. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 37 Issue 10
Featured News House Appropriations Subcommittees Begin Marking Up Spending Legislation COSSA in Action CJRA and COSSA to Host “Ask a Criminologist” Panel on How the Opioid Epidemic and Police-Community Relations Impact Homicides Letters & Statements Congressional News Congress Questions Commerce, Census on Citizenship Question Federal Agency & Administration News National Science Board Elects New Leadership NSF and Air Force Sign Letter of Intent Nomination Opportunities Funding Opportunities Notices & Requests for Comment Community News & Reports Funding Opportunities Recent Reports Events Calendar
House Appropriations Subcommittees Begin Marking Up Spending Legislation
The House Appropriations Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) and Agriculture and Rural Development (Ag) hosted markups last week on drafts of their fiscal year (FY) 2019 spending bills. The CJS bill, which is responsible for funding the Census, the Department of Justice, and federal science agencies, among other programs, includes $8.2 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF), a $408 million increase above the FY 2018 enacted amount. The Ag bill, which includes funding for the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration, does not endorse the large cut to the Economic Research Service…
CJRA and COSSA to Host “Ask a Criminologist” Panel on How the Opioid Epidemic and Police-Community Relations Impact Homicides
COSSA and the Crime & Justice Research Alliance (CJRA) (a collaborative effort of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences and the American Society of Criminology, both COSSA members) will host the third in a series of “Ask a Criminologist” Congressional briefings on Tuesday, May 22. This interactive briefing will explore key factors, including the opioid epidemic, that led to an increase in homicide rates in communities across the United States in 2015 and 2016 and share how criminologists have been using research and statistics to help policymakers identify and address these causes. The discussion will be moderated by CJRA Past…
Congress Questions Commerce, Census on Citizenship Question
Members of Congress questioned Commerce Department and Census Bureau leadership last week over the decision to include a question on citizenship in the 2020 Census. COSSA objects to this decision and has issued a statement and action alert on this issue. On May 8, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a progress report hearing on the 2020 Census. Witnesses included Earl Comstock, Director of the Office of Policy and Strategic Planning at the Commerce Department (testimony); Ron Jarmin, Acting Director of the Census Bureau (testimony); David A. Powner and Robert Goldenkoff of the Government Accountability Office (GAO)…
National Science Board Elects New Leadership
On May 3, the National Science Board (NSB), the governing body of the National Science Foundation, announced that Diane Souvaine and Ellen Ochoa will serve as the Board’s new Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, for the 2018-2020 term. Souvaine has been a member of the NSB for ten years and most recently served as the Vice Chair. Souvaine is a professor of computer science at Tufts University whose research contributions include solving challenging problems in computational geometry and helping extend the results of straight-edged computational geometry into the curved world. Ochoa is an astronaut and the director of the Lyndon…
NSF and Air Force Sign Letter of Intent
On May 9, Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson and National Science Foundation (NSF) Director France Córdova signed a Letter of Intent to create a new partnership for collaboration on science and engineering research to strengthen national security. The strategic partnership will focus on research in space operations and geosciences, advanced material sciences, information and data sciences, and workforce and processes. These common areas of interest will create opportunities for cooperation at all levels of research and a pathway between basic research supported by NSF and advanced technologies needed to support Air Force functions. The two agencies have already had initial…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 37 Issue 9
Featured News Recap of the 2018 COSSA Science Policy Conference COSSA in Action Social Science Advocates Take to Capitol Hill COSSA Submits Testimony in Support of Science Funding Letters & Statements Congressional News Senators Join Together in Support of the Institute for Education Sciences Federal Agency & Administration News Common Rule Agencies Release Proposal for 6-Month Delay of Revisions, Optional Implementation of “Burden-Reducing” Provisions; Comments Sought for 30 Days Nomination Opportunities Funding Opportunities Notices & Requests for Comment Community News & Reports Funding Opportunities COSSA Member Spotlight Nomination Opportunities Events Calendar
Recap of the 2018 COSSA Science Policy Conference
COSSA held its 2018 Science Policy Conference and Social Science Advocacy Day on April 30-May 1 in Washington, DC. The conference and advocacy day brought together COSSA members and other stakeholders for a day of discussion about federal policy impacting our science followed by the only annual, coordinated advocacy day in support of all of the social and behavioral sciences. Plenary panels included “Post Truth: Communicating Facts, Not Fiction,” featuring feature William K. Hallman, Rutgers University; Cary Funk, Pew Research Center; and Melanie Green, University at Buffalo; “Me Too, Sexual Harassment in Science and the Academy,” featuring Elizabeth Armstrong, University…
Social Science Advocates Take to Capitol Hill
On May 1, 70 social and behavioral science researchers, stakeholders, and advocates met with their Members of Congress and staff to advocate in support of funding for federal agencies and programs that support social and behavioral science research. Advocates from 20 states converged on Capitol Hill, completing 79 individual meetings. Materials used to help articulate the value of social science research are available on the COSSA website, including fact sheets on COSSA’s FY 2019 funding requests. For more resources, and to participate in social science advocacy from home, visit COSSA’s Take Action page. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
COSSA Submits Testimony in Support of Science Funding
On April 26, COSSA submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies for fiscal year (FY) 2019. The testimony calls for increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Institute for Education Sciences (IES), and International Education and Foreign Language Programs (Title VI and Fulbright-Hays). The following day COSSA submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for FY 2019. The testimony calls…
Senators Join Together in Support of the Institute for Education Sciences
On April 11, 19 Senators submitted a letter to the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education appropriations subcommittee, in support of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). IES is the research and development agency of the Department of Education and also houses the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The letter calls for Congress to appropriate $670 million for IES, providing critical support for NCES as well as the National Center for Special Education Research, Regional Education Laboratories, and the National Center for Education Research. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Common Rule Agencies Release Proposal for 6-Month Delay of Revisions, Optional Implementation of “Burden-Reducing” Provisions; Comments Sought for 30 Days
On April 20, the 17 agencies regulated under the Common Rule, the set of regulations governing human subjects research, released a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would delay implementation of revisions to the Common Rule by an additional six months, setting a new compliance date of January 21, 2019. The stated rationale for the delay is to “provide additional time to regulated entities for the preparations necessary to implement the 2018 Requirements.” The Obama-era changes had been originally scheduled to go into effect on January 19, 2018 but were delayed by an Interim Final Rule announced in January 2018…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 37 Issue 8
Featured News Psychologist Kristina R. Olson Receives Alan T. Waterman Award COSSA in Action Less Than Two Weeks Until COSSA’s Science Policy Conference and Advocacy Day Letters & Statements Congressional News Jerry Moran Tapped to Lead Senate CJS Subcommittee House Subcommittee Discusses 2019 NIH Budget Federal Agency & Administration News NIH Launches HEAL Initiative to Address the Opioid Epidemic NIH Takes Next Steps in Agency Reorganization Plans Nomination Opportunities Funding Opportunities Notices & Requests for Comment Community News & Reports Funding Opportunities Recent Reports COSSA Member Spotlight PAA Congressional Briefing Explores Factors Affecting Life Expectancy Nomination Opportunities Events Calendar
Psychologist Kristina R. Olson Receives Alan T. Waterman Award
On April 12, the National Science Foundation (NSF) announced that the 2018 Alan T. Waterman Award, the nation’s highest honor for early career scientists and engineers, would go to social and developmental psychologist Kristina R. Olson of the University of Washington. Olson is the first social scientist to receive the award since 2005 and is recognized for her “innovative contributions to understanding children’s attitudes toward and identification with social groups, early prosocial behavior, the development of notions of fairness, morality, inequality and the emergence of social biases.” More information can be found here. Olson and other awardees will be recognized…
Less Than Two Weeks Until COSSA’s Science Policy Conference and Advocacy Day
There are less than two weeks left until the COSSA 2018 Science Policy Conference and Social Science Advocacy Day on April 30 and May 1. Register today to ensure you don’t miss the keynote address delivered by Barnard College President Sian Beilock, plenary panels on communicating and reestablishing trust in social science, and breakout sessions on using social and behavioral science research to address timely policy issues. Click here to see the full lineup of sessions and speakers and check the COSSA website for the most up-to-date information on the conference. Remember: COSSA members and students are eligible for discounts…