Volume 44 (2025)
Register Now: Social Science Advocacy Day 2025 Informational Webinar
Curious about 2025 Social Science Advocacy Day? Do you have questions or want to know more about what to expect from the event? Join us for an informational webinar! We will be hosting a session to provide an overview of Advocacy Day, how to register, answer any questions, and more. Find the Zoom link below and come with your questions! The webinar will be taking place on January 16 at 1pm EST. Register here.
118th Congress Enacts Funding Patch in Late December; 119th Congress Sworn In
At the end of last year, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees finalized a continuing resolution (CR) to push the deadline for fiscal year (FY) 2025 funding to March 14, kicking responsibility to the new Congress. The CR continues funding at FY 2024 levels and includes supplemental funding for federal disaster programs and a year-long extension to the Farm Bill. While Congress successfully averted a government shutdown, the impact of the new CR will likely be seen in delays to the FY 2026 appropriations process, which traditionally begins in February. On January 3, the 119th Congress was sworn in at the Capitol. As expected,…
NIH Releases Public Access Plan and RFI for Research Findability and Transparency
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has released the final version of its public access policy in response to the August 2022 memorandum issued by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). The memorandum announced new requirements for federal agencies to make peer-reviewed publications resulting from federal funding freely available to the public immediately following publication (see previous COSSA coverage). The new policy, finalized from the draft released in June 2024 (see previous COSSA coverage), is set to take effect on December 31, 2025, and provides clarification on the definitions of Article, Manuscript, Final Published Article, Official Date of…
Trump Announces Appointments to Science Team
On December 22, President-elect Trump announced on Truth Social his picks for top White House science positions. Michael Kratsios, an alum of the first Trump Administration, will be nominated as Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Kratsios previously served as Trump’s Chief Technology Officer and later as Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering in DOD. Kratsios will also serve as Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, known commonly as the President’s Science Advisor. The OSTP position requires Senate confirmation, but the Science Advisor does not. Kratsios holds a BA in politics from…
NASEM Requests Nominations for Experts for Study of Quality, Credibility, and Relevance of U.S. Homeland Security Statistics
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) is seeking experts for a new consensus study on the Quality, Credibility, and Relevance of U.S. Homeland Security Statistics. These experts will work with the Office for Homeland Security Statistics (OHSS), housed within the Department of Homeland Security, to ensure statistics within the agency align with federal standards, enhancing “the relevance, credibility, objectivity, and public trust of their statistics to support evidence-based decision making”. Experts are requested in the following areas: Nominations can be submitted here by January 8.