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.
Events Calendar
Friends of the Social and Behavioral Sciences Happy Hour, December 13, 2017, Washington, DC The Lunch @ DC: 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 – April 30 & May 1 COSSA in Action SRCD Answers “Why Social Science?” 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 – April 30 & May 1
COSSA’s 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 issue’s 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 government’s 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 Services’ 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 ASA’s website. Applications are requested by December 31. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
Events Calendar
American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting, November 29-December 3, 2017, Washington, DC The Lunch @ DC: 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: 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 “Why Social Science?” 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 Alzheimer’s 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 “down-payment” legislation that would enact some of the less complicated (and less controversial) recommendations of the report from the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking (see COSSA’s 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 “waste 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 House’s 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…
Alex Azar, Former Pharmaceutical Executive, Nominated to Lead HHS
President Trump has nominated Alex Azar to lead the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), which would include oversight of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), among other federal agencies. Azar served as general counsel and deputy secretary to the Department under the George W. Bush administration and served as the president of Lilly Co., part of the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Co., until earlier this year. Azar’s nomination comes following former HHS Secretary Tom Price’s resignation after news surfaced of improper use of private jets for government…
Linda Capuano Nominated as Head of Energy Information Administration
Linda Capuano, energy technology fellow at the Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Center for Energy Studies at Rice University, has been nominated to lead the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the principal statistical agency located within the U.S. Department of Energy. Prior to joining the Baker Institute, Capuano worked at Marathon Oil Corporation and Solectron Flextronics. She holds a Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from Stanford University. EIA’s most recent Administrator, Adam Sieminski, left the agency in January. John Conti, EIA’s Deputy Administrator is currently serving as Acting Administrator. Capuano’s nomination next goes to the Senate for a confirmation hearing…
OBSSR to Host Annual Research Festival on December 8
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) is hosting the “NIH Behavioral and Social Science Research Festival: Connecting People to Advance Health” on Friday, December 8. The festival will bring together behavioral and social scientists from inside and outside NIH to network, collaborate, and share ideas. The agenda will include a keynote address from Dr. Eliseo Perez-Stable of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities as well as plenary sessions on international research, behavioral neuroscience, and social factors and health. This event will not be webcast. More details and registration information…