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.
NIH Requests Comment on Precision Medicine Cohort, Strategies to Address Community Engagement and Health Disparities
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking feedback (NOT-OD-15-107) to help it in creating a national research cohort of one million or more Americans as part of the President’s proposed Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) (see Update, May 19, 2015). The agency is specifically interested in feedback relating to the development and implementation of effective community engagement strategies for the cohort, and the ability to conduct transformative research to address health disparities. The aim is to assemble a “cohort reflective of the rich diversity of the U.S. population.”
NIMHD: Advancing Health Disparities Interventions Through Community-Based Participatory Research
Research supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has resulted in an increasing growth in knowledge of the complexity of the interactive factors influencing health across the life course. There is extensive research evidence that report poorer health outcomes for socially disadvantaged populations, including low-income and racial and ethnic groups. Many community health promotion and disease prevention programs fail for various reasons that include the lack of a participatory approach or cultural sensitivity, despite the recommendation for tailored and multilevel interventions.
The Census Project Sheds Light on the American Community Survey
The Census Project held an informational briefing, The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey: Ten Years of Delivering Data for Smart Decision-Making, on May 27 that focused on the wide use of data from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and the reasons to support keeping the survey mandatory. COSSA was one of the cosponsors of this event.
NIH: The Health of Sexual and Gender Minority Populations
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a funding opportunity announcement (FOA) focused on sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex populations. Participating institutes and offices include: Cancer, Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Deafness and other Communication Disorders, Dental and Craniofacial, Mental Health, Minority Health and Health Disparities, and the Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research.
NIMHD: Building Population Health Research Capacity in the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands
The United States-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) consist of the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Republic of Palau. The U.S. is responsible for the essential operations, health, education, and defense for these jurisdictions. The residents of these jurisdictions are considered to be a U.S. health disparity population. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), however, acknowledges that this geographic region has received very little NIH support to conduct health and health disparities research.
House FY 2016 CJS Bill Advances to the Floor
On May 20, the House Appropriations Committee passed the FY 2016 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations bill by voice vote. Amendments to increase funding for the National Science Foundation and make other improvements to the bill were either defeated or withdrawn. The bill now heads to the House floor. The CJS bill totals $51.4 billion, which is a 2.5 percent increase over the FY 2015 CJS bill. CJS Subcommittee chairman John Culberson (R-TX) noted during the May 14 Subcommittee markup that this amount “is sufficient to fund essential programs.” The bill keeps within the spending caps currently tamping down discretionary spending,…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 9
Featured News House to vote on COMPETES Act Congressional News Analysis of the Draft 21st Century Cures Act House FY 2016 CJS Bill: Preliminary Analysis Federal Agency & Administration News OMB Asks Agencies to Plan for 5 Percent Reductions in FY 2017 PCAST Hears Interim Report on Precision Medicine Initiative NCHS Releases Health, United States, 2014 AHRQ Seeks Nominations for Advisory Council NSF Requests Nominations to Advisory Committees Publications & Community Events NRC Report Offers Guidance on Team Science Funding Opportunities NIH: AIDS Research Center/Developmental Research Centers on Mental Health and HIV/AIDS Events Calendar View the archived email.
House to vote on COMPETES Act
The House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1806) tomorrow, May 20. The bill, which authorizes funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and other science agencies, has faced criticism from the scientific community. COSSA has published an analysis of the bill, as well as a statement opposing it. Click here to read all of our COMPETES coverage. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Analysis of the Draft 21st Century Cures Act
On May 14, the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee approved by voice vote its discussion draft of the 21st Century Cures Act. An amendment to an earlier discussion draft was introduced by full committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO), Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA), full committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), and Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Gene Green (D-TX). The bipartisan amendment incorporated federal agency and scientific community feedback to a draft bill the preceding day. The legislation is scheduled to be considered by the full Energy and Commerce Committee the week of May…
OMB Asks Agencies to Plan for 5 Percent Reductions in FY 2017
Although Congress is just beginning the process of working to enact fiscal year (FY) 2016 appropriations for federal agencies and programs, agency officials are beginning their work on the FY 2017 budget request. In a memo from Shaun Donovan, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), federal agencies have been advised to prepare their FY 2017 budget proposals with a five percent reduction below the net discretionary total provided in the FY 2016 President’s budget request. The scenario is meant to assist the Administration in its efforts to “deliver a Government that is more effective, efficient,…
NCHS Releases Health, United States, 2014
The National Centers for Health Statistics (NCHS) has released the 2014 edition of its annual report, Health, United States, which compiles data on Americans’ health, including life expectancy, fertility, disease prevalence, use of health care, and health expenditures. The 2014 edition includes a special feature on adults aged 55-64—baby boomers who are about to become eligible for Medicare, and whose aging is expected to have a significant impact on the U.S. health care system. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
AHRQ Seeks Nominations for Advisory Council
The National Advisory Council for Healthcare Research and Quality, which advises the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), is seeking nominations for new members to serve terms beginning in spring 2016. The Council is interested in individuals whose background includes: “(1) The conduct of research, demonstration projects, and evaluations with respect to health care; (2) the fields of health care quality research or health care improvement; (3) the practice of medicine; (4) other health professions; (5) representing the private health care sector (including health plans, providers, and purchasers) or administrators of health care delivery systems; (6) the fields of…
NIH: AIDS Research Center/Developmental Research Centers on Mental Health and HIV/AIDS
The Division of AIDS Research (DAR) within the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking applications for Center Core grants to support an HIV/AIDS Research Center (ARC) (PAR-15-197) and applications to support Developmental AIDS Research Centers (D-ARC) (PAR-15-196). ARC supports innovative, interdisciplinary research in the areas of basic research, neuro-AIDS, behavioral and social, integrated biobehavioral, clinical, translational, and implementation science. D-ARC provides infrastructure support that facilitates the development of high impact science in HIV/AIDS and mental health that is relevant to the NIMH mission. NIMH’s intent is to support research that addresses…
Events Calendar
NSF Education and Human Resources Advisory Committee Meeting, Arlington, VA, May 19-20, 2015 Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, May 28-31, 2015 OBSSR 20th Anniversary Celebration, Bethesda, MD, June 23-25, 2015 OBSSR Capitol Hill Exhibition & Reception, Washington, DC, June 24, 2015 American Psychological Association Annual Convention, Toronto, Canada, August 6-9, 2015 Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Madison, WI, August 6-9, 2015 American Statistical Association Joint Statistical Meetings, Seattle, WA, August 8-13, 2015 American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, August 22-25, 2015 A list of COSSA members’ annual meetings and other events can be found on the COSSA website….
PCAST Hears Interim Report on Precision Medicine Initiative
On May 15, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) received an interim report on the President’s proposed Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI). Opening the meeting, PCAST co-chair and director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) John Holdren discussed the ongoing budget process and the challenges associated with the FY 2016 budget. Despite these challenges, Holdren noted, there are a number of exciting initiatives in progress, including the Precision Medicine Initiative.
NRC Report Offers Guidance on Team Science
Given the increasing number of scientists engaged in collaborative research, referred to as “team science,” the National Research Council (NRC) appointed the Committee on the Science of Team Science, chaired by Nancy J. Cooke, Arizona State University, to conduct and release a consensus study to provide guidance for these science teams or groups. The study was funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Elsevier, and the final report, entitled Enhancing the Effectiveness of Team Science, was released on April 24.
NSF Requests Nominations to 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. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
House FY 2016 CJS Bill: Preliminary Analysis
On May 13, a draft of the fiscal year (FY) 2016 House Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Bill was publicly released in anticipation of the CJS Subcommittee markup scheduled for Thursday, May 14. This is the bill that provides annual appropriations to the National Science Foundation (NSF), Census Bureau and other statistical agencies, and the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). [It should not be confused with the NSF reauthorization (COMPETES) bill that we have also been reporting on in recent weeks.] Outlined below are preliminary details on the contents of the draft bill as it pertains to…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 8
Featured News Anti-Science COMPETES Bill Heads to House Floor COSSA in Action COSSA and Partners Advocate for Social Science Funding and Sound Scientific Policies Congressional News NIH Appears Before Senate Appropriations Subcommittee House Energy and Commerce Committee Releases Second Version of 21st Century Cures Draft Federal Agency & Administration News ACS to Retain Marriage, Field of Degree Questions Proposed for Elimination White House Seeks Input on Using Science and Technology to Improve the Lives of Older Americans Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable Named Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities Funding Opportunities NIH: NIMHD Seeking Input for Health…
COSSA and Partners Advocate for Social Science Funding and Sound Scientific Policies
COSSA has joined with its partner organizations and coalitions on several letters to Congress urging increased funding for social and behavioral science programs and sound scientific policies. Recent letters addressing fiscal year (FY) 2016 funding and scientific conference travel can be viewed here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.