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
BLS Technical Advisory Committee Accepting Nominations
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Technical Advisory Committee is accepting nominations to fill five upcoming vacancies. The Committee advises the Bureau on technical aspects of data collection and the formulation of economic measures and makes recommendations on areas of research. BLS is interested in candidates who have a strong familiarity with BLS data and economic statistics. Nominations should be submitted by January 5, 2018. More information is available in the Federal Register notice. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
APA Seeking Congressional and Executive Branch Fellowship Applications
The American Psychological Association (APA), a COSSA governing member, is accepting applications for its 2018-2019 Congressional and Executive Branch Fellowships. The APA Congressional Fellowship Program provides two psychologists each year with the opportunity to spend a year working as special legislative assistants in a Senate or House office. The APA Executive Branch Fellowship Program gives psychologists the opportunity to spend a year working within a federal agency working on issues related to science policy and research administration. More information about both programs is available on the APA website. Applications for both fellowships are due by January 5, 2018. Back to…
AERA Offering Congressional Fellowship Opportunity
The American Educational Research Association (AERA), a COSSA governing members, is inviting education researchers to apply for its 2018 Congressional Fellowship Program. The program offers doctoral scientist from any field of education research the opportunity to spend as year as a resident scholar within a Congressional office. Â More information is available on the AERA website. Applications are due by December 15, 2017. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
Events Calendar
Friends of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Happy Hour, December 13, 2017, Washington, DC The Lunch @ DC:Â Trust, Engagement, and Governance: Democracy from the Bottom-Up, December 14, 2017, Washington, DC Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting, January 3-6, 2018, San Diego, CA Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting, January 4-7, 2018, New Orleans, LA Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting, January 4-7, 2018, Salt Lake City, UT American Historical Association Annual Meeting, January 4-7, 2018, Washington, DC American Economic Association Annual Meeting, January 5-7, 2018, Philadelphia, PA Society for Social Work and Research Annual Meeting, January 10-14, 2018, Washington,…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 36 Issue 23
Featured News Save the Date: 2018 COSSA Science Policy Conference and Social Science Advocacy Day â April 30 & May 1 COSSA in Action SRCD Answers âWhy Social Science?â Congressional News Budget Deal to Raise Spending Caps in Negotiation; Senate Releases Remaining Appropriations Bills Federal Agency & Administration News Administration Considering Controversial Pick for Census Deputy Director Jeffrey H. Anderson Appointed BJS Director National Endowment for the Humanities Releases 2018 Summer Programs for Teachers Publications & Community Events National Academies Requests Nominations for Study on the Well-Being of Military Families COSSA Member Spotlight ASA Accepting Applications for Science Policy Fellowship…
Save the Date: 2018 COSSA Science Policy Conference and Social Science Advocacy Day â April 30 & May 1
COSSAâs 2018 Science Policy Conference and Social Science Advocacy Day will take place on April 30 and May 1, 2018 in Washington, DC. The Conference brings together COSSA members and other stakeholders for a day of discussion about federal policy impacting our science followed by the only annual, coordinated advocacy day in support of all of the social and behavioral sciences. Early bird registration will open later in December. More details will be posted on the Conference webpage as they are made available. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
Budget Deal to Raise Spending Caps in Negotiation; Senate Releases Remaining Appropriations Bills
Congressional leaders have indicated over the past few weeks that they plan to extend the current continuing resolution under which the government is operating past its December 8 expiration date. Extending the continuing resolution will give Congress more time to wrap up fiscal year (FY) 2018 appropriations and reach a deal to raise spending caps. According to the latest reports, Congressional Republicans are proposing an increase of $54 billion in defense spending and $37 billion in nondefense spending, which includes federal science agencies, for the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years. While the House of Representatives completed its work on the…
Administration Considering Controversial Pick for Census Deputy Director
The Trump Administration is reportedly considering naming Thomas Brunell, a political science professor at the University of Texas, Dallas, as the next Deputy Director of the Census Bureau. The pick has raised concerns for Census stakeholder groups both because Brunell has no prior government experience and would be the top operations official overseeing the decennial census, the governmentâs biggest non-wartime operation, and because his selection would appear to politicize what has historically been a non-political position. Brunell has testified on behalf of Republican redistricting efforts and is the author of a 2008 book called Redistricting and Representation: Why Competitive Elections…
Jeffrey H. Anderson Appointed BJS Director
The Trump Administration has announced that it intends to appoint Jeffrey H. Anderson as director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the principal statistical agency housed within the Department of Justice. Anderson most recently served as Director of the Department of Health and Human Servicesâ Office of Health Reform, after his appointment was announced in May 2017. He is a former Hudson Institute Senior Fellow and co-founder of the 2017 Project, a conservative policy organization. Anderson hold a Ph.D. in political science from Claremont Graduate University. The position of BJS Director does not require Senate confirmation, so Anderson can…
National Endowment for the Humanities Releases 2018 Summer Programs for Teachers
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has released information about its 2018 tuition-free summer programs, which it offers each year to provide an opportunity for K-12, college, and university educators to study a variety of humanities topics. These programs focus on specific topic, texts, and questions in the humanities and promote connections between teaching and research in the humanities. Additionally, the NEH offers stipends to help cover the cost of travel and living expenses for these one- to four-week programs. The applications for summer 2018 programs are due March 1, 2018. More information and a list of topics is…
National Academies Requests Nominations for Study on the Well-Being of Military Families
The Board on Children, Youth, and Families of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is requesting nominations for experts to serve on a new consensus committee to study the Well-Being of Military Families. The consensus study will examine the challenges and opportunities facing families of service members and identify effective strategies are already known for supporting and protecting military children and families. The Board seeks experts in military children and families, stress development and resilience, family interactions, mental and social support services, and military systems. Nominations are due by Friday, December 1, 2017. More information can be found…
ASA Accepting Applications for Science Policy Fellowship
The American Statistical Association (ASA), a COSSA governing member, is accepting applications for its 2018 Science Policy Fellowship. The fellowship is a full-year postdoctoral-level position, renewable for a second year, that offers fellows the opportunity work to advocate for statistics and experience first-hand how federal science policy is formed. More information is available on ASAâs website. Applications are requested by December 31. Back to this issueâs table of contents.
Events Calendar
American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, November 29-December 3, 2017, Washington, DC The Lunch @ DC:Â Race, Class, and Politics in the Cappuccino City, December 7, 2017, Washington, DC Annual NIH Behavioral and Social Sciences Research Festival, December 8, 2017, Bethesda, MD The Lunch @ DC:Â Trust, Engagement, and Governance: Democracy from the Bottom-Up, December 14, 2017, Washington, DC Association of American Law Schools Annual Meeting, January 3-6, 2018, San Diego, CA Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting, January 4-7, 2018, New Orleans, LA Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting, January 4-7, 2018, Salt Lake City, UT American Historical Association Annual Meeting, January…
COSSA Washington Update, Volume 36 Issue 22
Featured News House and Senate Release Bipartisan Evidence-Based Policymaking Bill COSSA in Action The American Sociological Association Answers âWhy Social Science?â Congressional News Lamar Smith, Sen. Jeff Flake Announce Retirement GOP Tax Plan Could Hurt Students, NDD Programs Federal Agency & Administration News NSF Seeking to Fill Two Top Social Science Posts Alex Azar, Former Pharmaceutical Executive, Nominated to Lead HHS Linda Capuano Nominated as Head of Energy Information Administration OBSSR to Host Annual Research Festival on December 8 NIA Releases Request for Information on Challenge Prize for Alzheimerâs Research Publications & Community Events National Academies Calls for Better Integration…
House and Senate Release Bipartisan Evidence-Based Policymaking Bill
On November 1, members of the House and Senate introduced the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act, the âdown-paymentâ legislation that would enact some of the less complicated (and less controversial) recommendations of the report from the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking (see COSSAâs coverage and statement). The bill was introduced in the House by Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) as H.R. 4174 and cosponsored by Representatives Blake Farenthold (R-TX), Trey Gowdy (R-SC), and Derek Kilmer (D-WA), and in the Senate by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) as S. 2046 and cosponsored by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI). The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform…
Rep. Lamar Smith, Sen. Jeff Flake Announce Retirement
Senator Jeff Flake (R-AZ), a prominent fiscal hawk and critic of President Trump, announced on October 24 that he would not be seeking reelection. In a passionate speech on the Senate floor, Flake criticized the disregard for truth and decency in political discourse. Flake has fought the expansion of the federal government during his tenure, which included issuing âwaste books” that critiqued federal spending, including research grants. Flake joined the Senate in 2013 and will serve until January 2019. Less ceremoniously, on November 2, Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX), Chair of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, announced his…
GOP Tax Plan Could Hurt Students, NDD Programs
Several provisions contained in the tax plans rolled out by Republican leadership this month have raised concerns for stakeholder groups that do not normally weigh in on tax policy. The Houseâs plan, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (H.R. 1) was approved by the Ways and Means Committee on November 9 and is expected to be debated on the House floor later this week. The Senate Finance Committee began its markup of  the Senate plan on Monday and will continue its consideration of the bill today. There are significant differences between the two plans that would need to be worked out during…
NSF Seeking to Fill Two Top Social Science Posts
The National Science Foundation (NSF) has initiated a national search for Assistant Director for the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) Directorate. Dr. Fay Lomax Cook has served in this position since September 2014. The Assistant Director for SBE will oversee the directorate, which includes the Division of Behavioral and Cognitive Sciences, the Division of Social and Economic Sciences, the SBE Office of Multidisciplinary Activities, and the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. The search committee is seeking candidates with outstanding leadership capabilities; a deep sense of scholarship; a grasp of the issues facing the social, behavioral, and economic…