A staple since COSSAās 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.Ā
Register Now: Headlines Webinars continue February 27
On February 27, join COSSA for updates on the latest Congressional actions, President Trump’s Executive Actions, and the federal budget. The webinar will be taking place on February 27 at 1pm EST. Register here. If you missed COSSA’s recent webinar 119th Congress & Trump 2.0: What Does it Mean for Us? you can find the recording and slides here. Headlines is a webinar series available to COSSA member organizations. Watch for additional webinar announcements, and previous webinar recordings, on the COSSA website.
EARLY BIRD PRICING EXTENDED: Social Science Advocacy Day 2025
The stakes for research funding have never been higher as we enter a particularly challenging political and budgetary environment. Social Science Advocacy Day is a must for all stakeholders who care about the fate of federal funding for social and behavioral science research and who believe this research should be used to inform sound public policy. Early bird registration for COSSAās annual Social Science Advocacy Day has officially been EXTENDED! The event will be taking place March 24-25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Take advantage of early bird pricing and register here. If your organization is interested in becoming a sponsor for Social Science Advocacy Day, find…
FY 2025 Appropriations Uncertain as Congress Approaches CR Deadline
Fiscal year (FY) 2025 funding is set to expire on March 14 unless Congress acts. As previously reported, Congress passed a continuing resolution (CR) in December to keep the government funded until March, which is nearly six months into the fiscal year. The first step is for Congressional leaders to agree on topline numbers (see previous COSSA coverage). Following the House Republicans policy retreat in Florida, it was reported that lawmakers are seeking to pass the final appropriations bills before President Trumpās State of the Union Address, which has been scheduled for March 4. However, with the recent federal funding freeze memorandum…
119th Congress Committee Profile: House and Senate Appropriations Committee
As previously reported by COSSA, the House and Senate committee assignments have been announced over the last month. On the House Appropriations Committee, Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) will remain in his role, as will Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), while the Senate Appropriations Committee will see a shift from Democratic majority to Republican majority with Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-ME) and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-WA). The House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) is an important committee to the research community in that it is responsible for securing appropriations for federal agencies important to the research community, such as the National…
President Trump Executive Actions
Trump Administration Actions (all actions available here):
President Trump Rescinds Executive Orders Impacting Executive Personnel Ethics Commitments and Census Parameters
On January 20, 2025, President Trump signed Executive Order 14148 rescinding a series of āHarmful Executive Orders and Actionsā of the Biden Administration, including provisions affecting federal ethics and the census count. President Bidenās Executive Order 13989 required every executive agency appointee to sign an ethics pledge. This commitment prohibited appointeesā connections with lobbyist activities such as receiving gifts and leveraging the ārevolving doorā status of their position to later secure more favorable private and foreign job prospects, until at least two years after their service. Revoking these guidelines, Trump has aligned with his first-term actions, having issued his own 2017 Ethics Commitments before removing those…
Dorothy Fink Chosen to Serve as Acting HHS Secretary; Appoints Matthew Memoli as Acting NIH Director
Dorothy Fink M.D. has been appointed by President Trump to serve as acting Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) as confirmation hearings for the presidential nominee for the position, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., continue. Fink previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Women’s Health and Director of the Office on Women’s Health in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH). Shortly after her appointment, Fink tapped Matthew Memoli, M.D., to serve as acting Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as the Senate works to confirm Jay Bhattacharya (see previous COSSA coverage). Memoli, a National Institute of Allergy and…
Trump Signs Executive Order Dismantling DEI Initiatives in Federal Agencies
On January 21, President Trump signed the Executive Order (EO), Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity. The EO makes bold claims that the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts of past administrations violates the Civil Rights Act of 1964 through adopting ādangerous, demeaning, and immoral race- and sex-based preferencesā that have hindered opportunity for certain groups. This EO has resulted in a massive scale back of DEI initiatives across the federal agencies and the optional scale back of DEI initiatives across U.S. businesses. The directive requires federal agencies to place all federal DEI staff on paid leave with the intent of being…
Executive Action Affecting Federal Agencies
Since President Trump was sworn into office on January 20, several executive actions have been taken that have impacted social and behavioral science (SBS) research, including freezes on hiring federal workers and requiring federal workers to return to the office, a halt on all communications, spending, and travel within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and a memorandum from the White House Office of Budget and Management (OMB) instituting a freeze on federal spending across agencies that was rescinded two days later. As previously reported by COSSA, President Trump signed two Executive Orders (EO) implementing a hiring freeze…
Census Bureau Director Rob Santos Tenders Resignation
On January 30, Census Bureau Director Robert Santos resigned three years into his five-year term. His resignation comes after the House Oversight Committee held a hearing on the Census Bureau on December 5 which largely focused on whether the 2030 Census should include a citizenship question and President Trumpās recent rescission of the Biden Administrationās Executive Order (EO) affirming that the census should count all people, not only citizens, as per the 14th Amendment (see previous COSSA coverage). As a reminder, during his first-term, the Trump Administration attempted to add a citizenship question to the decennial census only for the Supreme Court to…
Ronald Wasserstein Elected COSSA Board Chair
The COSSA Board of Directors has elected Ronald Wasserstein, Executive Director of the American Statistical Association (ASA), as its next chair. His two-year term began January 1, 2025. Ron has led the ASA since 2007 and prior to that served as a faculty member and administrator at Washburn University in Kansas for more than two decades. The American Statistical Association is one of 10 founding organizations of COSSA. “I am honored to serve as chair of the COSSA Board of Directors at this pivotal time for the social sciences,ā said Wasserstein. āWith our robust network of member organizations and partners, COSSA is…
Register Now: Headlines Webinars continue January 30
Earlier this month, the 119th Congress was sworn in at the Capitol. On January 30, join COSSA for an overview on the new Congress and what this means for the social and behavioral sciences community. The webinar will be taking place on January 30 at 1pm EST. Register here. Headlines is a webinar series available to COSSA member organizations. Watch for additional webinar announcements, and previous webinar recordings, on the COSSA website.
EARLY BIRD PRICING: Social Science Advocacy Day 2025
The stakes for research funding have never been higher as we enter a particularly challenging political and budgetary environment. Social Science Advocacy Day is a must for all stakeholders who care about the fate of federal funding for social and behavioral science research and who believe this research should be used to inform sound public policy. Early bird registration for COSSAās annual Social Science Advocacy Day is officially OPEN! The event will be taking place March 24-25, 2025 in Washington, DC. Take advantage of early bird pricing and register here. If your organization is interested in becoming a sponsor for Social Science Advocacy Day, find…
119th Congressional Committee Assignments and Presidential Nomination Hearings Begin
As previously reported by COSSA, the 119th Congress was sworn in early January and has since begun announcing committee assignments, including key committees for the social and behavioral science research community. This includes the House Science and Technology Committee, which has appointed Representative Brian Babin (R-TX) as Chairman, replacing Frank Lucas (R-OK) (see previous COSSA coverage). Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) will remain in her role as expected. On the House Appropriations Committee, Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) will remain in his role, as will Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT). On January 15, Chairman Cole released the Republican roster while Ranking Member DeLauro released the Democratic roster…
Nominations Open for Distinguished Lecturer at the 18th Matilda White Riley Honors
The Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is accepting nominations for an outstanding social-behavioral scientist as candidates for Distinguished Lecturer at the 18th Matilda White Riley Honors. The Matilda White Riley Honors are an annual event recognizing transformative work in the fields of social and behavioral science along with early-career researchers. Nominees should have a research career that has āadvanced behavioral and social scientific knowledge in areas within NIHās mission and that expands upon Dr. White Rileyās work.ā Nominees need not have NIH funding. More information is available on the OBSSR website. Nominee…
President Trump Signs First-Day Executive Orders to End Work from Home Policies and Freeze Hiring for Federal Work Force
On January 20, President Trump, in a series of first-day executive actions, signed an Executive Order (EO) titled “Return to In-Person Work” that requires all federal workers to return to in-person work āas soon as practicableā. This decision comes after the House Oversight Committee held a hearing on The Stay-at-Home Federal Workforce: Another Biden-Harris Legacy on January 15 to investigate the implications of the federal work from home policy. During the hearing, Republican members of the committee expressed concerns that federal policies like the work from home policy were infringing on the power of the Presidential Administration, a concern that has been…
OSTP Issues Anti-Harassment Guidelines for Federal Agencies
In the final days of the Biden Administration, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) releasedĀ Guidelines for Federal Research Agencies to Reduce Sex-Based and Sexual Harassment Involving Award PersonnelĀ in response to theĀ Chips and Science Act of 2022Ā (see previous COSSA coverage). These guidelines include identifying and removing gaps in current sexual harassment policies, improving consistency of policies across federal agencies, and promoting data transparency to support evidence-based policies. In addition to the guidelines presented, the report recommends that legislation be passed to support anti-harassment objectives, including authority for federal agencies to develop a consistent definition of harassment, a…
White House Awards National Medal of Science to Political Scientist
At the beginning of January, President Biden announced the latest recipients of the National Medal of Science and the National Medal of Technology and Innovation, the nationās highest honors in science, engineering, and technology. Both awards were presented at a joint ceremony. Among the recipients of the National Medal of Science was Political Scientist Dr. Martin Larry Bartels, āfor thought leadership that promotes democracy around the world,ā according to his award citation. Bartels, Princetonās Donald E. Stokes Professor in Public and International Affairs, Emeritus, and an emeritus professor of politics, was on the Princeton faculty from 1991 to 2011. He then transferred…
DBASSE to Host Webinar Series on Assessing and Communicating the Quality of National Statistics
The Committee on National Statistics, housed within the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education (DBASSE) at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM), is hosting a three-part series to ādiscuss approaches to characterizing and communicating the quality of national statistics and statistical dataā. As federal statistical agencies work to develop methods to more efficiently release statistical data, the committee will examine ways to communicate federal statistics as well as the quality and recommended uses of federal statistical data with the public as the use of fast response platforms and non-survey data sources grows. The sessions will…
2025 AAPOR Award Nominations are Open
The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) announced that nominations are open for their portfolio of awards to recognize distinguished work in the profession, as well as to further the education of students and early career researchers. AAPOR welcomes and encourages diversity in all aspects of the research profession, including their award nominees. Read more about each award and the submission guidelines on the AAPOR website. Submissions are due February 21, 2025.