FY 2026
House LHHS Appropriations Subcommittee Holds NIH Budget Hearing
On November 19, the House Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education (LHHS) Appropriations Subcommittee invited Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the Hill for a budget hearing. Normally, these hearings are scheduled prior to the appropriations bills being written—typically in the spring—but the House Appropriations Committee released their LHHS bill in July without holding a single hearing (see COSSA’s analysis here). Despite the unusual sequence of events, Chairman Robert Aderholt (R-AL) and Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) were interested in the NIH’s budget and investments, and how to restore trust in science. Chairman Aderholt,…
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…