Search Results: census
House Narrowly Passes Latest Appropriations Package for Science Agencies
As previously reported, the House and Senate passed a three-bill package earlier this month that included fiscal year (FY) 2026 funding for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). COSSA’s in-depth analysis of the CJS bill can be found here. Late last week, the House passed a separate four-bill package that contains the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) appropriations bill—which provides funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Institute of Education Sciences…
Congress Returns from Two-Week; Appropriations Front and Center
As previously reported by COSSA, Congress closed out 2025 with a continuing resolution (CR) that ended a historic 43-day government shutdown and punted the appropriations deadline for fiscal year (FY) 2026 to January 31. While there were rumors of a potential second year-long CR for FY 2026, Congress returned from their two-week recess with agreements on final funding levels for several remaining bills. Last week, House and Senate leaders released a three-bill package that includes the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) bill—which provides funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the National Institute…
Equal Representation Act
On December 2, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee advanced the Equal Representation Act (H.R. 151). The act, which was led by Congressman Chuck Edwards (R-NC), seeks to include a citizenship question on the decennial census and exclude non-citizens from congressional apportionment. COSSA signed onto a letter to Congress led by the Population Association of America (PAA), a COSSA governing member, earlier this year opposing this legislation as these changes could potentially undermine participation in the decennial census and, therefore, ultimately diminish the quality and utility of decennial census data. This could have devastating effects for researchers that rely on the data. There…
NEW ACTION ALERTS: Prioritize Science Funding and Oppose the So-Called Equal Representation Act
Two new Action Alerts have been published in the COSSA Action Center: Urge Congress to Prioritize Science Funding! Over the past few months, Congressional appropriators have been drafting key legislation that will determine funding for federal science and statistical agencies for the next year. With the proposed massive budget and staffing cuts in the Presidential Budget Request, the stakes have never been higher. While Congress is likely to pass another year-long continuing resolution (CR), it is essential that our community fights for federal science funding and the scientific workforce. Now is the time to ACT! Write to your Members of Congress urging their support for…
House and Senate Advance CJS Bills; Congress Claws Back FY 2025 Funding
Over the last few weeks, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees released and began consideration of their fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills, including the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) bills, which funds the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and the U.S. Census Bureau. On July 10, the Senate made their first attempt to advance the CJS bill through the Appropriations Committee, only to call for an extended recess following arguments over the relocation of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) headquarters and other provisions. The following week, on July 17,…
Trump Signs Reconciliation Bill into Law; Senate to Mark-Up CJS Bill
On July 4, President Trump signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1). The bill, which has been hotly debated because of provisions pertaining to cuts to Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), reallocates resources in order to pay for permanent tax cuts and increase funding for border security activities. The new law also includes several provisions of importance to the research community (see previous COSSA coverage). This includes a new cap on graduate students loans ($100,000) and professional student loans ($200,000); a termination of student loan repayment plans; and an increase of the university endowment tax…
COSSA Remembers John Thompson
The social science community mourns the loss of John H. Thompson, who passed away earlier this month. Thompson dedicated nearly 30 years serving in the U.S. Census Bureau, including as Director from 2013 to 2017. After leaving federal service he became Executive Director of the Council of Professional Associations for Federal Statistics. Thompson also served as President of NORC at the University of Chicago (a COSSA member organization). The COSSA community is grateful for John’s commitment to federal statistics and service to the American people.
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…
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…
NEW ACTION ALERT: Write to Congress TODAY about the Need to Protect Government Data
Since January, government data sources have begun disappearing from federal agency websites, including at the National Science Foundation, U.S. Census Bureau, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Justice, among others. While some data have since been restored, many remain unavailable and the Trump Administration’s plans regarding the availability of government data and statistics remain uncertain. The social and behavioral science community understands well that the research enterprise, government officials, businesses, and other sectors rely on accurate, unbiased public data—data that must remain free from political interference….
119th Congress Committee Profile: House and Senate Appropriations Committee
As previously reported by COSSA, the House and Senate committee assignments have been announced over the last month. On the House Appropriations Committee, Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) will remain in his role, as will Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), while the Senate Appropriations Committee will see a shift from Democratic majority to Republican majority with Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA). The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) is an important committee to the research community in that it is responsible for securing appropriations for federal agencies important to the research community, such as the National…
119th Congressional Committee Assignments and Presidential Nomination Hearings Begin
As previously reported by COSSA, the 119th Congress was sworn in early January and has since begun announcing committee assignments, including key committees for the social and behavioral science research community. This includes the House Science and Technology Committee, which has appointed Representative Brian Babin (R-TX) as Chairman, replacing Frank Lucas (R-OK) (see previous COSSA coverage). Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) will remain in her role as expected. On the House Appropriations Committee, Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) will remain in his role, as will Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). On January 15, Chairman Cole released the Republican roster while Ranking Member DeLauro released the Democratic roster…
Congress: Competitive Elections for the SBS Community to Watch
As November 5 rapidly approaches, Congress is likely to see some leadership changes in both the House and the Senate. With a current slim majority in both chambers, competitive races have Democrats and Republicans battling for control. The 2024 CPR Senate Race Ratings from the Cook Political Report details the Senate races that are competitive, including Arizona, Nevada, Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Significantly more Democrat-held seats are in competitive races than Republican-held seats in the Senate. Similarly, the 2024 CPR House Race Ratings from the Cook Political Report details the House races that are competitive, including races in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado,…
Friends of BLS Urge Congress to Provide Appropriations for Modernizing CPS
On September 24, the Friends of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), of which COSSA is a member, urged the House and Senate Appropriations Committees through a sign-on letter to modernize the Current Population Survey (CPS) with additional funding in fiscal year (FY) 2025. Jointly sponsored by BLS and the Census Bureau, CPS collects labor force statistics data to help inform the status of the social and economic welfare of the country. Two years of flat funding have required CPS to decrease the sample size of the population survey, creating a detrimental impact on important federal data collection. With 120 signatures, the letter details…
Senate Advances CJS and LHHS Bills Before August Recess; COSSA Releases Analysis
Over the last few weeks, the House and Senate Appropriations Committees released and began consideration of their fiscal year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills. The Senate Appropriations Committee considered the Commerce, Justice Science (CJS) and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) bills; read on for details of the bills as approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee. Currently, the Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced 11 of its 12 bills, however, it is unlikely that the Senate will bring any of its bills to the Senate floor when Congress returns in September. Instead, it’s anticipated that the House and Senate will begin negotiations on…
COSSA Releases Preview of FY 2025 House Spending Bills Analysis
In late June, the House Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Subcommittee marked up and reported out their bill that funds the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Census Bureau, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and other agencies. The House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) Subcommittee also considered its bill, which is responsible for funding the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other HHS agencies, the Department of Education, and the Department of Labor. COSSA is preparing a full analysis of the bills, which are being considered by the full…
CJS and LHHS Bills Move to House Appropriations Full-Committee Mark-Ups; Senate to Begin Appropriations
As previously reported by COSSA, the House Appropriations Committee has kept to their earlier released appropriations schedule and is expected to finish marking up all twelve of its bills this week. The House Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) bill, which funds the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and the U.S. Census Bureau, is expected to be marked up on July 9 (watch live here) and the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) bill, which provides appropriations for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other…
House Moves on Appropriations Bills Ahead of Fourth of July Recess; CJS and LHHS Bills Expected this Week
As previously reported by COSSA, the fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget process is underway as Congress looks to complete funding bills before the House and a third of the Senate embark on the campaign trail. The House is moving forward with multiple spending bills this week as expected. The House Appropriations committee has already passed six of twelve bills in full-committee, including Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, Defense, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Legislative Branch, and State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. On June 26, the House Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Subcommittee is…
Catch Up on COSSA’s May Headlines Webinar
Did you miss our May Headlines Webinar on Recent Developments at the U.S. Census Bureau? You can catch up on the recording here featuring special guest Dr. Robert L. Santos, Director of the U.S. Census Bureau! Watch for additional COSSA Headlines announcements and view previous webinar recordings on the COSSA website.