A staple since COSSA’s earliest days, the biweekly COSSA Washington Update newsletter provides members and the public with comprehensive coverage of policy developments impacting social and behavioral science research.
COSSA Releases Full Analysis of FY 2025 House Appropriations Bills for Federal Science Agencies
Over the last several weeks, appropriators in the House of Representatives have been considering funding legislation for fiscal year (FY) 2025, which beings October 1. This is the first appropriations cycle under the leadership of Appropriations Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK). As previously reported, the year began with an understanding that the FY 2025 appropriations process was going to be an especially difficult one. Thanks to strict budget caps set last year for FY 2024 and FY 2025, discretionary spending is once again on the chopping block. The caps as currently set have the potential to further decimate agency budgets, especially…
Save the Date: NIH Town Hall with COSSA on August 29!
In early June, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), in partnership with the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) Chair Robert Aderholt (R-AL), released a framework outlining potential reforms for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) (see previous COSSA coverage). Since this framework was released, there has been a lot of conversation about the future of NIH and what this framework would look like in action. On August 29 at 12pm EST, join COSSA Staff for an informal conversation about recent developments and the proposed framework. Keep an eye on your inbox…
House Passes Twelve Bills through Appropriations Committee; Senate Releases Subcommittee Allocations
The House and Senate appropriations process is well underway for fiscal year (FY) 2025, with the House having completed and passed all twelve bills through the House Appropriations Committee, and looking to pass all twelve on the floor before August recess begins (see previous COSSA coverage). On the other side of the Capitol, the Senate is pushing forward with their respective bills, having released subcommittee allocations and passing three of its bills through the Senate Appropriations Committee on July 11. The House is rumored to vote the week of July 29 on the two bills that fund federal science agencies….
The Census Bureau Requests Public Input on Timeline for New Race and Ethnicity Standards
The Census Bureau, is requesting public input on the timeline of introducing the new race and ethnicity standards to the American Community Survey (ACS) outlined in the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Statistical Policy Directive No.15 (SPD 15) (see previous COSSA coverage). The request for information (RFI) is seeking to understand the impacts of implementing the new standards in 2026, for dissemination of the ACS in 2027, versus 2027, for dissemination of the ACS in 2028. Comments can be submitted here, or emailed to acso.pra@census.gov with the subject line “ACS SPD 15,” prior to the August 12 deadline.
White House Issues Research Security Guidelines to Agencies and ‘Covered Institutions’
On July 9, the Biden Administration issued a memorandum on Guidelines for Research Security Programs at Covered Institutions. The document provides guidance to federal research agencies as they implement research security certification requirements set by National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM)-33, the hallmark research security policy that has been in development since early 2021, and the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022. Under these acts, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is responsible for “developing a ‘standardized requirement’ for ‘uniform implementation’ across federal research agencies.” This latest memo serves as that standardized requirement. Informed by input received from inside and outside the…
Good Science Project Seeks Proposals on Improving Funding and Practice of Federal R&D
The Good Science Project, a non-profit that seeks to improve the funding and practice of research and development (R&D), is seeking proposals from the public on actionable steps that government leaders and policymakers can take to positively reform R&D. The Good Science Project was developed in 2022 by Stuart Buck following the COVID-19 pandemic highlighting the positives and negatives of the current science funding model within the federal government. To this end, the Good Science Project intends to publish a series of policy briefs from researchers and scientists on ways to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of federal R&D, including but not limited to identifying…
NASEM Seeking Experts for Consensus Study on Education for Thriving in a Changing Climate
The Board on Science Education (BOSE) at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) is seeking nominations for experts to appoint to an ad hoc committee for the development of the new Consensus Study on Education for Thriving in a Changing Climate. NASEM has developed this new ad hoc committee in response to rising global climate change and an interest in understanding human decision-making in the face of this changing climate. The committee will “examine evidence relating to how education can play a role in helping individuals and communities understand and respond to the impacts of changing climate.” With the use…
Save the Date: AAPSS 2024 Moynihan Lecture
This fall, The American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS), a COSSA member, will award the 2024 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Prize to acclaimed public interest attorney and scholar Bryan Stevenson. The annual Prize is intended to honor those who have “promoted the use of sound analysis and social science research in policymaking, while contributing to the civil discourse in society.” Each year, the winner of the Moynihan Prize delivers the Daniel Patrick Moynihan Lecture on Social Science and Public Policy in Washington, DC. Stevenson will deliver this year’s lecture on November 18 and the lecture will be followed by a conversation between…
Population Scientists Discuss Maternal Mortality on Capitol Hill
On July 22, the Population Association of America (PAA), in cooperation with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American Statistical Association (ASA), Association of Population Centers, March of Dimes, Population Reference Bureau, and Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD), sponsored its annual in-person briefing on Capitol Hill, “Maternal Mortality in America: Understanding the Challenges and Crafting Population Based Solutions.” PAA, ASA, and SRCD are COSSA governing member organizations. The briefing featured a panel of experts who addressed not only nuances in data regarding U.S. maternal mortality trends, but also addressed potential policy recommendations. The speakers’ presentations also underscored…
COSSA Releases Preview of FY 2025 House Spending Bills Analysis
In late June, the House Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Subcommittee marked up and reported out their bill that funds the National Science Foundation (NSF), U.S. Census Bureau, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and other agencies. The House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (LHHS) Subcommittee also considered its bill, which is responsible for funding the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other HHS agencies, the Department of Education, and the Department of Labor. COSSA is preparing a full analysis of the bills, which are being considered by the full…
CJS and LHHS Bills Move to House Appropriations Full-Committee Mark-Ups; Senate to Begin Appropriations
As previously reported by COSSA, the House Appropriations Committee has kept to their earlier released appropriations schedule and is expected to finish marking up all twelve of its bills this week. The House Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) bill, which funds the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institute of Justice (NIJ), Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and the U.S. Census Bureau, is expected to be marked up on July 9 (watch live here) and the House Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) bill, which provides appropriations for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and other…
Supreme Court Overturns 1984 Chevron Decision
On June 28, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the 1984 Chevron decision. The Chevron deference doctrine was established by the ruling in Chevron U.S.A v. Natural Resources Defense Council, and granted federal agencies the ability to interpret ambiguous federal laws. Chevron allowed the federal government increased flexibility in addressing issues relating to many sectors, including the environment, public health, and workplace safety. By a 6-3 majority, the Chevron doctrine was overturned in the Supreme Court’s decision on Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) released an in-depth statement highlighting the implications of this verdict. With the courts increasingly shifting power…
OSTP Provides Update on Estimated Open Access Publishing Costs
In June, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) released an update to a November 2023 Report to Congress on Financing Mechanisms for Open Access Publishing of Federally Funded Research (see previous COSSA coverage). The report responds to a directive included in the final fiscal year (FY) 2024 appropriations bill requiring OSTP to provide additional information with respect to financing mechanisms for open access publishing of federally funded research, as well as potential impacts of federal public access policies on peer review and research integrity. OSTP provided initial cost estimates to Congress in 2022 and late 2023. This latest report provides: additional information on…
NASEM Pioneers the State of Science Address with President Marcia McNutt
On June 26, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) hosted The State of Science Address, launching the annual discussion on the status of science, technology, engineering, and medicine (STEM) in the U.S. During her opening remarks, President of the National Academy of Sciences, Marcia McNutt, discussed the decline of the STEM workforce and interest in research and development (R&D) in the U.S., including declines in published research articles and the development of high-quality drugs and patents compared to global counterparts, as well as the perceived fall of U.S. global leadership, citing that only eight percent of Americans believe the…
American Statistical Association Releases “The Nation’s Data at Risk” Report
On July 9, The American Statistical Association (ASA), in partnership with George Mason University, hosted a webinar and released a report focused on assessing the health of the principal federal statistical agencies. This webinar provided an overview of the most comprehensive and current assessment of the challenges facing the nation’s most vital statistics and the report detailed the findings and recommendations from the project team. The team assessed the health of federal statistical agencies regarding professional autonomy, support from their parent agency, sufficiency of their budget and staffing, challenges and opportunities for data quality and innovation, and engagement with data…
House Moves on Appropriations Bills Ahead of Fourth of July Recess; CJS and LHHS Bills Expected this Week
As previously reported by COSSA, the fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget process is underway as Congress looks to complete funding bills before the House and a third of the Senate embark on the campaign trail. The House is moving forward with multiple spending bills this week as expected. The House Appropriations committee has already passed six of twelve bills in full-committee, including Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies, Defense, Financial Services and General Government, Homeland Security, Legislative Branch, and State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs. On June 26, the House Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Subcommittee is…
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair McMorris Rodgers Releases Framework for NIH Reform
Earlier this month, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), in partnership with the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) Chair Robert Aderholt (R-AL), released a framework outlining potential reforms for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A one-pager on the framework can be found here as well as an opinion piece written by Chairs McMorris Rodgers and Aderholt. Chair McMorris Rodgers has also announced her intent to not seek re-election this November. The framework comes after a series of recommendations, including Senator Bill Cassidy’s (R-LA) white paper on NIH reform released in May (see previous COSSA coverage) and…
NIH Issues RFI on Draft Public Access Policy
On June 18, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) issued a request for information (RFI) to obtain public comments on the NIH Draft Public Access Policy. The RFI is also seeking feedback on two supplemental draft guidance documents pertaining to government use license and rights, and costs for publications. The draft NIH policy responds to the August 2022 memorandum issued by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) announcing new requirements for federal agencies to make peer-reviewed publications resulting from federal funding freely available to the public immediately following publication. NIH previously sought input into the development of their policy in February 2023….
NCER Opens Applications for Two Competitions
The National Center for Education Research (NCER), a center within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in the Department of Education, announced they are seeking applications for two competitions: “From Seedlings to Scale” and “Research Networks Focused on Critical Problems of Education Policy and Practice” (see previous COSSA coverage). Through the “From Seedlings to Scale” program, IES plans to invest in innovative products, policies, and processes within a particular focus area. Their three-phase plan will allow ideas to grow from seedlings to scalable solutions. Applications are now available for Phase One where teams will define a problem, refine a solution, and build…