A staple since COSSAâs 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.Â
Register Now: Headlines Webinar this Thursday
On January 29, join COSSA for the first Headlines webinar of the year. The COSSA Staff will cover recent key policy updates and what the future holds for advocacy in 2026. Register now and join the conversation. Headlines is a webinar series available to COSSA member organizations. Watch for additional webinar announcements, and previous webinar recordings, on the COSSA website.
Social Science Advocacy Day: Prices Increases NEXT WEEK!
COSSAâs annual Social Science Advocacy Day is BACK and will take place March 23-24, 2026 in Washington, DC! This annual event brings together social and behavioral science researchers, faculty, students, association professionals, and other advocates from across the country. Together, we’ll meet with elected officials in Congress to discuss the value of our sciences and the importance of federal funding. Register now to take advantage of early bird pricing and don’t forget to check out our sponsorship opportunities (some including free regsitrations). Early Bird Prices expire this Friday, January 30.
House Narrowly Passes Latest Appropriations Package for Science Agencies
As previously reported, the House and Senate passed a three-bill package earlier this month that included fiscal year (FY) 2026 funding for federal science agencies, including the National Science Foundation (NSF), Census Bureau, Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). COSSAâs in-depth analysis of the CJS bill can be found here. Late last week, the House passed a separate four-bill package that contains the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) appropriations billâwhich provides funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Institute of Education Sciences…
Kratsios Defends Federal AI Standards in House Science Committee Hearing
On January 14, Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) Director Michael Kratsios defended the Trump Administrationâs federal standards on artificial intelligence (AI) in front of the House Science, Space, and Technology (SST) Committee. As previously reported, the Trump Administration unveiled Winning the Race: Americaâs AI Action Plan last year, which outlines future federal policy actions designed to ensure the U.S. is a leader in global AI development across scientific, practical, and creative uses. Notably, Congressional members raised concerns about the Administrationâs restriction of stateâs ability to pass laws on AI development and usage, which was passed as a provision in the Big, Beautiful Bill…
NIH Requests Public Input on New Human Data Protection Policies
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking public comment on a proposed update to its human research data policies, including a new NIH Controlled-Access Data Policy and revisions to the NIH Genomic Data Sharing (GDS) Policy. According to the request for information (RFI), the goal is to strengthen privacy and security protections, clarify requirements, and reduce duplicative burdens across NIH programs. The proposed Controlled-Access Data Policy would define which human participant data must be shared through controlled-access systems, including personal identifiers, genomic and other âomicsâ data, health and financial information, facial imaging, and individual-level clinical trial data. It would also establish consistent security and…
Monica Bertagnolli Elected President of the National Academy of Medicine
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) announced that Monica Bertagnolli, former director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has been elected as the Academyâs next president. Bertagnolli’s six-year term will begin on July 1, 2026. She was elected as a member of the NAM in 2021 and will be the first woman to serve as president of the NAM since its establishment as the Institute of Medicine in 1970. Previously, Bertagnolli served as director of the National Cancer Institute before becoming director of the NIH and earlier held academic and clinical leadership roles at Harvard Medical School/Brigham and Womenâs Hospital and…
Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar Named New Director of the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS)
On January 15, Stanford University’s Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) announced Mariano-Florentino CuĂ©llar as their new Director. CuĂ©llar served as a Chair of the Board of Directors from 2016 to 2021, until he began his tenure as President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He holds a B.S. from Harvard, a law degree from Yale, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from Stanford. Previously, he also served as a Justice of the Supreme Court of California, taught law and political science at Stanford University, and served on the Presidentâs Intelligence Advisory Board and the U.S. Department of…
Register Now: First Headlines of 2026!
On January 29, join COSSA for the first Headlines webinar of the year. The COSSA Staff will cover recent key policy updates and what the future holds for advocacy in 2026. Register now and join the conversation. Headlines is a webinar series available to COSSA member organizations. Watch for additional webinar announcements, and previous webinar recordings, on the COSSA website.
Social Science Advocacy Day: Register Now for Informational Webinar
COSSAâs annual Social Science Advocacy Day is BACK and will take place March 23-24, 2026 in Washington, DC! This annual event brings together social and behavioral science researchers, faculty, students, association professionals, and other advocates from across the country. Together, we’ll meet with elected officials in Congress to discuss the value of our sciences and the importance of federal funding. Early Bird Registration is open! Register now to take advantage of early bird pricing and don’t forget to check out our sponsorship opportunities (some including free regsitrations). Curious about Social Science Advocacy Day 2026? Join us for an informational webinar! We will be hosting a session…
Congress Returns from Two-Week; Appropriations Front and Center
As previously reported by COSSA, Congress closed out 2025 with a continuing resolution (CR) that ended a historic 43-day government shutdown and punted the appropriations deadline for fiscal year (FY) 2026 to January 31. While there were rumors of a potential second year-long CR for FY 2026, Congress returned from their two-week recess with agreements on final funding levels for several remaining bills. Last week, House and Senate leaders released a three-bill package that includes the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) billâwhich provides funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the National Institute…
ICYMI: House Investigations and Oversight Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Research Security
On December 18, the House Science, Space, and Technology (SST) Subcommittee on Investigations and Oversight held a hearing titled, Research Security: Examining the Implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act and NSPM-33. Witnesses included Dr. Rebecca Keiser, Acting Chief of Staff, National Science Foundation (NSF); Dr. Daniel Evans, Assistant Deputy Associate Administrator for Research, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); Dr. Patricia Valdez, Chief Extramural Research Integrity Officer, National Institutes of Health (NIH); and Mr. Jay Tilden, Director of the Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Subcommittee Chairman Rich McCormick (R-GA), joined by House SST Chairman Brian…
Congressional Shake-Ups in the New Year
Following a year of unexpected federal workforce reductions, budget cuts and grant cancellations, and political uncertainty, lawmakers have returned for the second session of the 119th Congress with the 2026 midterm elections looming this November. Several Members of Congress have unexpectedly resigned, including Representative Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA) following a public fall-out with President Trump in 2025. Other members have announced their retirement at the end of the term, including Senators Thomas Tillis (R-NC) and Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who both have publicly opposed the Trump Administration. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), who has served in Congress for 39 years and made…
CRS Reports Explain Recent Changes to NIH Grantmaking
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) recently released reports explaining some of the notable changes in grants policy at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). CRS is a component of the Library of Congress and is required by law to provide Members of Congress and staff with timely, confidential, and nonpartisan research and analysis on issues of national policy, as requested. Reports do not provide policy recommendations, but instead, ensure that Members of Congress are given the best possible information on which they can base policy decisions. While directed at Congress, many CRS reports are publicly available and can serve as…
President Trump Executive Actions
Trump Administration Actions (all actions available here): Find COSSA’s full list of Trump’s Executive Actions and more information here or on the Social Science Space Tracker.
Latest from the White House (January 13)
In December, the White House released the Presidentâs Management Agenda (PMA). Administrations have been issuing PMAs since the George W. Bush presidency in 2001. The agendas represent the Presidentâs strategy for improving the management and performance of the federal government by identifying specific goals and metrics. Its signature feature has been a scorecard that tracks progress by each federal agency across several measures, such as human capital or budget performance. Each Administration puts their own spin on the PMA; however, they have traditionally built off their predecessorâs agendas to ensure continuity in government improvement. However, the Trump Administrationâs PMA released last month reads…
ICYMI: New Executive Order Takes Aim at State AI Laws
On December 11, the White House issued its latest Executive Order (EO) related to artificial intelligence (AI), Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence. The order states its aim to allow companies to innovate by eliminating âcumbersome regulationâ at the federal level through the establishment of a âminimally burdensome national policy framework for AI.â Until national standards governing AI can be established, the EO directs the Attorney General to form an âAI Litigation Task Forceâ responsible for identifying and challenging state laws that appear inconsistent with the federal policy. Through the evaluation the Task Force will be looking for state laws…
NSF Seeks Input on New Tech Labs InitiativeâDue January 20
The National Science Foundation (NSF), through its Technology, Innovation and Partnerships (TIP) Directorate, has launched a new initiative aimed at accelerating âpractical research with real-world applications.â Tech Labs will support research, development and innovation (RDI) teams âfocused on overcoming persistent barriers to the commercialization of emerging technologies.â According to the announcement, these teams âwill focus on technical challenges and bottlenecks that traditional university and industry labs cannot easily solve on their own.â NSF is seeking public input through a request for information. Comments are due January 20. In addition, NSF is hosting an informational webinar on January 14 (register here).
National Science Board Releases Anticipated Merit Review Report
As previously reported, the National Science Board (NSB), which is the policy-making body of the National Science Foundation (NSF), created a Commission on Merit Review in 2023 to take a fresh look at NSFâs current merit review criteria and make recommendations for potential improvement or modernization. After several delays, the Commission released its report on December 17. The report, Merit Review for a Changing Landscape, contains an in-depth evaluation of NSFâs longstanding review process and makes several recommendations, including: The release of the NSB report comes on the heels of new Merit Review rules that took effect December 15, 2025. Among the changes announced…
PAA Holds Congressional Briefing on U.S. Fertility Trends
On December 10, the Population Association of America (PAA), a COSSA governing member, and the Association of Population Centers (APC) hosted a Congressional briefing, âU.S. Birth Rate Trends: Patterns, Drivers, and Implications for U.S. Families.â The in-person event drew interest from almost 100 registrants representing the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, National Institutes of Health, Government Accountability Office, National Academies of Science, Congressional Research Service, a range of scientific and health stakeholder organizations, and the media. The event was moderated by Dr. Jennifer Sciubba, President and CEO of the Population Reference Bureau, and featured presentations by Dr. Karen Benjamin Guzzo, Director…