Appropriations
Congress Moves FY 2018 Spending Bills Ahead of August Recess
The House and Senate have worked in recent weeks to advance as many of the fiscal year (FY) 2018 annual appropriations bills as possible before heading out of town for the typical month-long August recess. Details have been emerging on lawmakers’ funding plans for agencies and programs important to the COSSA community. The House Appropriations Committee approved two bills this month that provide the bulk of funding support for the social sciences. The Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill, which funds the National Science Foundation, Department of Justice, and Census Bureau, was approved on July 13. The…
House Budget Committee Approves Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Resolution
On July 12, the House Budget Committee approved a fiscal year (FY) 2018 Budget Resolution, an important first step for Congressional Republicans if they hope to complete work on the FY 2018 spending bills and overhaul the tax code during this Congress. The resolution proposes to increase defense funding by $72 billion and cut non-defense discretionary spending by $5 billion. This proposal would bring non-defense discretionary spending, which includes federal science agencies, to 17 percent below FY 2010 funding levels. The measure passed the Committee on a party-line vote, but is facing an uphill battle as it moves to the…
OMB’s FY 2019 Budget Guidance Calls for Major Funding Reforms
On July 7, the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), led by Director Mick Mulvaney, issued a memorandum to federal departments and agencies with guidance on how to approach development of the fiscal year (FY) 2019 budget submission. According to the memo, “the FY 2019 Budget will provide an opportunity to present a comprehensive plan for reforming the Federal Government and reducing the Federal civilian workforce. It also will reflect the first impacts of the Government reorganization called for by Executive Order 13781 [issued in March].” Budget submissions are expected to continue proposals included in the FY 2018…
House Releases Draft Ag, CJS Appropriations Bills; Some Details Still Unclear
In the weeks leading up to the Independence Day recess, several House Subcommittees began their work for fiscal year (FY) 2018 in earnest by marking up draft appropriation bills, including the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (June 28) and the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) (June 29). While the text of the draft bills has been released, it is unlikely that their accompanying committee reports, which include more detailed information on funding and policy riders, will be made available until just before the bills are marked up by the…
FY 2018 Funding Bills Off to a Slow Start
The House and Senate are heading down different paths as they attempt to kick-start the fiscal year (FY) 2018 appropriations process before the new fiscal year begins on October 1. As previously reported, the annual appropriations process is significantly delayed this year with the President’s budget request having been transmitted to Congress just last month (it is usually due in early February). Appropriations subcommittees in both chambers have begun holding their annual hearings to discuss the budget requests for agencies under their purview (see related article on the NIH budget hearing). Some subcommittees have begun writing their appropriations bills, even…
Senate Subcommittee Discusses FY 2018 NIH Budget, Pledges Support
On June 22, the Senate Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing to discuss the fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget request for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Appearing before the committee were NIH Director Francis Collins and six institute and center directors, including Douglas Lowy of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Gary Gibbons of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), Anthony Fauci of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Richard Hodes of the National Institute of Aging (NIA), Nora Volkow of the National Institute on Drug…
COSSA Senate Testimony Calls for Funding for NIH, AHRQ, CDC, Education Programs
On June 2, COSSA submitted testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies for fiscal year (FY) 2018. The testimony calls for increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Institute for Education Sciences (IES), and International Education and Foreign Language Programs (Title VI and Fulbright-Hays). Back to this issue’s table of contents.
House Subcommittee Discusses FY 2018 NSF Budget
On June 7, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) held a hearing on the fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget request for the National Science Foundation (NSF), featuring NSF Director France CĂłrdova. Subcommittee Chairman John Culberson (R-TX) opened the hearing by recognizing the important role NSF plays as the sole federal funder of basic research across all fields of science. Culberson also added that the subcommittee is going to work in a bi-partisan fashion to ensure that NSF is “appropriately funded” despite the tough budgetary environment and the appropriations process getting off to a slow…
COSSA Releases Analysis of the Trump Administration’s FY 2018 Budget Request
The Trump Administration released its fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget request on May 23. The budget seeks dramatic reductions totaling $3.6 trillion across nearly every department of the federal government, including most science and research agencies. COSSA has prepared an in-depth analysis of the FY 2018 budget request, which includes details on the President’s proposals for the dozens of departments, agencies, and programs of interest to social and behavioral science researchers. The release of the President’s budget request marks the official start of the FY 2018 appropriations process, though some Congressional committees have already begun holding their oversight hearings even…
Letters Urge Congressional Leaders to Support Research Agencies
COSSA joined dozens of scientific societies and research universities on a letter to Congressional leaders, sent on May 24, urging them to reject the Trump Administration’s proposed cuts to science agencies including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Department of Agriculture, and more. Similarly, in a Dear Colleague letter sent to the Chair and Ranking Member of the Appropriations Subcommittee responsible for the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill, 29 Senators expressed their support for the National Science Foundation. The letter calls for the National Science Foundation to receive at least $8 billion in fiscal year…
COSSA Joins Community in Urging Increased Allocation for Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill
COSSA joined nearly 800 organizational stakeholders of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) appropriations bill in a letter to the Appropriations leadership urging it to increase the fiscal year (FY) 2018 302(b) allocation, which is the committee’s funding cap on spending for each of the appropriation bills. While the letter acknowledges the Subcommittee’s “broad range of constituencies and needs,” it also recognizes that the programs funded under the Labor-HHS bill “are continually short-changed in the annual appropriations process.” Accordingly, the scientific community emphasizes that “without an increase in the Labor-HHS 302(b) allocation,…
President’s Complete Budget Request Expected May 23
Last week, the Trump Administration notified Congress that it will transmit its complete Fiscal Year (FY) 2018 budget request on May 23. Federal agencies have started to schedule events to review their FY 2018 budget requests but details remain unclear as to the fate of agencies that support the social and behavioral sciences. The Trump Administration released preliminary details of the FY 2018 request on March 16, which included proposals for Cabinet-level departments and some other large agencies. Following the release of the complete budget request, COSSA will prepare an in-depth analysis of the budget as it impacts the social…
Congress Reaches Agreement on FY 2017 Funding
On May 1, Congress announced that a bipartisan deal had been brokered to fund the federal government through the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2017. The omnibus appropriations bill includes 11 individual appropriations bills and keeps the government operating through September 30, 2017. Should the bill pass this week, the final, much-delayed result for FY 2017 will be mostly positive for social and behavioral science research. Compared to where we have been in recent years and with all of the unknowns surrounding the Trump Administration’s position on science funding, this outcome is about the best we could have hoped for….
COSSA Testimony Calls for Increased Funding for NSF, NIJ, Census, and Other Agencies
On April 21, COSSA submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for fiscal year (FY) 2018. The testimony calls for increased funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics, and the Census Bureau. You can read this and other statements on the COSSA website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
286 Societies Sign Letter in Support of R&D Enterprise
On April 6, COSSA joined 285 other U.S. societies and associations in business, science, engineering, health, and higher education on a letter urging Congressional leaders to complete the fiscal year (FY) 2017 appropriations bills with “robust investments in scientific research.” The letter states the benefits of continued investment in the U.S. research and development enterprise, describes possible impacts of decreased funding, and urges policy makers to reject the cuts to science agencies proposed by the Trump Administration. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
HHS Secretary Appears Before House Appropriations Subcommittee, Suggests NIH Budget Cuts to Come From “Efficiencies” in Indirect Costs
On March 29, newly appointed Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) former Rep. Tom Price (R-GA) made his first appearance before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies. Welcoming the Secretary, Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) began the hearing by pointing out that the proposed cuts in the Budget Blueprint (aka “skinny budget”) released by the Administration on March 16 “are extensive and span the reach of [the] agency.” Cole asked Price how the Department intends to solve “some of the challenges” the budget poses to HHS, including…
Trump Administration Releases Preliminary Details on FY 2018 Budget
On March 16, the Trump Administration released preliminary, high-level details of its fiscal year (FY) 2018 budget request, referred to as a “skinny budget.” Full budget details are expected sometime in May. There are few surprises in the President’s “safety and security” budget blueprint. Major reductions are proposed for nondefense discretionary programs (including research accounts) in order to finance $54 billion in increases for the Department of Defense. Of course, to achieve such a reallocation, Congress would need to act to adjust the budget caps that are currently governing defense and nondefense discretionary spending; the President cannot unilaterally shift funds…
COSSA Testimony Calls for Funding for NIH, AHRQ, CDC, Education Programs
On March 8, COSSA submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies for fiscal year (FY) 2018. The testimony calls for increased funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), Institute for Education Sciences (IES), and International Education and Foreign Language Programs (Title VI and Fulbright-Hays). Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Ad Hoc Group Issues Statement Responding to the President’s FY 2018 Budget for NIH
COSSA, as a member of the steering committee of the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, joined a statement responding to the President’s FY 2018 budget request proposing a 18 percent cut to the NIH’s budget (see related article). The statement calls on “Congress to reject the inexplicable and impractical proposed cuts to NIH and to continue its tradition of investment in medical science.” The Group also stated that it looks “forward to working with lawmakers to finalize an FY 2017 spending package with $34.1 billion for NIH – as approved nearly unanimously by the Senate Appropriations Committee in June…
IES Coalition Sends Letter to Appropriations Subcommittee Leadership in Support of Agency
On March 10, COSSA joined the Friends of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), a coalition of organizations committed to supporting the essential role of IES, on a letter to the Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee (Labor-HHS) in support of IES. The letter urges the Subcommittee to provide $670 million in funding for IES in fiscal year (FY) 2018. The letter also states that the request, consistent with other scientific coalitions, “builds on the FY 2016 final appropriations, accounting for inflation over the past two years as well as four-percent growth.” Back to this…