118th congress
118th Congress: Convened on 1/3/2023 and will end 1/3/2025.
House Oversight Hosts Census Bureau Director Rob Santos
On December 5, the House Oversight Committee held a hearing on the Oversight of the U.S. Census Bureau with Director Rob Santos as the witness. During his opening remarks, House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-KY) raised concerns over the 2020 Census and the overcount and undercount of different states, suggesting that undercounting was found in predominately Republican states while overcounting was found in predominately Democratic states. In his response, Santos indicated that the unexpected impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated overcounts and undercounts. Further, he clarified that the Census Bureau and subsequent surveys are non-partisan. Ranking Member Jamie Raskin (R-MD) pointed to…
CNSF Celebrates Science Committee Chairman Lucas’s Service
On October 19, the Coalition for the National Science Funding (CNSF), of which COSSA is a member, celebrated Representative Frank Lucas’s (R-OK) service to the scientific community as Chair of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. With remarks from Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Brian Babin (R-TX), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Deborah Ross (D-NC), Jay Obernolte (R-CA), Stephanie Bice (R-OK), Tom Kean (R-NJ), and other members of Congress, CNSF applauded the bipartisan effort of the Committee under Chairman Lucas’s leadership. Image: Representative Frank Lucas at CNSF Celebration (Credit: CNSF X Account)
President-Elect Trump and a New Majority Congress: 2025 Policy Outlook
With the results of the 2024 Presidential election cycle nearing completion, Former President Donald Trump pulled out an electoral victory with 312 electoral college votes compared to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 226. In addition, Republicans outperformed expectations in the Congressional races, taking control of the Senate and still in contention to hold on to the majority in the House (although not all races have been called), potentially giving President-elect Trump an ideal landscape in which to enact his policy agenda after the transition. Presidential Transition With the presidential race decided, attention now turns to the presidential transition. The President-elect has…
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,…
Congress on the Campaign Trail
Congress departed for the campaign trail on October 1 after passing a continuing resolution (CR) to extend the appropriations deadline to December 20 (see previous COSSA coverage). Expected to return on November 12 after the elections, Congress will return ready to draft the final appropriations bills or seek a second CR to allow for the new Congressional session to take the helm. Stay tuned to COSSA’s continued coverage of Congressional news.
Congress Seeks to Pass CR to Avoid Government Shutdown; Both Chambers Drafting Legislation
With the looming appropriations deadline only two weeks away, Congress is working to pass a continuing resolution (CR) to prevent a government shutdown. As previously reported by COSSA, while the House and Senate both began drafting their appropriations bills (see COSSA’s analysis of the House and Senate bills) with the House managing to pass five of their bills on the House floor while the Senate only advanced their respective bills through the Senate Appropriations Committee, both chambers have since turned to drafting CR legislation. Last week, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) unveiled a six-month CR with House-passed legislation, the SAVE Act (HR 8281), seeking to…
House Science Committee Unanimously Passes Bill to Update Research Security Language in CHIPS & Science Act
On September 9, the House or Representatives passed a bill to clarify language regarding research security in the CHIPS & Science Act enacted in 2022 (see previous COSSA coverage). H.R. 7686, led by Representative Mike Garcia (R-CA) and co-led by Representative Haley Stevens (D-MI), seeks to protect university funding from foreign adversaries through clarifying the definition of “malign foreign talent recruitment programs.” Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK) supported the bill, citing that “research theft is one of the single greatest threats to our competitiveness as a nation” with Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) agreeing that the bill “reflects our committee’s good faith deliberations around…
State of Play: FY 2025 Appropriations for Social Science Research
As Congress returns to Capitol Hill following August recess, appropriators are looking to finalize the budget for fiscal year (FY) 2025 prior to the September 30 deadline. As previously reported by COSSA, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced 11 of its 12 bills, including the Commerce, Justice Science (CJS) and Labor, Health and Human Services, Education (LHHS) bills (COSSA’s analysis is available here) but did not manage to pass any of the bills on the Senate floor. On the other side of the Capitol, the House Appropriations Committee considered all 12 bills (COSSA’s analysis is available here) and managed to pass 5 of its…
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 Full Analysis of FY 2025 House Appropriations Bills for Federal Science Agencies
Over the last several weeks, appropriators in the House of Representatives have been considering funding legislation for fiscal year (FY) 2025, which beings October 1. This is the first appropriations cycle under the leadership of Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK). As previously reported, the year began with an understanding that the FY 2025 appropriations process was going to be an especially difficult one. Thanks to strict budget caps set last year for FY 2024 and FY 2025, discretionary spending is once again on the chopping block. The caps as currently set have the potential to further decimate agency budgets, especially…
House Passes Twelve Bills through Appropriations Committee; Senate Releases Subcommittee Allocations
The House and Senate appropriations process is well underway for fiscal year (FY) 2025, with the House having completed and passed all twelve bills through the House Appropriations Committee, and looking to pass all twelve on the floor before August recess begins (see previous COSSA coverage). On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate is pushing forward with their respective bills, having released subcommittee allocations and passing three of its bills through the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 11. The House is rumored to vote the week of July 29 on the two bills that fund federal science agencies….
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…
Congress Works to Complete Appropriations as Scheduled; House-CJS Bill Postponed to Late June
As August recess and the looming November elections rapidly approach, Congress is working on the appropriations process as scheduled. While there has been no movement in the Senate on appropriations bills beyond budget hearings, the House Appropriations committee released a preliminary schedule in May that they have been following closely (see previous COSSA coverage). As expected, the House Appropriations subcommittees for the Legislative Branch, State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs, and Defense bills have progressed as expected with mark-ups. Further, the House has already passed the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Bill in full-committee. As previously reported, the House…
Reps. DeGette, Bucshon Seek Stakeholder Input on Next-Generation Cures Bill
On June 6, Representative Diana DeGette (D-CO) and Representative Larry Bucshon (R-IN) announced a request for input (RFI) from stakeholders on the next-generation Cures bill. As previously reported by COSSA, the bipartisan 21st Century Cures Act provided an increase of funding for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), directed the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve drugs and devices with greater urgency, provided resources to states to assist in fighting the opioid epidemic, and provided a boost for mental health care. In 2021, Rep. DeGette introduced the Cures 2.0 Act to build upon the first but the legislation was never fully passed (see previous…
Congress to Review Key Agency Budget Requests Amid More Supplemental Funding Discussions
Over the past few weeks, Congress has been holding budget oversight hearings on various agencies, working through the fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget process. On May 16, the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee is scheduled to review the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) priorities in the hearing, Oversight and Examination of the National Science Foundation’s Priorities for 2025 and Beyond. COSSA will continue to update on the budget hearings of key agencies as they are held. Following emergency supplemental funding passed in late April, Congress is still in discussions regarding foreign aid supplemental packages, with attention split between these…
Congress Approves Emergency Supplemental Funding with FY 2025 Appropriations Underway
As previously reported, Congress has begun working on the fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget process with hearings for federal agencies underway. In preparation for drafting appropriations legislation, the House Appropriations Committee released guidance on submitting programmatic and report language requests for members with a deadline of May 1. However, with Congress looking towards the upcoming elections in November, it’s unclear whether they will complete any of the bills prior to the October 1 deadline. On April 24, emergency funding was signed into law by President Biden to provide supplemental funding to the Department of Defense (DOD), Department of Energy science programs, the National Nuclear Security…
House Oversight Committee Holds Hearing on Government Influence Over Scientific Journals
The House Committee on Oversight and Accountability’s Select Committee on the Coronavirus held a hearing on Academic Malpractice: Examining the Relationship Between Scientific Journals, the Government, and Peer Review with Dr. Holden Thorp, the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Science. Thorp was one of several individuals invited to testify but the only one to attend. During the opening remarks for the hearing, Chair Dr. Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) described the relationship between scientific journals and the government during the coronavirus pandemic as a negative source of government and political influence on scientific research. However, Dr. Thorp reiterated the in-depth process of developing scientific journals, including the…
Congress Begins FY 2025 Budget Process with newly elected House Appropriations Full Committee Chair, Rep. Tom Cole
With the fiscal year (FY) 2024 budget finalized (previously reported by COSSA), Congress is looking ahead to FY 2025. The process has begun for FY 2025 with the Presidential Budget Request (see COSSA’s in-depth analysis), which had a delayed release of March 11. The Appropriations subcommittees in both chambers have also begun scheduling oversight budget hearings with the heads of Federal Agencies in preparation of drafting their respective bills for the FY 2025 budget. As a reminder, the fiscal year for 2025 will begin October 1, 2024, requiring Congress to have finalized the budget by this date unless a continuing…
COSSA’s Analysis of the President’s FY 2025 Budget Request for Social and Behavioral Science
On March 11, the Biden Administration transmitted its fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget request to Congress. The FY 2025 budget was released while Congress was still working to finalize its annual appropriations bills for FY 2024 (the fiscal year that began October 1, 2023). The FY 2024 appropriations process was completed on March 22 with the passage of a second omnibus package (see related article). The first package was passed on March 8. As COSSA has been reporting over the last several months, the FY 2024 appropriations bills were bound by strict budget caps that were agreed to in January (although the same deal was floated much earlier…