Issue 13 (June 25)

As previously reported by COSSA, the fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget process is underway as Congress looks to complete funding bills before the House and a third of the Senate embark on the campaign trail. The House is moving forward with multiple spending bills this week as expected. The House Appropriations committee has already passed six of twelve bills in full-committee, including Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, Defense, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Legislative Branch, and State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs.

On June 26, the House Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Subcommittee is expected mark up its bill, which funds the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, and Census Bureau. In anticipation of the mark up, the Appropriations Committee released a summary of the bill and bill text early this morning (stay tuned for COSSA’s in-depth analysis). On June 27, the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) Subcommittee is expected to mark up its bill, which provides appropriations for the National Institutes of the Health, Department of Education, and other agencies. The CJS and LHHS bills are scheduled to be considered by the full Appropriations Committee on July 9 and July 10, respectively. According to the schedule released by House Appropriations Chair Cole (R-OK), the House anticipates passing all twelve bills through the committee by July 10. Votes on the House floor have yet to be scheduled.

The Senate will likely begin working on their respective bills upon their return on July 8. The appropriations bills must pass by October 1 unless a continuing resolution (CR) is enacted. With election season on the horizon, it’s unclear whether the final budget will be finalized by the deadline.

Stay tuned to COSSA’s continued coverage of the FY 2025 budget process.

Earlier this month, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), in partnership with the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) Chair Robert Aderholt (R-AL), released a framework outlining potential reforms for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A one-pager on the framework can be found here as well as an opinion piece written by Chairs McMorris Rodgers and Aderholt. Chair McMorris Rodgers has also announced her intent to not seek re-election this November.

The framework comes after a series of recommendations, including Senator Bill Cassidy’s (R-LA) white paper on NIH reform released in May (see previous COSSA coverage) and Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Representative Larry Bucshon’s (R-IN) inquiries into a Cures 2.0 Act (see previous COSSA coverage). With the upcoming elections in November and a potential shift in control in both chambers, it is not unusual for members of Congress to release recommendations for priority agencies.

The framework recommendations outlined by Chairs McMorris Rodgers and Aderholt include structural changes that would combine several institutes and suggested policy reform, including a congressionally mandated complete review of the NIH and introducing term limits to institute leadership. The framework also discusses ways to improve transparency and accountability in the agency as well as support research and innovation.

In addition, the framework discusses proposed grant reforms with a focus on protecting U.S. innovation from foreign influence and encouraging accountability among researchers. It includes recommendations to prohibit gain of function research, a continued point of contention among Republicans following the COVID-19 pandemic (see previous COSSA coverage), establishing an independent review of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and mandated reporting on grants to foreign countries.

Feedback on the framework is requested and can be submitted to NIHReform@mail.house.gov by August 16, 2024. 

On June 18, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a request for information (RFI) to obtain public comments on the NIH Draft Public Access Policy. The RFI is also seeking feedback on two supplemental draft guidance documents pertaining to government use license and rights, and costs for publications.

The draft NIH policy responds to the August 2022 memorandum issued by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announcing new requirements for federal agencies to make peer-reviewed publications resulting from federal funding freely available to the public immediately following publication. NIH previously sought input into the development of their policy in February 2023. The new draft reflects input received in response to that request.

Highlights:

• Starting October 1, 2025, the NIH policy will require that manuscripts be submitted to PubMed Central upon acceptance for publication without embargo upon the official date of publication.
• The draft policy includes definitions of key terms, including: Manuscript, Final Published Article, Article, Journal, and Official Date of Publication.
• The policy will apply to manuscripts accepted for publication that result from NIH funding in whole or in part through grants and cooperative agreements (including training grants), contracts, NIH intramural research, and other transactions.
• In addition, the policy will apply regardless of whether the NIH-funded principal investigator or project director is an author or whether non-NIH funds were used in developing the manuscript.
• With respect to costs of publishing, the draft policy states, “Reasonable costs associated with publication that are allowable may be requested in the budget for the project as direct or indirect costs, as specified in the NIH Grants Policy Statement.” The policy includes draft guidance to help determine “allowable” and “reasonable” costs; NIH is also seeking public input into this guidance.

Public comments can be submitted by August 19 on the NIH website.

The National Center for Education Research (NCER), a center within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in the Department of Education, announced they are seeking applications for two competitions: “From Seedlings to Scale” and “Research Networks Focused on Critical Problems of Education Policy and Practice” (see previous COSSA coverage). Through the “From Seedlings to Scale” program, IES plans to invest in innovative products, policies, and processes within a particular focus area. Their three-phase plan will allow ideas to grow from seedlings to scalable solutions. Applications are now available for Phase One where teams will define a problem, refine a solution, and build a plan for further research and development. For the competition for “Research Networks Focused on Critical Problems of Education Policy and Practice,” applications must address the Accelerate, Transform, Scale (ATS) Initiative, which intends to improve education outcomes for all learners.

Application packages became available on June 20, 2024 and the deadline for transmittal of applications is August 15, 2024. Instructions for obtaining and submitting an application can be found here. More information about IES’s applications for new awards can be found here.

This article was contributed by COSSA Intern Rachel Bashe.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) announced that nominations are now open for the following awards and prizes:

• AAAS Philip Hauge Abelson Prize 
• AAAS Award for Scientific Freedom and Responsibility
• AAAS Early Career Award for Public Engagement with Science
• AAAS Mani L. Bhaumik Award for Public Engagement with Science

AAAS also sponsors a wide range of other awards and prizes recognizing scientists, engineers, authors, journalists and public servants for significant contributions to science and the public’s understanding of science.

The deadline for all nominations is June 30 and award winners will be announced in early 2025. Learn more on the AAAS website. 

On July 22, the Population Association of America (PAA) will host a congressional briefing on “Maternal Mortality in America: Understanding the Challenges and Crafting Population Based Solutions.” The event will feature discussion about the complex social, economic, and health factors contributing to the maternal mortality rate in the U.S. Speakers to include: Dr. Robert Anderson from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Dr. Alecia McGregor from Harvard University, and Dr. Amanda Stevenson from the University of Colorado-Boulder.

This event will offer a space to explore and address these issues, fostering an informed conversation about the research and potential interventions for maternal mortality. PAA is a COSSA governing member organization.

RSVP to secure your spot for this discussion.

The Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University and Sage now are accepting nominations for the 2025 Sage-CASBS Award. Both Sage and CASBS are COSSA members.

Established in 2013, the Award recognizes outstanding achievement in the behavioral and social sciences that push the boundaries of our understanding of social issues. In addition to a cash prize, the Sage-CASBS Award winner will deliver a public lecture to be held at CASBS in spring 2025.

The deadline for nominations is September 16, 2024. More information about the Award can be found here.