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 Appears Before Senate Appropriations Subcommittee
On April 30, National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Francis Collins made his annual appearance before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS) to discuss the President’s proposed FY 2016 budget request for the agency. The NIH director was accompanied by several institute directors: Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Douglas Lowy, National Cancer Institute (NCI), Gary Gibbons, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), Jon Lorsch, National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), and Tom Insel, National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Subcommittee Chairman Roy Blunt (R-MO)…
House Energy and Commerce Committee Releases Second Version of 21st Century Cures Draft
On April 29, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations released the second iteration of the Committee’s 21st Century Cures bill (see Update, February 24, 2015). The latest draft is a collaborative effort by Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO), Energy and Commerce full committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Health Subcommittee Chairman Joe Pitts (R-PA), and Health Subcommittee Ranking Member Gene Green (D-TX). The new version of the discussion draft would authorize the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for three years (FY 2016 through FY 2018), and increase its funding level by…
ACS to Retain Marriage, Field of Degree Questions Proposed for Elimination
The Census Bureau will retain several questions in the American Community Survey (ACS) originally identified for removal: Person Question No. 12, undergraduate field of degree, and Person Question Nos. 21-23, which are related to marital history. The questions were proposed for elimination as part of the Bureau’s 2014 Content Review of the ACS and were released to the public for comment in the fall (see Update, November 3, 2014). COSSA objected to the removal of these questions in a written comment, as did many other organizations in the scientific community. According to Census’ request to the Office of Management and…
White House Seeks Input on Using Science and Technology to Improve the Lives of Older Americans
In preparation for the 2015 White House Conference on Aging, the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Domestic Policy Council are seeking input on science and technology initiatives that can improve the quality of life for older Americans. Examples of such activities might include: Expanded university and industry research and development to address challenges associated with aging Educational programs that help designers create “person-centered” products and services for older Americans Efforts to promote an “innovation ecosystem” for older Americans, which might involve accelerators, incubators, well-designed incentive prizes, and mechanisms for researchers and entrepreneurs to get rapid feedback…
Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable Named Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities
On April 28, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Francis S. Collins announced the selection of Eliseo J. Pérez-Stable, M.D. as Director of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). He is expected to join NIH in September. Currently at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), Pérez-Stable is a professor of medicine, chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine, and director of the Center for Aging in Diverse Communities. He is also director of the UCSF Medical Effectiveness Research Center for Diverse Populations, which is addressing issues for African Americans, Asians, and Latinos in the…
NIH: NIMHD Seeking Input for Health Disparities Science Vision
The National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) serves as the focal point for the agency’s conduct of research, research training, capacity-building, and outreach dissemination of minority health and health disparities. NIMHD recently initiated a scientific planning process in collaboration with the NIH institutes and centers designed to define a vision that will guide the development of “the science of health disparities research for the next decade and identify key research areas that should be given high priority because knowledge in those areas might inform translational efforts that could have a…
NIH: Input Sought on Precision Medicine Cohort
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking feedback from the scientific community via a Request for Information (RFI): NIH Precision Medicine Cohort (NOT-OD-15-096) to guide it in creating a longitudinal cohort of one million or more Americans who have volunteered to participate in research as part of the President’s proposed Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI) (see Update, April 21, 2015). Specifically, the agency is seeking information on characteristics, purpose, or other overall aspects in the development and implementation of a large U.S. precision medicine cohort. As participants in PMI, individuals will be asked to give consent for extensive characterization of…
APA Briefing Explains the Psychology behind False Confessions
The American Psychological Association (APA), a COSSA governing member, held a Congressional briefing on April 29, in conjunction with the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) Exhibition. The briefing featured Saul Kassin, Distinguished Professor of Psychology at John Jay College of Criminal Justice (also a COSSA member), who spoke about his research on false confessions. Kassin observed that it is often difficult for people to understand why someone would admit to a crime they did not commit. However, in his analysis of a database of convictions overturned by DNA evidence, Kassin found that more than a quarter of the wrongly…
Events Calendar
National Science Board Meeting, Arlington, VA, May 5-6, 2015 2015 Daniel Patrick Moynihan Lecture, Washington, DC, May 7, 2015 NSF Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Advisory Committee Meeting, Arlington, VA, May 13-14, 2015 American Association for Public Opinion Research Annual Conference, Hollywood, FL, May 14-17, 2015 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…
Anti-Science COMPETES Bill Heads to House Floor
On April 23, the House Science, Space and Technology Committee passed along party lines (19 Republicans to 16 Democrats) the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1806). According to Committee Chairman and sponsor of the legislation Lamar Smith (R-TX), H.R. 1806 is a “pro-science and fiscally responsible bill.” It prioritizes basic research at the National Science Foundation (NSF), Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), while keeping funding levels within Congressionally-set discretionary spending limits. For NSF, the bill would increase funding for the Biological Sciences (BIO), Engineering (ENG), Mathematical and Physical Sciences (MPS), and Computer…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 7
Featured News House COMPETES Bill Targets Social Science Federal Agency & Administration News NIH Appoints Working Group for Precision Medicine Initiative AHRQ 2014 Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report Shows Improved Overall Quality and Access, Lingering Disparities BTS Releases Annual Report Funding Opportunities NIH: Collaborative Innovation Award, Clinical and Translational Science Award Program COSSA Member Spotlight PAA/PRB Briefing Explores the Changing Landscape of Marriage Events Calendar View the archived email.
NIH: Collaborative Innovation Award, Clinical and Translational Science Award Program
The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is inviting applications to stimulate innovative collaborative research in the NCATS Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) consortium. Because translating biomedical discoveries into clinical applications is essential to improving health and at the same time a complex process with high costs and substantial failure rates, the CTSA hubs are designed to promote advances in translational research and training at participating medical research institutions. NCATS recently released a funding opportunity announcement (FOA), Collaborative Innovation Award, Clinical and Translational Science Award Program (PAR-15-172), to enable collaboration among…
PAA/PRB Briefing Explores the Changing Landscape of Marriage
The Population Association of America, a COSSA governing member, and the Population Reference Bureau, also a COSSA member, held a congressional briefing on April 17 called “The Vow Factor: Marriage, Divorce and Family Formation & their Impact on Health and Well-Being.” COSSA was a co-sponsor of the briefing. Moderated by Robert Moffitt of Johns Hopkins University, the briefing featured presentations on trends and consequences of changes in marriage and parenthood. Andrew J. Cherlin, Johns Hopkins University, gave a presentation on the education-based gap in the marriage rate. Lisa Berkman, Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, discussed how single motherhood…
Events Calendar
Association of American Geographers Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, April 21-25, 2015 Society of Behavioral Medicine Annual Meeting & Scientific Sessions, San Antonio, TX, April 22-25, 2015 Population Association of America Annual Meeting, San Diego, CA, April 30-May 2, 2015 American Association for Public Opinion Research Annual Conference, Hollywood, FL, May 14-17, 2015 Law and Society Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA, May 28-31, 2015 OBSSR 20th Anniversary Celebration, Bethesda, MD, June 23-25, 2015 A list of COSSA members’ annual meetings and other events can be found on the COSSA website. COSSA members who have an upcoming event they would like to see listed in…
NIH Appoints Working Group for Precision Medicine Initiative
In March, National Institutes of Health (NIH) director Francis Collins appointed a team of individuals to serve on the Advisory Committee to the NIH Director (ACD) Working Group on the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI). The Working Group is expected to host public meetings to seek public input into the development of President Obama’s proposed Precision Medicine Initiative. This group will help the NIH define “what can be learned from a study of this scale and scope, what issues will need to be addressed and considered as part of the study design, and what success would look like five and ten…
House COMPETES Bill Targets Social Science
On April 15, House Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith introduced the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1806). This is legislation to reauthorize the National Science Foundation (NSF). The bill is scheduled for a markup by the full House Science, Space, and Technology Committee on Wednesday, April 22. While there are some noticeable changes from the bill that the scientific community rallied against last year (known as the FIRST Act), the new bill, authored by Science Committee Chairman Lamar Smith, continues to challenge the value of social and behavioral science research and restricts NSF’s ability to drive its own research agenda. COSSA strongly opposes…
AHRQ 2014 Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report Shows Improved Overall Quality and Access, Lingering Disparities
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released its congressionally mandated report to Congress on the status of health care quality and disparities in the U.S. In past years, this information has been released as two separate reports (the National Healthcare Quality Report and the National Healthcare Disparities Report). For 2014, AHRQ has chosen to combine the two into the National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report (QDR). The agency believes that combining the reports “highlights the importance of examining quality and disparities together to gain a complete picture of health care.” The 2014 report is shorter and more…
BTS Releases Annual Report
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) has released its 2013 Transportation Statistics Annual Report (TSAR), which provides detailed information on the U.S. “transportation system, the system’s performance, its contributions to the economy, and its effects on people and the environment.” The congressionally mandated report provides detailed information and identifies data gaps on the extent of the U.S. transportation system, its physical condition, how it moves people and goods, its performance, transportation economics, transportation safety, the energy and environment, and the state of transportation statistics. The scope of the report is large: the U.S. transportation system is valued at $7.7 trillion…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 34 Issue 6
Featured News COSSA Remembers Janet Norwood COSSA in Action COSSA and Partners Encourage Strong FY 2016 Appropriations Congressional News Members of Congress Call for Increased FY 2016 Funding for NSF, International Education House Subcommittee Discusses CDC Budget; Director Questioned on Gun Violence, HIV/AIDS Research Federal Agency & Administration News Nominations Sought for USPSTF Members White House Releases Antibiotic Resistance Action Plan National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Strategic Visioning Initiative Seeks Scientific Community’s Input RFI: Proposed Funding Priorities for Neuroscience Research, Input on High Impact and Cross-Cutting Opportunities RFI: Optimizing Funding Policies and Other Strategies to Improve the Impact and…
COSSA Remembers Janet Norwood
The social science and statistical communities lost a friend on March 27, Janet L. Norwood. Norwood was a former Commissioner of Labor Statistics (1979-1991), having served Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan during her 13 year tenure. As one of few women serving in the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the time and the first to lead the agency, Norwood was an inspiration and mentor to many professional women in Washington. She served as COSSA President from 2001-2002. In addition to her service to COSSA, Norwood also held advisory and leadership positions with the American Statistical Association, NORC at the…