Issue 22 (November 12)

With the results of the 2024 Presidential election cycle nearing completion, Former President Donald Trump pulled out an electoral victory with 312 electoral college votes compared to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 226. In addition, Republicans outperformed expectations in the Congressional races, taking control of the Senate and still in contention to hold on to the majority in the House (although not all races have been called), potentially giving President-elect Trump an ideal landscape in which to enact his policy agenda after the transition.

Presidential Transition

With the presidential race decided, attention now turns to the presidential transition. The President-elect has yet to launch a transition website, however, key official positions are being announced as Trump prepares for a second term. The transition is primarily being led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., former Democratic presidential candidate Tulsi Gabbard, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, and Vice President-elect JD Vance. COSSA will continue to provide updates on plans for the transition, including notable policies and appointments for the social and behavioral science (SBS) community.

Senate Races

The Republican party gained four seats in the Senate elections, including the contentious Pennsylvania seat that belonged to Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), a member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee (HELP). This race was a significant loss for the Democratic Party as one of the previously held Democrat seats that was predicted to be a toss-up. Another notable race was Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), who managed to hold onto her seat despite the competitive nature of her race, remaining a champion for the SBS community as the Democratic leader of the Senate Labor, Health, and Human Services (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee. Republicans will hold a 53-47 majority in the 119^th Congress.

House Races

As the House races continue to be called, as of this writing, the Republicans hold 214 of the required 218 seats needed to secure the majority, while the Democrats hold 205 seats. While many of the races left to be called are leaning Republican, most are too close to predict. Notably, SBS champion and Democratic leader of the House Appropriations Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) Subcommittee Representative Matt Cartwright (D-PA), lost his seat in a competitive race against Republican Rob Bresnahan. If the Republicans successfully keep control of the House, the White House and both chambers will be Republican.

The Appropriations Process

As previously reported by COSSA, in late September, Congress passed a stopgap funding measure to push the appropriations deadline for fiscal year (FY) 2025 to December 20. As Congress returns for the lame duck session, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has indicated that he is seeking to extend the continuing resolution (CR) to March, offering the new Republican majority more decision-making power. If the CR deadline is pushed to March, the appropriations process for FY 2026 would be pushed, including the Presidential Budget Request (PBR), which is normally released in February, and the House and Senate bills, which are normally released in the following months in anticipation of the October 1 deadline. While a delayed start to the appropriations process is not unusual, some Congressional members have indicated a preference to complete the FY 2025 appropriations process by the December 20 deadline so the new Congress can focus on the FY 2026 appropriations process.

With so many unknowns, close monitoring over the next several weeks will be critical to determining a path forward for social science advocacy. Join COSSA on December 5 at 2:00pm EST for our Post-Election Headlines webinar to discuss the election results and their effect on the social and behavioral science research community.

In September, the National Science Foundation (NSF) issued a Dear Colleague Letter requesting public input into the agency’s efforts to improve its merit review process to mitigate the potential harms of emerging technologies as required by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. The deadline for the Request for Information (RFI) has been extended to December 13 in response to feedback requesting more time.

The RFI contains several guiding questions to assist with public response, such as: “Describe ethical, social, safety, and/or security risks from current or emerging research activities that you believe might be of concern to the community, profession, or organization with which you are connected,” and “How might NSF work with stakeholders to promote best practices for governance of research in emerging technologies at every stage of research?”

Comments are sought by December 13 and should be submitted through the online form.

As previously reported by COSSA, the Friends of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) coalition sent a letter urging the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to modernize the Current Population Survey (CPS) with additional funding in FY 2025. On October 29, BLS and the Census Bureau, who jointly sponsor the survey, announced that they have paused intent to decrease the CPS sample size in January 2025. A $6 million anomaly in the continuing resolution (CR) passed by Congress in late September (see previous COSSA coverage here) was provided to fund the sample size assuming the funding remains in any final bills or future CR’s passed by Congress for fiscal year (FY) 2025. Community action likely played a part in this positive outcome.

Throughout the fall, a task force of more than 60 leaders in science, technology, industry, government, and philanthropy has been meeting to discuss and develop a new Vision for American Science and Technology (VAST). The bipartisan group includes representatives spanning the various sectors that touch the U.S. scientific enterprise. The near-term goal is to develop a draft of the vision that can be shared with the incoming Presidential Administration and Congress in the coming weeks with the final vision slated to be complete by early 2025.  COSSA Executive Director Wendy Naus is serving on the Task Force.

According to a press release, the VAST Taskforce is “working to identify opportunities and challenges facing the [scientific and technological] enterprise; assess the steps needed to ensure the enterprise can meet incoming challenges in an increasingly competitive world; and lay out actions that will best position the United States for future prosperity.”

Axios covered VAST in a recent piece.

The Committee on National Statistics (CNSTAT) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has released the eighth edition of Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency, a report released every four years to coincide with presidential terms. The consensus study report provides an explanation of the federal statistical system and offers guiding principles and best practices for federal statistical agencies. While the practices and principles remain largely the same as past versions (see previous COSSA coverage), the most recent report includes updated information on the changes made to the federal statistical system in the past four years. The full report can be found on the CNSTAT website.

The Society for Research Development (SRCD) is accepting applications for their U.S Policy Fellowship Program. This fellowship provides postdoctoral placements for postdoctoral child development experts for one to two years in a US federal or state agency, or a congressional agency, with a focus on child and family policy. Fellows work in fast paced environments on policy implementation programs, drafting memos, developing research funding, and more. SRCD is seeking researchers that are passionate about evidence-based policymaking, who are open to learning, and want to explore policy-related fields.

Interested applicants can apply here. The application process includes a written portion, an interview, and a match-making process with your perspective agency. The deadline to apply is January 6. SRCD is a COSSA governing member.

This article was contributed by COSSA Intern Paige Kirkham.