Issue 15 (July 28)

As August recess rapidly approaches, the House Appropriations Committee passed a continuing resolution (CR) to extend current funding beyond the end of the fiscal year on September 30, to December 4. Notably, six Democrats broke rank with their party to support the stopgap measure, including Representatives Kathy Castor (D-FL), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Don Davis (D-NC), Jared Golden (D-ME), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), and Gabe Vasquez (D-NM). Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was the only Republican Congressman to vote against the bill. Generally, it is rare for Congress to enact a CR more than two months before the end of the fiscal year.

Still, the stopgap measure is not gaining the support it needs from Congressional Democrats. House Appropriations Committee Democrats released a fact sheet criticizing the lack of bipartisanship in drafting the bill and argued that the CR would not provide adequate funding for several programs. Following the floor vote, House Appropriations Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) stated, “Now that we are done wasting time on this incomplete, hastily constructed, one-sided continuing resolution, let’s work together to get an agreement we can all support.” Further, Senate Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), and Minority Conference Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-CA) issued a joint statement that they will not support the CR, writing that the stopgap measure is a “desperate attempt by Republicans to abdicate their responsibility to govern while there are still several months left to negotiate a bipartisan agreement.”

Amidst the Senate Republicans dwindling majority, they will need bipartisan support to pass any stopgap measures. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) stated in a press conference that if the bill is unable to pass with bipartisan support, he may consider passing funding legislation through the reconciliation process, which requires only a simple majority to pass. With the House departing early for August recess last week, if the Senate is unable to adopt the CR as is, the appropriations process may again be stalled until after Congress returns from August recess.

Stay tuned for COSSA’s continued coverage of the FY 2027 appropriations process.

Both the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation (CST) and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology (SST) held hearings recently regarding the American scientific research enterprise.

The House SST hearing was held on July 22 featuring testimony from the Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), Michael Kratsios. Kratsios used his testimony to unveil a new White House report, Science: A New Golden Age. The report makes several recommendations consistent with executive orders and other policy changes proposed by the Trump Administration.

Chairman Brian Babin (R-TX) and several other members across the aisle expressed concerns that China is and will continue to surpass the U.S. in scientific innovation, particularly in biotechnology and artificial intelligence (AI). However, Republican and Democratic members disagreed about whether Trump’s Executive Orders, such as Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking (see previous coverage) and the proposed rule on federal grant making from the Office of Management and Budget (see previous coverage) are helping to solve or exacerbating the poor state of American science.

Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-WA), and other Democrats questioned Kratsios specifically about reports that White House officials are engaging directly in the National Science Foundation (NSF) proposal review process, suggesting that the White House is involved in making funding decisions that align with Administration positions. Kratsios denied White House involvement in determining which proposals get funding at NSF. Rep. Lofgren asked if any of the funds appropriated by Congress for FY 2026 are being diverted to the Genesis Mission, the President’s initiative aimed at building an AI platform to use Federal scientific datasets to drive innovation. In his response, Kratsios said he was “not familiar with those details.” Other lines of questioning from both sides focused on rising water and electricity prices due to data center construction.

The Senate CST hearing was held on July 21 with testimonies from Vice President Emeritus for Research and Technology Transfer at the Colorado School of Mines Walter Copan; Director of Bio-Strategy and Leadership at the Hoover Institution Drew Endy; Founder and Senior Fellow at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Robert Atkinson; and Science Policy Advocate and former member of the National Science Board (NSB) Julia Phillips.

In Ranking Member Tammy Baldwin’s (D-WI) opening statement, she criticized the Trump administration for “undermining institutions that make our scientific leadership possible.” For example, she mentioned OMB’s proposed rule (noted above), the alleged $3 billion in grants that have been terminated or frozen by the Trump Administration, recent attempts to dismantle the Department of Education, and the firing of all the members of the NSB. 

Atkinson’s statements focused on the security of American data, evaluating grants based on global competitiveness, the number of Chinese post-docs allowed into the U.S., and increasing regulations for international university collaborations. Philips disagreed with Atkinson’s sentiments, arguing that chronic underspending on NSF is a major threat to the country’s long-term prosperity and safety – not foreign PhD students. Additionally, Phillips expressed concern with OMB’s proposed rule, claiming that it will make it difficult to preserve U.S. scientists’ access to international labs that are necessary for research. Phillips was adamant that cutting off American scientists’ ability to utilize international resources would leave the U.S. vulnerable to falling further behind. She was also concerned with the prospect of NSF’s funding decisions being made by political appointees rather than experts and scientists. More broadly, Copan stated that recent “self-inflicted wounds have slowed our research enterprise and weakened American capacity.”

When questioned about balancing the need for basic and applied research, Endy stated that the “public treasure” is best spent on foundational science and engineering research. He argued that public funding is vital for fundamental research because it often needs to be funded long-term, and results can be utilized in the private sector where entrepreneurs and industry use it for applied research and commercialization.

A recording of the Senate hearing can be found here. A recording of the House hearing can be found here. Stay tuned for COSSA’s continued coverage on the federal grant making process.

This article was contributed by COSSA Intern Caroline Seo.

On July 15, the House Select Committee on China held a hearing titled, Protecting American Innovation: The Federal Research Security Enterprise. Witnesses included: Mr. Jeremy Ison, Chief of Staff to the Under Secretary for Science, U.S. Department of Energy; Dr. Patricia Valdez, Chief Extramural Research Integrity Officer, National Institutes of Health (NIH); and Dr. Rebecca Keiser, Acting Chief of Staff and Chief of Research Security Policy and Strategy, National Science Foundation (NSF).

During his opening statements, Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI) stated that China’s growing scientific research enterprise is a significant threat to the U.S. and argued that greater guardrails are necessary to protect U.S. research, including restricting universities from using federal research funding for collaboration with restricted countries. However, when remarks turned to Ranking Member Ro Khanna (D-CA), the conversation shifted to actions taken by the Trump Administration that are damaging the U.S. scientific research enterprise. Representative Jill Tokuda (D-HI) questioned how research agencies would be able to fulfil their Congressional mandates amidst the recent budget and personnel cuts. Further, regarding the abrupt termination of the National Science Board, which serves as the policymaking and oversight body of NSF and as an independent advisor to the President and Congress on federal science policy, Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL) argued, “It undermines America’s leadership in science. It disrupts grant approvals. It slows research progress.”

A recording of the hearing is available on the Select Committee website.

Earlier this month, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) release a report, Science: A New Golden Age. The report calls for a shift in the way research is funded in the U.S. and centers on Trump Administration priorities in emerging areas like AI. OSTP Director Michael Kratsios discussed the report before the House Science, Space and Technology Committee last week (see related article).

The report outlines several recommendations, including expanding opportunities for startups, independent research organizations, nonprofits, and industry partners. To encourage more innovative research, the report argues that traditional peer-review systems often favor consensus over high-risk, high-reward ideas. Among its recommendations is the introduction of “golden tickets,” which would allow agency reviewers to advance unconventional proposals that might otherwise be rejected by standard review panels. The concept is already being piloted through NSF’s Technology, Innovation and Partnerships Directorate (TIP). The report also renews calls to reduce indirect cost recovery for research institutions, arguing that funds currently supporting administrative overhead should instead be redirected toward scientific infrastructure and research activities.

Accompanying the report, OSTP and the White House Office of Management and Budget released their annual joint memo to federal agencies outlining the Administration’s research priorities for fiscal year (FY) 2028. Key priorities include developing new research funding models, expanding early-career STEM opportunities to cultivate top technical talent, improving the evaluation of research funding programs through the “science of science-funding,” and strengthening partnerships with industry to increase private-sector investment in research and development.

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the statistical arm of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is currently accepting applications for a new Director. Interested applicants should apply on USA Jobs by July 30.

The announcement comes after the previous Director, Dr. Brian Moyer, announced his retirement last year. He was appointed Director of NCHS in March 2020 after serving as the Director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) within the Commerce Department (see previous coverage). Dr. Carolyn Greene has been serving as Acting Director since. 

This Special Feature was organized by Alycia Chin and Baruch Fischhoff. Access the collection here.

The American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS) announced they are currently accepting nominations for the 2027 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize in Social Science and Public Policy. The Moynihan Prize is an annual honor created to recognize social scientists, public officials, and civic leaders who advance the public good through informed judgment and the application of social science research to policy and practice.

The winner will deliver the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Lecture on Social Science and Public Policy in Washington, DC, next fall. Nominations must be submitted by November 1, 2026. Find more information about the Moynihan Price and submission details on the AAPSS website. AAPSS is a COSSA member organization.