119th Congress
Congress Returns from Recess; Begins Drafting Reconciliation Bills
After a two-week recess, Congress has returned to Capitol Hill determined to make progress on reconciliation legislation with an eye toward enacting one “big, beautiful bill” to extend the Trump Administration’s tax breaks. As previously reported by COSSA, Congress passed a reconciliation blueprint through the House and Senate in March. The blueprint directs Congressional committees to identify cuts to agencies and programs under their jurisdiction and, over the past weekend, the House Homeland Security Committee (HHSC) and House Armed Services Committee (HASC) released their draft bills. In these bills, $69 billion would be allocated to border security and $150 billion to defense priorities. More…
Leaked HHS Passback Budget Includes NIH Reorganization, Cuts to Health Agencies
On April 10, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) passback budget was leaked to the public. A passback budget is a preliminary proposal in which Federal Agencies and the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) negotiate discretionary funding and legislative priorities for inclusion in the Presidential Budget Request (PBR). It should not be considered the final version to be included in the PBR when it is released. Notable provisions within the leaked passback: The Presidential Budget Request (PBR) is rumored to be released in May with the possibility of a skinny budget sooner. Stay tuned to COSSA’s continued coverage on…
House and Senate Pass Budget Resolution Blueprint
Earlier this month, the Senate passed a budget resolution in a 51-48 vote after an all-night voting marathon, inching closer to enacting President Trump’s priorities around tax breaks (see previous coverage). Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), who cited concerns of increasing the deficit, and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-ME), who rejected the proposed cuts to Medicaid, were the only Republicans to vote against the resolution. On April 10, the Senate’s blueprint passed through the House in a 216 to 214 vote after Sen. Thune agreed to adhere to the House’s $1.5 trillion in budget cuts to pacify fiscal hawks in the…
Budget Reconciliation Takes Center Stage; Members of Congress Push Back on Executive Actions
With the fiscal year (FY) 2025 process (mostly) in the rearview mirror following the passage of a full-year continuing resolution (CR) earlier this month, Congress is returning its attention to passing a budget resolution to enact some of the Trump Administration’s top priorities (see previous COSSA coverage). As previously reported by COSSA, the House passed their budget resolution in February that included a permanent extension of the Trump 2017 tax cuts and $1.5 trillion in cuts to non-defense discretionary spending. In order to unlock the reconciliation process—which would allow the tax cuts and spending reductions to pass by a simple majority…
Senators Baldwin and Welch Host Town Hall on Cuts to Cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease Cures
On March 26, Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Peter Welch (D-VT) hosted a Congressional townhall on Trump and Musk’s Cuts to Cancer and Alzheimer’s Disease Cures. The event was held in response to efforts by the Administration to cut funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), including major reductions in the NIH workforce. The town hall featured remarks from former NIH Director Dr. Monica Bertagnolli; Dr. Sterling Johnson, University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor and Associate Director of Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center; Dr. Whitney Wharton, Emory University Associate Professor and Alzheimer’s Disease researcher; Dr. Larry Saltzman, former Executive Research Director for…
Congress Pushes to Enact Final CR as Trump Administration Delivers List of Funding Anomalies
Congress is facing a March 14 deadline for finalizing the fiscal year (FY) 2025 appropriations bill, which is when a continuing resolution (CR) expires. In recent days, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) directed appropriators to prepare a final stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government operating through the end of the fiscal year (September 30). The Trump Administration has delivered a list of “anomalies,” or changes, they would like to see in the final FY 2025 spending bill. This includes increased funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), veterans’ affairs, defense accounts,…
119th Congress: Profile of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee has jurisdiction over health care, education, employment and retirement policies, including authorization of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Department of Education, and more. Like all Senate Committees, the leadership of the HELP Committee shifted to Republican-control following the 2024 elections. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) is now serving as Chair and Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) as Ranking Member. As Ranking Member in the last Congress, Cassidy indicated his desire to restructure the National Institutes of Health through a series of public comments and…
REGISTER NOW: Headlines Webinars continue February 27
On February 27, join COSSA for updates on the latest Congressional actions, President Trump’s Executive Actions, and the federal budget. The webinar will be taking place on February 27 at 1pm EST. Register here. If you missed COSSA’s recent webinar 119th Congress & Trump 2.0: What Does it Mean for Us? you can find the recording and slides here. Headlines is a webinar series available to COSSA member organizations. Watch for additional webinar announcements, and previous webinar recordings, on the COSSA website.
Congress Inches Towards Budget Reconciliation; FY 2025 Appropriations Remains Uncertain
As the Republican-controlled Congress seeks to push forward the Trump Administration’s policy goals, the House and Senate have proposed budget reconciliation packages relating to increasing funding for the border and defense as well as limiting spending and renewing tax cuts. On February 13, House Republicans struck a deal within their conference to push forward the proposed 2025 budget reconciliation package. The package would direct committees to find $1.5 trillion worth of budget cuts while simultaneously providing $4.5 trillion to the Ways and Means Committee for tax cuts. The reconciliation bill would increase the deficit by up to $4 trillion over a decade….
119th Congress: Profile of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee
Representative Brian Babin (R-TX) has been appointed Chair of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee, replacing Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK), who departed due to Republican term limits for committee leadership (see previous COSSA coverage). Previously, Babin served as Chairman of the Space and Aeronautics Subcommittee. Babin will serve alongside Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the committee. In the announcement of his appointment, Babin stated, “Between our nation’s booming science, space, and tech sectors and the growing threat posed by adversaries like Communist China, there has never been a more important time for this committee. Falling behind in any…
House SST Committee Holds Hearing on The State of U.S. Science and Technology
On February 5, the House Science, Space, and Technology (SST) Committee invited a panel of four experts across the science, research, and higher education communities for a hearing on the state of U.S. Science and Technology. The hearing explored the roles of public and private research and development (R&D) entities, strengthening national security, and addressing the recent freeze in federal funding enacted by the Trump Administration (see previous COSSA coverage). Witnesses included Heather Wilson, President of the University of Texas at El Paso and member of the National Science Board (NSB), Walter Copan, Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer at…
FY 2025 Appropriations Uncertain as Congress Approaches CR Deadline
Fiscal year (FY) 2025 funding is set to expire on March 14 unless Congress acts. As previously reported, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) in December to keep the government funded until March, which is nearly six months into the fiscal year. The first step is for Congressional leaders to agree on topline numbers (see previous COSSA coverage). Following the House Republicans policy retreat in Florida, it was reported that lawmakers are seeking to pass the final appropriations bills before President Trump’s State of the Union Address, which has been scheduled for March 4. However, with the recent federal funding freeze memorandum…
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…
Register Now: Headlines Webinars continue January 30
Earlier this month, the 119th Congress was sworn in at the Capitol. On January 30, join COSSA for an overview on the new Congress and what this means for the social and behavioral sciences community. The webinar will be taking place on January 30 at 1pm EST. Register here. Headlines is a webinar series available to COSSA member organizations. Watch for additional webinar announcements, and previous webinar recordings, on the COSSA website.
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…
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,…
FY 2025 Hangs in the Balance as Congress Begins Preparations for the 119th Session
As the year nears its end, Congress is looking to pass either the fiscal year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills by December 20 or a continuing resolution (CR) that extends the deadline to March. As previously reported by COSSA, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has indicated interest in the latter despite contention from Democrats and some Republicans advocating to complete the FY 2025 appropriations process so the new Congress can focus its attention on the FY 2026 appropriations process. The 119th Congress, which will be sworn in on January 3, will look quite a bit different from the outgoing Congress. The House…