Volume 45 (2026)
Latest from the White House (January 13)
In December, the White House released the President’s Management Agenda (PMA). Administrations have been issuing PMAs since the George W. Bush presidency in 2001. The agendas represent the President’s strategy for improving the management and performance of the federal government by identifying specific goals and metrics. Its signature feature has been a scorecard that tracks progress by each federal agency across several measures, such as human capital or budget performance. Each Administration puts their own spin on the PMA; however, they have traditionally built off their predecessor’s agendas to ensure continuity in government improvement. However, the Trump Administration’s PMA released last month reads…
ICYMI: New Executive Order Takes Aim at State AI Laws
On December 11, the White House issued its latest Executive Order (EO) related to artificial intelligence (AI), Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence. The order states its aim to allow companies to innovate by eliminating “cumbersome regulation” at the federal level through the establishment of a “minimally burdensome national policy framework for AI.” Until national standards governing AI can be established, the EO directs the Attorney General to form an “AI Litigation Task Force” responsible for identifying and challenging state laws that appear inconsistent with the federal policy. Through the evaluation the Task Force will be looking for state laws…
NSF Seeks Input on New Tech Labs Initiative—Due January 20
The National Science Foundation (NSF), through its Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate, has launched a new initiative aimed at accelerating “practical research with real-world applications.” Tech Labs will support research, development and innovation (RDI) teams “focused on overcoming persistent barriers to the commercialization of emerging technologies.” According to the announcement, these teams “will focus on technical challenges and bottlenecks that traditional university and industry labs cannot easily solve on their own.” NSF is seeking public input through a request for information. Comments are due January 20. In addition, NSF is hosting an informational webinar on January 14 (register here).
National Science Board Releases Anticipated Merit Review Report
As previously reported, the National Science Board (NSB), which is the policy-making body of the National Science Foundation (NSF), created a Commission on Merit Review in 2023 to take a fresh look at NSF’s current merit review criteria and make recommendations for potential improvement or modernization. After several delays, the Commission released its report on December 17. The report, Merit Review for a Changing Landscape, contains an in-depth evaluation of NSF’s longstanding review process and makes several recommendations, including: The release of the NSB report comes on the heels of new Merit Review rules that took effect December 15, 2025. Among the changes announced…
PAA Holds Congressional Briefing on U.S. Fertility Trends
On December 10, the Population Association of America (PAA), a COSSA governing member, and the Association of Population Centers (APC) hosted a Congressional briefing, “U.S. Birth Rate Trends: Patterns, Drivers, and Implications for U.S. Families.” The in-person event drew interest from almost 100 registrants representing the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, National Institutes of Health, Government Accountability Office, National Academies of Science, Congressional Research Service, a range of scientific and health stakeholder organizations, and the media. The event was moderated by Dr. Jennifer Sciubba, President and CEO of the Population Reference Bureau, and featured presentations by Dr. Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Director…