NSF
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…
NSF Accepting Applications for Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences Position
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is accepting applications for the position of Deputy Division Director in the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences (BCS) within the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE). The Deputy Division Director will serve as a member of the BCS leadership team and as the “principal spokesperson in the area of behavioral, cognitive, anthropological and geographic sciences.” More information can be found at USAJOBS. The deadline for applications is June 3, 2016, though applications may be accepted afterwards to ensure a pool of qualified applicants is identified. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
National Science Board Elects New Leadership
On May 24, the National Science Board (NSB) announced that Maria Zuber and Diane Souvaine will serve as the Board’s new Chair and Vice Chair, respectively. Zuber has been a member of the NSB, the governing body for the National Science Foundation (NSF), for four years and is the vice president for research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Zuber’s research includes planetary geophysics and space-based laser and radio systems. Souvaine has been a member of the NSB for two years, is the vice provost for research at Tufts University, and conducts research in computational geometry. Zuber and Souvaine will…
Senate Committee Discusses U.S. Science Investments; COMPETES Bill Expected Soon
On May 11, the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation held a hearing entitled, “Leveraging the U.S. Science and Technology Enterprise.” The Committee heard from a panel of experts in science and engineering representing the university and private sectors. The hearing was designed to inform the Committee’s efforts as it works to reauthorize the America COMPETES Act, which is legislation originally enacted in 2007 to bolster U.S. investment in basic scientific research. The Committee has oversight jurisdiction for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other basic science agencies. Read on for full details and check out COSSA’s complete coverage…
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…
NSF Seeks Nominations for Advisory Committees
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has issued its annual call for recommendations for membership to its various advisory committees and technical boards. These committees advise NSF’s offices and directorates on program management, research direction, and policies impacting the agency. Committees of particular interest to the COSSA community include the Advisory Committee for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences and the Advisory Committee for Education and Human Resources. Recommendations for membership are maintained for 12 months. See the Federal Register notice for details on how to submit names. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
House and Senate Get Moving on 2017 Spending Bills
More than a dozen markups and hearings are scheduled this week for House and Senate Appropriations committees and subcommittees. Appropriators are moving ahead with writing their respective fiscal year (FY) 2017 appropriations bills, despite no agreement on top-line funding levels by way of a budget resolution. You will recall that a bipartisan budget deal was struck back in October, which provided for an extra $30 billion (of a $1.1 trillion total federal budget) in discretionary spending—split evenly between defense and nondefense—in FY 2017. However, the most conservative wing of the GOP in the House are digging in their heels, demanding…
COSSA Submits FY 2017 CJS Testimony
COSSA has submitted its annual Outside Witness Testimony to the House and Senate Appropriations Subcommittees on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS). COSSA’s testimony for fiscal year (FY) 2017 addresses the need for strong funding of the National Science Foundation, Census Bureau, National Institute of Justice, and Bureau of Justice Statistics. Click here to read testimony submitted to the House, and here for the Senate. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Members of Congress Submit Funding Requests for Social and Behavioral Science Agencies
Over the past several weeks, Members of Congress have been signing their names to “Dear Colleague” letters, formal requests to the House and Senate appropriations committees for specific funding levels for various federal agencies. COSSA has been tracking letters in support of strong funding for the agencies important to the social and behavioral sciences on our funding updates page. COSSA appreciates the efforts of all of the Members who have signed on to the letters below: House & Senate letters on FY 2017 appropriations for HEA-Title IV/Fulbright-Hays International Education and Foreign Language Studies programs House letter on FY 2017 appropriations…
More than 300 Social Science Students Selected as NSF Graduate Research Fellows
The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently announced the 2,000 winners of the annual Graduate Research Fellowship (GRF) program competition. Among the 2016 winners are 311 social and behavioral science researchers from across the U.S. The GRF program provides three years of financial support over a five-year fellowship period for graduate study that leads to a master’s or doctoral research degree in a STEM field, including social science. It is one of NSF’s flagship programs aimed at fostering the next generation of the STEM workforce and ensuring diversity within the workforce. The 2,000 awardees were chosen from about 17,000 total applications….
House Science Committee Discusses FY 2017 NSF Budget; Social Science Highlighted
On March 22, the House Science, Space and Technology Subcommittee on Research and Technology held an oversight hearing to discuss the fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget request for the National Science Foundation (NSF). NSF Director France Córdova and Chair of the National Science Board, Dan Arvizu, testified before the Subcommittee. Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-VA) chaired the hearing. In his opening statement, Ranking Member Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), a PhD political scientist, expressed the importance getting more people to understand the critical role NSF plays, especially across all disciplines of science. In addition, and noting that the discussion could turn to the…
Social Science Advocates Take Capitol Hill
On March 16, about 50 social and behavioral science researchers, stakeholders, and advocates met with their Members of Congress to advocate in support of fiscal year (FY) 2017 funding for federal agencies and programs that support social and behavioral science research. Despite the system-wide shutdown of the DC Metro, advocates from 14 different states made it to Capitol Hill to discuss the value of this research and why it is in the national interest. Materials used to help articulate these messages can be found on the COSSA website, including fact sheets on COSSA’s FY 2017 funding requests. Back to this…
House Subcommittee Discusses FY 2017 NSF Budget, Funding for All Disciplines of Science
On March 16, the House Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee held a hearing on the fiscal year (FY) 2017 budget request for the National Science Foundation (NSF), featuring NSF Director France Córdova. Subcommittee Chairman John Culberson (R-TX) opened the hearing by expressing the subcommittee’s longtime support for NSF and basic research, while noting the need to be “exceptionally good stewards” of taxpayer dollars given the tough budgetary environment. As previously reported, the President’s budget request for NSF includes $400 million in one-time mandatory funding, which Chairman Culberson said is “not going to happen.”
“National Interest” Bill Passes the House
Despite opposition from many in the scientific community and a veto-threat from the White House, the House of Representatives passed the Scientific Research in the National Interest Act (H.R. 3293) on February 10 by a vote of 236-178. The bill, which is sponsored by Chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee Lamar Smith (R-TX), seeks to set a definition for federally-funded research conducted in the “national interest.” The language of the bill was derived from Sec. 106 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1806), which passed the House in May despite wide-spread, vocal opposition from…
President Unveils FY 2017 Budget Request, Kicks Off Annual Funding Battle
The Obama Administration has started releasing details of its final budget request to Congress. Full details of the request for fiscal year (FY) 2017 will continue to roll out over the coming days. COSSA is preparing an in-depth analysis of the request as it pertains to social science programs across the federal government. It is important to note that the President’s request for FY 2017 includes new mandatory spending at several agencies, which would largely account for the increases to these agencies. Details so far include: The National Science Foundation (NSF) would receive nearly $8 billion in FY 2017 (including…
NSF Releases 2016 Science & Engineering Indicators
The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) at the National Science Foundation (NSF) has released the 2016 edition of Science and Engineering Indicators. The congressionally-mandated report is produced under the guidance of the National Science Board (NSB) presents a collection of data “relevant to the scope, quality, and vitality of the science and engineering (S&E) enterprise.” The full report and additional resources are available on the S&E Indicators website. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NSF Director Thanks Community for Support in FY 2016
In her most recent newsletter, National Science Foundation (NSF) Director France Cόrdova reviewed the final funding outlook for NSF for fiscal year (FY) 2016 and thanked NSF advocates for their support in combating attempts to place restrictions on the agency’s funding: “Your strong support of NSF during this last year reinforced the importance of NSF’s mission to the nation and ensured that science, and scientists, will continue to drive where we fund research. With your help, language regarding directorate-specific allocations was not included in the final Consolidated Appropriations Act.” Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Documenting Endangered Languages Webinar – January 19
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) will hold a free webinar in January 19 to provide details on the joint NSF/NEH Documenting Endangered Languages (DEL) program. The webinar is intended for researchers who are considering submitting a proposal to the program; the next deadline for DEL proposals is September 15, 2016. Registration is required for participation. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Analysis of the FY 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Bill and Implications for Social and Behavioral Science Research
On December 15, House and Senate negotiators unveiled their final fiscal year (FY) 2016 omnibus appropriations bill, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (H.R. 2029), which includes all 12 of the individual appropriations bills and totals $1.15 trillion. Congress passed another short term continuing resolution (CR) on Wednesday to allow enough time for the House and Senate to pass the massive spending bill and for the President to sign it, which he has indicated he would. Policymakers now have until December 22 to achieve final passage. Assuming the House can pass the bill on Friday-which will require the support of several…
NSF Defends Research Targeted in GOP Waste Reports
Two reports released in recent weeks by Republican policy makers point to hundreds of federally-funded activities they deem to be wasteful and unworthy of taxpayer support. Included in the reports are peer-reviewed research projects supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health (NIH). Sen. James Lankford’s (R-OK) Federal Fumbles claims to identify “100 ways the government dropped the ball,” poking fun at six NSF grants and two NIH grants, among dozens of other projects. A second report was released just last week by Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Wastebook: The Farce Awakens. Flake’s report is said to…