Appropriations
COSSA and Partners Advocate for Social Science Funding and Sound Scientific Policies
COSSA has joined with its partner organizations and coalitions on several letters to Congress urging increased funding for social and behavioral science programs and sound scientific policies. Recent letters addressing fiscal year (FY) 2016 funding and scientific conference travel can be viewed here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NIH Appears Before Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
On April 30, National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Francis Collins made his annual appearance before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) to discuss the President’s proposed FY 2016 budget request for the agency. The NIH director was accompanied by several institute directors: Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Douglas Lowy, National Cancer Institute (NCI), Gary Gibbons, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), Jon Lorsch, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), and Tom Insel, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Subcommittee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-MO)…
COSSA and Partners Encourage Strong FY 2016 Appropriations
As Congress begins to consider funding for fiscal year (FY) 2016, COSSA has joined dozens of other organizations and coalitions on letters to appropriators in support of strong levels of funding for the federal agencies that support social and behavioral science research. Check our website for the most updated list of letters COSSA has joined. March 3: $172 million for the National Center for Health Statistics, House/Senate (Friends of NCHS) March 23: $7.8 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC Coalition) March 23: $375 million for the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, House/Senate (Friends of AHRQ) April 2: $633…
Members of Congress Call for Increased FY 2016 Funding for NSF, International Education
In a March 24 letter to the Chair and Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, 136 members of the House of Representatives called for $7.724 billion in funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) for fiscal year (FY) 2016, a funding level COSSA supports. The letter, which was organized by Reps. G.K. Butterfield (D-NC) and David McKinley (R-WV), states, “As our competitors across the globe invest in developing modern and inventive labor forces, our country will fall short if we fail to invest in research now. We must commit to strengthening our research capacities and prepare future generations to…
White House Releases Antibiotic Resistance Action Plan
On March 27, the White House released the National Action Plan for Combatting Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. The Action Plan outlines “federal activities over the next five years to enhance domestic and international capacity to prevent and contain outbreaks of antibiotic-resistant infections; maintain the efficacy of current and new antibiotics; and develop and deploy next-generation diagnostics, antibiotics, vaccines, and other therapeutics.” The plan is consistent with an initiative in the President’s budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2016 that would allocate $1.2 billion to combatting antibiotic-resistance (see COSSA’s analysis). Back to this issue’s table of contents.
House Subcommittee Discusses CDC Budget; Director Questioned on Gun Violence, HIV/AIDS Research
The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies met on March 25 to consider the administration’s fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget proposal for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In attendance was CDC Director Thomas Frieden, accompanied by Beth Bell, Director of the CDC’s National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases, and Anne Schuchat, Assistant Surgeon General and Director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases. Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) praised the CDC in his opening statement for protecting public health in the U.S. and abroad. He…
COSSA Joins Coalitions Requesting Strong FY 2016 Appropriations
As Congress begins to consider funding for fiscal year (FY) 2016, COSSA has joined dozens of other organizations and coalitions on letters to appropriators in support of strong levels of funding for the federal agencies that support social and behavioral science research. Check our website for the most updated list of letters COSSA has joined. February 25: $1.5 billion for the Census Bureau – House/Senate (Census Project) February 27: $29 million for the Bureau of Transportation Statistics March 3: $32 billion for the National Institutes of Health (Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research) March 6: $703.6 million for the Institute…
House Panel Discusses Department of Education’s FY 2016 Budget Request
On March 4, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan appeared before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies to discuss the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request for the Department of Education. Subcommittee Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) opened the hearing by noting the “education of America’s children is critical, not only to prepare them for the workforce, but to strengthen the economic health of our nation as a whole.” Cole noted that he also sits on the House Budget Committee and expressed his hope for a bigger deal between Congress and the Administration…
House Funding Panel Discusses NIH Budget
On March 3, National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Francis Collins and five of the NIH’s 27 Institute and Center directors made their first appearance before the new chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS), Tom Cole (R-OK). Full Appropriations Committee chair Harold Rogers (R-KY) was also in attendance.
House Funding Panel Discusses NSF Budget, Social Science Funding
On March 17, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) held a hearing to discuss the fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget proposal for the National Science Foundation (NSF). The hearing featured testimony from NSF Director France CĂłrdova.
Science Subcommittee Discusses FY 2016 NSF Budget, Social Science Funding
On February 26, the House Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on Research Technology held an oversight hearing to discuss the fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request for the National Science Foundation (NSF). The hearing featured testimony from NSF Director France CĂłrdova and Daniel Arvizu, Chairman of the National Science Board.
COSSA’s Analysis for the President’s FY 2016 Budget Request
President Obama released his fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request to Congress on February 2, officially kicking off the FY 2016 appropriations process. COSSA has released its analysis of the President’s budget request. The 62-page report provides funding details for all federal departments, agencies, and programs important to social and behavioral science research. It outlines the President’s funding proposals as they compare to current (FY 2015) levels. In addition, the document serves as a helpful catalog of social science programs and initiatives across the federal government. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
President’s FY 2016 Budget Request Expected February 2
Reminder: the President’s fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request to Congress will be released on Monday, February 2. The release of the President’s budget serves as the unofficial kick-off to the annual appropriations process. Following its release, the next several weeks and months will see a flurry of Congressional hearings featuring Executive Branch officials on the details of the budget. COSSA will release its analysis of the request as it relates to federal agencies and programs of interest to the social and behavioral science community in the coming weeks. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
President’s FY 2016 Budget Request to Be Released February 2
In an effort to promote a return of the annual appropriations process to “regular order,” the White House announced that it will release its fiscal year (FY) 2016 budget request to Congress by the legally-mandated deadline of the first Monday in February (February 2). This will be the first time in five years that the request is submitted on time; the request was released several weeks late in previous years. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Congress passes FY 2015 Spending Bill, Adjourns for the Year
Congress adjourned this week for the remainder of 2014 after a busy, and often contentious, lame duck legislative session. Among its post-election activities was passage of a spending package for 11 of the 12 outstanding fiscal year (FY) 2015 appropriations bills. The “cromnibus,” as it is being called inside the Beltway, was signed into law by President Obama on December 16. COSSA has prepared a full analysis of the spending package outlining its impact on social and behavioral science research programs funded across the federal government. Read on for full details. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
COSSA and Partners Urge Support for International and Foreign Language Education for FY 2015
On November 19, COSSA joined a Coalition for International Education letter to House and Senate appropriators in support of strong funding levels for the Department of Education’s international and foreign language education programs (Title VI and Fulbright-Hays) as Congress attempts to wrap up funding for fiscal year (FY) 2015. As the letter notes, “Title VI and Fulbright-Hays are the nation’s longest-serving, most comprehensive programs that develop and maintain a strong, world-class foundation for international education and foreign language studies.” Back to this issue’s table of contents.
FY 2015 Funding Bills Approaching December 11 Deadline
As previously reported, the 113th Congress still has more work to do to complete the fiscal year (FY) 2015 appropriations process before adjourning at the end of the month. At the time of this writing, negotiations between House and Senate appropriators and leadership continue, all working toward some form of final agreement to fund the federal government before the current temporary spending measure expires on December 11. Latest reports suggest that an omnibus appropriations bill that consolidates most of the 12 appropriations bills is still the preferred option, but a hybrid approach that includes an omnibus for some bills and…
COSSA & Partners Urge Congress to Complete FY 2015 Omnibus Spending Bill
On November 12, COSSA joined the biomedical and behavioral science community in signing the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research letter to Congress. The letter, which was signed by 303 organizations, urges Congress to “complete an omnibus spending package [that] includes a Labor-HHS-Education bill that restores funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to at least pre-sequestration levels.” The letter also notes, “An omnibus spending bill with a Labor-HHS appropriation restoring NIH to at least pre-sequester funding levels would mark an important step toward a more sustainable, predictable research environment for patients and their families, as well as for…
Scientific Community to Congress: Close the Innovation Deficit
On November 12, COSSA joined 133 partners throughout the scientific, higher education, business and patient communities on a letter to Congress urging passage of an omnibus fiscal year (FY) 2015 appropriations bills addresses the “innovation deficit” by including increased investments for scientific research and higher education. As the letter states, “the innovation deficit is the widening gap between the actual level of federal government funding for research and higher education and what the investment needs to be if the United States is to remain the world’s innovation leader… [T]oday, our leadership faces a serious challenge from other nations that are…
Congress Returns for Lame Duck Session
Congress returned to Washington on November 12 for the start of the post-election lame duck session. Among the must-pass actions in this lame duck session are the fiscal year (FY) 2015 appropriations bills. The current continuing resolution (CR) that has kept the federal government in operation since the start of the fiscal year on October 1 expires on December 11. Leadership and staff of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have been working behind the scenes on an omnibus bill that would package all twelve of the unpassed appropriations measures into a single package. The goal is to bring the…