Appropriations
Friends of NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Submit Statement in Support of OBSSR
On March 9, COSSA, as co-chair of the Friends of NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (Friends of NIH BSSR) with the American Psychological Association (a COSSA founding member), submitted a statement for the record in support of the National Institutes of Health and its Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). The statement emphasizes that the behavioral and social sciences are integral to the NIH mission and highlights the fact NIH supports behavioral and social science research throughout its 27 institutes and centers. The Friends of NIH BSSR is a coalition of professional organizations, scientific societies, and research…
COSSA Calls for Congress to Complete FY 2017 Appropriations Process
In a letter to House and Senate appropriators on the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Subcommittees, COSSA called for speedy completion of the FY 2017 appropriations process. The letter also urges strong appropriations for the National Science Foundation, National Institute of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, and Census Bureau. The letter is available on the COSSA website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Bracing for a Tough Budget Cycle
The fiscal year (FY) 2017 appropriations process has yet to conclude, but interest is already turning to FY 2018. The Trump Administration has begun releasing limited details on what the President’s FY 2018 budget request could contain when released later this spring. A so-called “skinny budget,” or top-line, department-level outline, is expected to be released next week with full details provided in May. The President has stated his intent to propose an additional $54 billion in defense spending. Such an increase coupled with promises of middle class tax cuts, corporate tax cuts, a $1 trillion infrastructure plan, and keeping Medicare…
COSSA Joins Scientific Community in Urging Approval of NIH FY 2017 Budget
On February 7, COSSA joined 260 patient, medical, scientific, academic, and research organizations of the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research in sending a joint letter and fact sheet to the President and the House and Senate leadership. The letter urges the enactment of a final FY 2017 spending package that includes $34.1 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Federal agencies and programs are currently operating under a continuing resolution that expires on April 28. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Congress Passes Stopgap Funding Bill, Adjourns
Congress passed another continuing resolution (CR) late in the evening on December 9, just a few hours before government funding would have run out. This stop-gap funding measure will keep the government funded until April 28, 2017. The bill, passed with the support of the incoming Trump Administration, will leave the fiscal year (FY) 2017 appropriations process unfinished and delay major spending decisions to the next Congress and next Administration. The text of the Continuing Resolution is available here. For full details of the FY 2017 spending debate as it pertains to social science research, check out COSSA’s coverage. Back…
Congress Returns for Lame Duck Session, Begins Organizing
Congress returns to Washington this week for the first time since last week’s historic elections. Lawmakers are returning to a new reality that many did not see coming, with the election of Donald Trump as the next President and the Republicans maintaining a stronghold in both chambers of Congress. Following the elections, Republicans maintain a narrowed majority in the House and Senate. The Senate margins sit at 51 Republicans to 48 Democrats, with a run-off race in Louisiana scheduled for December. In addition, and as expected, Republicans held onto control of the House, with 239 Republicans to 193 Democrats, though…
COSSA Letter to Conferees Advocates Funding for NSF, NIJ, BJS, and Census
As Congress returns to complete the business of funding the government for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2017, COSSA is advocating for strong funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and Census Bureau. In a letter to the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice and Science (CJS), COSSA highlights the important work of these agencies and asks that conferees support the “highest possible funding levels.” The full letter is available on the COSSA website. COSSA has weighed-in in support of other federal agency budgets through our many…
Lawmakers and Advocates Urge Congress to Complete its Work on Behalf of NIH
On November 2, the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, including COSSA, a member of its Steering Committee, sent a letter to House and Senate leadership thanking lawmakers for their “efforts to ensure that a robust, sustained investment in medical research through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a high priority.” A coalition of more than 200 patient and voluntary health groups, medical and scientific societies, academic and research organizations, and industry committed to enhancing the federal investment in biomedical, behavioral, social, and population-based research supported by NIH, the coalition urged Congress to provide at least $34.1 billion for…
COSSA and Coalitions Urge Strong Funding for SBS in Final FY 2017 Funding Negotiations
In preparation for Congress’ return to Washington after the election, several of the coalitions COSSA works through have sent letters to appropriators urging them to pass funding bills rather than a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2017 and to encourage them to preserve funding for the agencies that support social and behavioral science (SBS), including the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (Senate letter, House letter), the National Center for Health Statistics (Senate letter, House letter), the Census Bureau (Senate letter, House letter), and the Institute of Education Sciences. Back to…
Congress in Recess until November 14
Congress has been in recess since passing a stopgap funding bill on September 28, which will keep the government funded until December 9. The House and Senate will both return the week of November 14 for a five-week lame duck session and will be focused funding the government past December 9 and accomplishing other legislative priorities before the 114th Congress adjourns on December 31. Of course, much of this action depends on the outcomes of the elections next month and which party will hold the majority in 2017. See COSSA’s appropriations state-of-play analysis for full details of the fiscal year…
Congress Passes Stopgap Funding Bill, Returns to Campaign Trail
Congress successfully passed a stopgap funding bill on September 28 to keep the government operating into fiscal year (FY) 2017, which began October 1. The bill will fund the government until December 9 and includes a number of policy and funding provisions that have been hotly debated in recent months, including funding to combat the Zika virus and the opioid epidemic, as well as aid in response to the drinking water crisis in Flint, Michigan and flooding in Louisiana. The text of the Continuing Resolution is available here. Congress will reconvene following the elections in November and what happens next…
Lawmakers Poised to Pass Stopgap Funding, Return to Campaign Trail
Members of Congress are hoping to get out of town by the end of the week — a week early — to head back out on the campaign trail. However, at the time of this writing, challenges remain in negotiating a stopgap funding bill to keep the government operating into the next fiscal year, which begins on October 1. Lawmakers had planned to stay in session for the remainder of September, but noted earlier in the month that they were poised to strike a deal on a continuing resolution (CR) by this week, allowing them to head home until after…
Congress Returns with Much Left Undone
Congress returns to work this week for one more stretch before the November elections. This will be the final work period before the current fiscal year (FY 2016) expires on September 30. That means some type of action is needed in the coming weeks to keep the federal government funded and operating come October 1. See COSSA’s analysis of the state of play of FY 2017 Appropriations bills for full details. In addition to action on the annual spending bills (which will undoubtedly result in a continuing resolution punting final action to after the election), Congress will be looking to…
State of Play: FY 2017 Funding for Social Science Research
Congress has adjourned for a seven-week recess and will not be returning to work until after Labor Day. Despite promises for a return to “regular order” in the annual appropriations process, we find ourselves in familiar territory with none of the 12 annual spending bills expected to be enacted into law before the new fiscal year begins October 1. In fact, none of the bills that fund research agencies and programs (the Commerce, Justice Science bill and the Labor, HHS, Education bill) have yet to make it to the House or Senate floors for debate. Upon returning to work in…
Preliminary Details of House Labor-HHS Bill Released
On July 7, the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education (Labor-HHS) Appropriations Subcommittee passed its fiscal year (FY) 2017 appropriations bill for agencies and programs under its jurisdiction, which include the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), Department of Education, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), among others. While text of the draft appropriations bill was released to coincide with the Subcommittee markup, the Committee Report is not expected to be released until the bill is marked up by the full Appropriations Committee on…
Appropriations Process Grinds to a Halt
It was only a matter of time before the fiscal year (FY) 2017 appropriations process ground to a halt in anticipation of the extended summer recess. Tensions came to a head last week with a Democratic sit-in on the House floor in demand of a vote on gun safety legislation, and a 15-hour Democratic filibuster of the FY 2017 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Bill in the Senate to force votes on gun violence-related amendments, which were allowed late in the week. In light of the renewed focus on gun control in the aftermath of the Orlando tragedy, any bipartisan progress…
Senate Presses Forward on 2017 Spending Bills
The Senate Appropriations Committee has been making progress over the last several weeks on its fiscal year (FY) 2017 appropriations bills in an effort to pass as many of the bills as possible before heading home in mid-July for the party conventions and August recess (follow all of the developments on the COSSA website). The FY 2017 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations Bill, which made it out of Committee on April 21, is expected to be on the Senate floor later this week. Stay tuned – COSSA will be closely monitoring the floor debate as this is when we could…
House Bill Includes Flat Funding for NSF, Boosts for NIJ, BJS, and Census
On May 24, the House Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year (FY) 2017 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Bill. This bill serves as the vehicle for annual appropriations for the National Science Foundation (NSF), Census Bureau, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and countless other federal departments and agencies. The Senate Appropriations Committee advanced its version of the CJS bill on April 21. The House bill would provide NSF with a total budget of $7.4 billion in FY 2017, slightly below the FY 2016 level of $7.46 billion. Most notably, the bill does…
Senate Appropriations Committee Approves FY 2017 Agriculture Bill
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved its fiscal year (FY) 2017 spending bill for the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies (S. 2956) on May 19 (the bill had marked up in the Subcommittee earlier in the week). The House passed its version of the legislation (H.R. 5054) in April. So far, neither chamber has scheduled the Agriculture appropriations bill for floor consideration, although given that they are relatively uncontroversial, it would not be surprising to see votes on the floor before the summer recess. The Senate bill would provide the Economic Research Service (ERS) with $86.8…
Senate Bill Seeks Flat Funding for NSF, NIJ for FY 2017
On April 21, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the fiscal year (FY) 2017 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Bill. This bill serves as the vehicle for annual appropriations for the National Science Foundation (NSF), Census Bureau, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and countless other federal departments and agencies. The next step for the CJS bill is consideration on the Senate floor, which has not yet been scheduled. The bill would provide NSF with a total budget of $7.5 billion in FY 2017, flat with the FY 2016 enacted level. Most notably the Senate bill does…