Volume 44 (2025)
NEW ACTION ALERTS: Urge Your Senators and House Representatives to Support FY 2026 Science Funding
Deadlines in the House of Representatives and Senate for FY 2026 funding requests are rapidly approaching. It is critical that lawmakers hear from you TODAY to urge their support for federal science agencies. One way that Members of Congress can express their support for science funding is by signing a “Dear Colleague Letter.” These letters, which are led or sponsored by one or sometimes several Members of Congress, are circulated to all Congressional offices to solicit additional signatures. The final letters are sent to the Appropriations Committees and typically urge the committee to include a specific funding level for an agency or…
Congress To Mark-Up Key Reconciliation Bills
As previously reported by COSSA, Congress is in the process of drafting budget reconciliation bills for one “big, beautiful bill” to extend the Trump Administration’s tax breaks. Late last week, the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee released their draft bills and are scheduled to mark them up this week. The House Agriculture Committee is also scheduled to mark up their bill. House Republicans are hoping to pass their bills before Memorial Day and expecting to pass the final bill before the month-long August recess. However, the House Energy and Commerce bill will be…
Senate Appropriators Hold Hearing on Biomedical Research: Keeping America’s Edge in Innovation
On April 30, Senate Appropriators held a bipartisan hearing on Biomedical Research: Keeping America’s Edge in Innovation where they invited several witnesses from the scientific community, including Dr. Sudip Parikh, Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Dr. Hermann Haller, President of the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Dr. Cartier Esham, Executive Director of the Alliance for a Stronger Food and Drug Administration, Dr. Barry Paul Sleckman, Director of the University of Alabama at Birmingham O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center, and Emily Stenson, a patient advocate. During the hearing, several members of the committee across the aisle…
President Trump Executive Actions
Trump Administration Actions (all actions available here): Find COSSA’s full list of Trump’s Executive Actions and more information here or on the Social Science Space Tracker.
Latest from the White House (May 13)
COSSA continues to follow the flurry of executive actions taken by the Trump Administration and the impact those actions are having on the social and behavioral science community. Below are some of the latest developments coming out of the White House. Past updates are available here. The Dismantling of NSF Continues As previously reported, the President’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) arrived at the National Science Foundation (NSF) in April, leading to the termination of more funded projects, elimination of directorate advisory committees, and the resignation of the NSF Director. Last week, as reported by Science, the agency was further upended with the…
Trump Administration Releases Preliminary Details on FY 2026 Budget
On May 3, the Trump Administration released preliminary, high-level details of its fiscal year (FY) 2026 budget request, referred to as a “skinny budget,” and accompanying fact sheets. In the preliminary request, the Trump Administration reiterates its commitment to “reducing waste” and “improving efficiency” through targeting programs that support diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, climate change, green energy, and other topics that have been deemed “woke” by the Administration. Full budget details are expected in the upcoming weeks. As reported in the leaked Health and Human Services (HHS) passback, the budget proposes $27 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), a…
National Academy of Sciences Announces 2025 Fellows
COSSA congratulates the 150 newly elected fellows of the National Academy of Sciences, including the social and behavioral scientists from COSSA member institutions: Congratulations and thank you for your contributions to social and behavioral science research!
RESPOND: NASEM Survey on Administrative Burden
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) has established a committee on Improving the Regulatory Efficiency and Reducing Administrative Workload to Strengthen Competitiveness and Productivity of U.S. Research. The second meeting on the committee is scheduled for May 21-23. The Committee is tasked with producing a fast-track, brief consensus report that includes options for federal actions to improve regulatory efficiency. To help inform this work, the Committee is seeking responses to a brief survey in which researchers can share their experiences with administrative burden and offer ideas for regulatory report. The survey is available here.
NSF Director Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan Tenders Resignation
On April 24, Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan tendered his resignation as Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF). Earlier this month, NSF announced the termination of 400 grants, targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, research on misinformation and disinformation, as well as other areas that did not align with the agency’s new priorities (see related article). His resignation also comes after reports that the White House directed NSF to slash its budget by 55 percent. During his term at NSF, Dr. Panchanathan, who was nominated to lead the agency by President Trump in 2020, led the agency through many advancements, including the bipartisan Congressional reauthorization of…
Congress Returns from Recess; Begins Drafting Reconciliation Bills
After a two-week recess, Congress has returned to Capitol Hill determined to make progress on reconciliation legislation with an eye toward enacting one “big, beautiful bill” to extend the Trump Administration’s tax breaks. As previously reported by COSSA, Congress passed a reconciliation blueprint through the House and Senate in March. The blueprint directs Congressional committees to identify cuts to agencies and programs under their jurisdiction and, over the past weekend, the House Homeland Security Committee (HHSC) and House Armed Services Committee (HASC) released their draft bills. In these bills, $69 billion would be allocated to border security and $150 billion to defense priorities. More…
Leaked HHS Passback Budget Includes NIH Reorganization, Cuts to Health Agencies
On April 10, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) passback budget was leaked to the public. A passback budget is a preliminary proposal in which Federal Agencies and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) negotiate discretionary funding and legislative priorities for inclusion in the Presidential Budget Request (PBR). It should not be considered the final version to be included in the PBR when it is released. Notable provisions within the leaked passback: The Presidential Budget Request (PBR) is rumored to be released in May with the possibility of a skinny budget sooner. Stay tuned to COSSA’s continued coverage on…
Latest from the White House (April 29)
COSSA continues to follow the flurry of executive actions taken by the Trump Administration and the impact those actions are having on the social and behavioral science community. Below are some of the latest developments coming out of the White House. Past updates are available here. DOGE Arrives at NSF Earlier this month, the President’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), the group led by Elon Musk, arrived at the National Science Foundation (NSF). A chain of serious events followed their visit, underscoring the power bestowed on DOGE to upend existing agency operations. The team of DOGE officials arrived at NSF on April…
NIH Director Bhattacharya Gives First Public Remarks at NIH Council of Councils
On April 21, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jay Bhattacharya presented his vision for NIH during a meeting of the NIH Council of Councils. The Council consists of approximately 30 members, selected from the various NIH Institute and Center (IC) Advisory Councils, representatives nominated by the Office of the Director program offices, and broad lay representation. It advises the NIH Director on matters related to the policies and activities of the Division of Program Coordination, Planning, and Strategic Initiatives (DPCPSI). As previously reported by COSSA, Bhattacharya was confirmed as NIH Director in late March. During his first public remarks since being confirmed,…
Suzanne Le Menestrel Named New Executive Director of the Society for Research in Child Development
On April 24, the Society for Research in Child Development’s (SRCD) announced that Dr. Suzanne Le Menestrel has been appointed as the Executive Director. Dr. Le Menestrel has been acting as SRCD’s Interim Executive Director since December 2024 and initially joined the Society through her appointment to Director of Science Affairs in 2022. Dr. Le Menestrel has provided oversight of SRCD’s peer-reviewed journals, grants, awards, and fellowships; collaborated with the executive leadership team on special scientific initiatives; led professional development and scientific content on behalf of SRCD’s 4,000+ members; and built relationships with scientific collaborators, both within the U.S. and…
2025 PAA Advocacy Day: A Record-Breaking Successful Day on Capitol Hill
On April 10, in conjunction with the Population Association of America (PAA) 2025 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC, PAA sponsored a large advocacy day in which over 100 scientists from 30 states participated in meetings with their congressional delegations. PAA sponsors a large advocacy day whenever its annual meeting is held in Washington, DC. The last two events, in 2016 and 2012, attracted over 80 individuals, making this year’s event truly record-breaking. Population scientists went to Capitol Hill to share examples of their federally funded research as well as to promote greater understanding of how data produced by federal statistical agencies are…
Share Your Story with COSSA
Given current uncertainty about the future of the U.S. research enterprise, COSSA is collecting stories from the social and behavioral science community on how recent Executive Actions are affecting or have the potential to affect research and the scientific workforce. Your contributions will help the COSSA team as we share real-world, timely information with policymakers (e.g., Congress and federal agencies) about the impact these actions are having across the country. Your responses will remain confidential, and any stories used by COSSA will be anonymized and used anecdotally. You may provide your name and contact information in the survey, which would only be…
Tracking Current Federal Changes Affecting U.S. Education and Science
The arrival of Donald Trump’s second term as U.S. president brought with it a dramatic, chaotic and generally ideological assault on the status quo for American-based or -funded schools or researchers. Sage and COSSA have sponsored a page to help track actions – and reactions – to the flurry of activity in real time. The page is titled, Tracking Current Federal Changes Affecting U.S. Education and Science and is available here on Social Science Space. Continue to check back as we post new updates about Trump Administration actions concerning federal science funding, federal statistics and data, the federal workforce, higher education, and more.
Meet COSSA’s Policy Intern: Sarah Wang
Sarah Wang started as COSSA’s policy intern in May. Before she signs off and enjoys her summer, she provided some reflections from her time at COSSA. How did you learn about COSSA and the opportunity to serve as a policy intern? I initially found the COSSA policy intern position while searching for spring internship opportunities on Handshake, but my interest in the role truly solidified through my work at the time. This past fall, I was a fellow for Her Bold Move, a PAC dedicated to electing pro-choice women. Through the fellowship, I had the opportunity to work with Kenzie Shelstad…
House and Senate Pass Budget Resolution Blueprint
Earlier this month, the Senate passed a budget resolution in a 51-48 vote after an all-night voting marathon, inching closer to enacting President Trump’s priorities around tax breaks (see previous coverage). Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), who cited concerns of increasing the deficit, and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-ME), who rejected the proposed cuts to Medicaid, were the only Republicans to vote against the resolution. On April 10, the Senate’s blueprint passed through the House in a 216 to 214 vote after Sen. Thune agreed to adhere to the House’s $1.5 trillion in budget cuts to pacify fiscal hawks in the…