COSSA Washington Update

To keep its constituency informed, the Consortium produces a biweekly newsletter, the COSSA Washington Update, that covers:

• Federal policies and debates relevant to social and behavioral scientists
• Sources of federal support for research
• The administration’s funding request for each fiscal year in a special budget issue

Subscribe to the COSSA Washington Update newsletter

Volume 32 Index

November 12, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 19

• COSSA Holds Colloquium: Warren Pledges Support, Marrett Announces Political Science Changes, Silver Reflects on 30 Years at COSSA
• Colloquium: Senator Elizabeth Warren: "Social and Behavioral Research is a Key Part of Finding the Answers" to Many Questions Facing America
• Colloquium: Marrett Explains Challenges for NSF and a Resumption of the Political Science Program's Proposal Review
• Colloquium: Silver Reviews Thirty Year Career at COSSA
• Colloquium: Lawrence Tabak: Challenges for NIH
• Colloquium: Changes at Census
• Colloquium: America's Political Institutions in Trouble
• Colloquium: How We Live Now: Societal Changes
• Colloquium: Changes Regarding Race in America
• Colloquium: The Press and Social Science
• NSF Announces Policy Regarding Political Science Program
• George F. Koob Named Director of NIAAA
• Senate HELP Committee Holds Hearing on "Attaining a Quality Degree: Innovations to Improve Student Success"
• The Nation's Report Card: 2013 Mathematics and Reading, Grades 4 and 8
• NCHS Releases Interactive Health, U.S. 2012 Website

October 21, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 18

• Still Time to Register for the COSSA Colloquium
• Government Reopens: Congress Continues to Seek Budget Solutions
• NSF Back in Business: Marrett Decries Funding Lapse
• NIH Works to Deal with Backlog Due to Shutdown
• NCHS Is Back: New Data on Obesity Prevalence
• DBASSE Convenes Policy Roundtable of the Behavioral and Social Sciences
• DBASSE Committee on Population Meets; Discusses Current Studies
• Too Much Evidence to Ignore: New Findings on the Impact of Quality Preschool at Scale
• APHA Holds Briefing on Disabilities Treaty
• PCORI Launches Community-building "Pipeline to Proposal" Awards
• Call for Proposals on the Effectiveness of Torture Prevention
• COSSA's New Staff Member

October 7, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 17

• Register Now for the 2013 COSSA Colloquium: November 4 and 5
• Congressional Briefing: What's Ailing America? Shorter Lives, Poorer Health
• National Academies Workshop Explores Earth at 10 Billion People
• APOR Report Examines Polling and Democracy
• Vera Institute Releases Report on Effect of Stop and Frisk Police Tactics on Young People in New York City
• Research on the Health Determinants and Consequences of Violence and its Prevention, Particularly Firearm Violence: Applications Wanted
• Center for Evaluation and Coordination of Training and Research in Tobacco Regulatory Science
• Doris Duke Fellowships for the Promotion of Child Well-Being Invite Applications
• IHDP Urbanization Project Seeks Conference Proposals

September 23, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 16

• Marrett, Tabak, and Thompson to Speak at COSSA Colloquium
• Senate Panel Questions Nominees to OSTP and NOAA
• Scientific Solutions to Meth Addiction Discussed at House Hearing; Smith and Lipinski Note Role of Social and Behavioral Sciences
• House Oversight Holds Hearing on 2020 Census
• NSF and NEH Continue Support for Documenting Endangered Languages
• Enhancing Reproducibility and Transparency of Research Findings
• Jon R. Lorsch Presides Over 153rd Meeting of National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council
• NICHD Begins to Implement Vision
• Alvin Roth Receives Golden Goose Award
• AAU Issues Statement of Support for the Social and Behavioral Sciences
• IOM and NAS Release Workshop Summary on Incarceration and Health
• NSF Seeking Nominations for Waterman Award
• Applications Wanted for NCHS/AcademyHealth Health Policy Fellowship

September 9, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 15

• Registration Now Open for COSSA Colloquium on Social and Behavioral Science and Public Policy: November 4 and 5, 2013
• Congress Returns: Debate over Syria Postpones FY 2014 Spending Decisions
• Joanne Tornow Now Acting AD for SBE
• Richard Kronick, Political Scientist, Appointed New AHRQ Director
  COSSA Executive Director Receives APSA's Frank Goodnow Award
• Steven Rathgeb Smith new APSA Executive Director
• Proceedings of NAS Workshop on the National Children's Study Released
• Gallup, PDK Poll the Public's Attitudes toward the Public Schools
• NCHS Roundup: Linked Mortality Files, Prescription Sleep Aids, Alcohol-Related Emergency Room Visits, Birth Data, and Family Planning
• NSF and NOAA Provide Opportunity for Social and Behavioral Scientists
• NSF Seeks Proposals for Innovation Corps Program

August 5, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 14

• In This Issue
• COSSA Seeks New Executive Director
• France Cordova Nominated as Next NSF Director
• NSF Political Science Program Cancels Proposal Target Dates for Rest of 2013
• NIH 101: Former NIH OER Director Wendy Baldwin Provides Briefing to Congressional Staff
• Congress Leaves for August Recess: Appropriations System in "Total Chaos"
• Senate Confirms Thompson as New Census Director
• OMB Suggests Agencies Learn How to "Harness" Research Findings from the Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Senate Commerce Committee Wants Study of Video Games and Programming
• Members of Congress Tell NIH Director to Continue Funding of Social, Behavioral and Economics Research
• Representatives Request GAO Study of Gender Bias in STEM Fields
• CDC Reports on Firearm Homicides and Suicides in Metropolitan Areas
• IOM Presents Webinar on UN Post-2015 Development Report
• Child Marriage Subject of UNFPA Briefing
• Clinical Trial of a Multifactorial Fall Injury Prevention Strategy in Older Persons
• Short Courses on Innovative Methodologies in the Behavioral and Social Sciences
• Editor's Note

July 22, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 13

• Save the Date
• FY 2014 Funding Recommendations Emerge from Appropriations Committees for NSF, Census, NIH, and Other Agencies
• FY 2014 Appropriations: National Science Foundation Receives Increase from Both Committees
• FY 2014 Appropriations: NIJ and BJS
• FY 2014 Appropriations: BEA and Census
• FY 2014 Appropriations: Senate Bill Provides $31 Billion to NIH
• FY 2014 Appropriations: International Education Up; Special Education Research Boosted
• FY 2014 Appropriations: Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Census Nominee Faces Friendly Committee
• NSF Updates Impact of Sequestration
• NIH Releases Annual Report on Well-Being of Nation's Children and Youth
• The CTSA Program at NIH: Opportunities for Advancing Clinical and Translational Research - IOM Report Makes Recommendations
• USDA to Establish Regional Climate Hubs
• New NCHS Data on Racial Disparities in Life Expectancy
• Briefing Looks at Prescription Drug Abuse
• Science and Human Rights Coalition Meets on Right to Benefit from Scientific Progress
• Daniel Kahneman Adds Inaugural SAGE-CASBS Award to his Prize Collection
• Applications Wanted for Secondary Analyses of Alcohol and Chronic Disease
• Implications of New Digital Media Use for Underage Drinking-Related Behaviors and Prevention Research
• High Priority Behavioral and Social Research Networks

July 8, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 12

• FY 2014 Appropriations Process Moves Forward
• Agriculture Bills Reflect House-Senate Differences
• NSF Publishes FY 2013 Current Plan Numbers
• SMRB Assesses the Value of Biomedical Research; Gets New Charge
• Sound Science Integral to Obama's Climate Plan
• President Nominates Katherine O'Regan to lead HUD's Policy and Research Office
• Howard Shelanski New Head of OIRA
• Results of "The Nation's Report Card" Released for 2012
• NAS Committee on Law and Justice Holds Roundtable on Crime Trends
• Webinar Focuses on Native American Male Health Disparities
• Hamilton Project Hosts Forum on Economic Mobility and Expanding College Opportunity
• American Evaluation Association Joins COSSA

June 24, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 11

• NIH: Exploring New Approaches to Optimizing Peer Review
• Labor Markets after the Great Recession
• COSSA Congressional Briefing Discusses Aging in Rural America
• National Academies Committee on Law and Justice Forum on Reforming Juvenile Justice
• NAS Committee on Law and Justice Holds Seminar on Cannabis: Legal and Policy Questions and Research Opportunities
• Congressional Neuroscience Caucus Briefing on Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies for Brain Research
• Arts and Sciences Academy Produces Report on Humanities and Social Sciences
• NSF Wants Proposals Assessing Impacts of Changes in Federal Science Policy
• Strategies for Building a Diverse Scientific Workforce: A Congressional Briefing

June 10, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 10

• Save the Date: COSSA Colloquium on Social and Behavioral Science and Public Policy, November 4-5, 2013, Washington, DC
• Silver to Leave COSSA at End of 2013
• NSF Issues Statement on Implementing the Coburn Amendment
• NCHS Releases Annual Health, United States Report
• IOM/NRC Committee Reports on Priorities for Research to Reduce the Threat of Firearm-Related Violence
• NRC Workshop Evaluates the Risks of Natural Gas Fracking
• Congressional Briefing Discusses Research to Improve Math and Science Scores

May 28, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 9

• Attacking and Defending Science: It's Been a Busy Month
• FY 2014 Appropriations Process Begins: House and Senate on Different Paths
• NIH Appears Before Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services to Discuss FY 2014 Budget
• SBE Advisory Committee Meets; Youth Violence, Future of Surveys, and Science of Learning Discussed
• NORC President John Thompson Nominated to Lead Census Bureau
• Administration Issues Open Data Policy
• NCHS Board of Scientific Counselors Meets
• New NCHS Reports: Health Behavior of Adults and Teen Birth Rates
• AHRQ Releases 2012 National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Reports
• Congressional Briefing on Social Science Research on Disasters
• IOM and NRC Panel Meets to Help Set an Agenda for Public Health Research on Firearm-Related Violence
• William Julius Wilson, Harvard Scholar and Former COSSA President, Awarded Moynihan Prize
• Commerce Secretary Blank Helps IWPR Celebrate 25th Anniversary
• Coalition for National Science Funding Holds Annual Exhibition: Social/Behavioral Sciences Well Represented

May 13, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 8

Proposed FY 2014 Budgets for Social and Behavioral Science --Reflecting Stephen Stills' great song, the budget process continues to be a clear as mud! For what it's worth, according to the Budget and Control Act of 1974, the President is supposed to reveal his spending plan for the following fiscal year on the first Monday in February. Although previous presidents have ignored this deadline, particularly at the start of a term, President Obama waited until April 10 to release his proposals for FY 2014. Part of the delay could be attributed to the fact that the FY 2013 appropriations process did not finish until the end of March 2013, six months into the fiscal year. In the meantime, both the House and Senate budget committees passed FY 2014 budget resolutions in mid-March. The problem is that the House set overall discretionary spending at $967 billion and the Senate at $1.053 trillion. Attempts to reconcile this difference have not yielded any results so far. While all this has been going on, the agencies are still reeling from the imposition of the across-the-board cuts known as sequestration, as well as some policy riders attached to the final FY 2013 appropriations bill.

The President's proposed FY 2014 budget requests $3.778 trillion in spending, which includes the mandatory programs such as Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, and others not subject to the annual appropriations process, interest on the very large national debt, and discretionary spending. Under the President's proposal non-defense discretionary spending would be at its lowest level as a percent of GDP since the Eisenhower era in the 1950s. The Administration expects the annual deficit to decline significantly to 4.4 percent of GDP. Early indications from the Treasury Department suggest that the FY 2013 deficit may also see a reduction due to increased revenues from the tax increase enacted at the end of 2012. The President also declared that the sequester scheduled for FY 2014 would not occur under his proposed budget.

April 15, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 7

• President Obama Releases FY 2014 Budget
• Coburn Fallout and the Troubles Ahead
• Capitol Hill Briefing Discusses the Contributions of Economics Research to Health
• Assessing the Value of Research in Advancing National Goals
• BBCSS Workshop Explores Next Generation of Individual and Group Assessment
• Two New NCHS Data Reports: Premarital Cohabitation and Prescription Drug Costs
• COSSA Joins the April 8th Rally for Medical Research: "More Progress, More Hope, More Life"
• Research on Comparative Effectiveness and Implementation of HIV/AIDS and Alcohol Interventions
• Applications Wanted for Alcohol Use Disorders: Treatment, Services, and Recovery Research
• Innovation Research Methods: Prevention and Management of Symptoms in Chronic Illness
• NIDA Mentored Clinical Scientists Development Program Award in Drug Abuse and Addiction
• Addressing Health Disparities in NIDDK Diseases: Applications Wanted
• Drug Abuse Dissertation Research Awards Available
• Editor's Note

March 25, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 6

• Coburn Amendment Restricts NSF Political Science Funding
• Congress Completes FY 2013 Appropriations Process
• NSF Director's Farewell Appearance with Congress
• Causes and Correlates of Youth Violence Discussed at CJS Hearing
• COSSA Testifies to House CJS Appropriations Panel
• COSSA-Led Collaborative Releases Enhancing Diversity Report
• Changes to the Common Rule: The Implications for the Social and Behavioral Sciences
• NSF Seeks Proposals on Use and Functioning of the Civil Justice System
• COSSA Joins More Than 150 Organizations to "Rally for Medical Research" on April 8th in Washington
• NIH Office of Disease Prevention Seeks Input on Strategic Plan
• OppNet Seeks Revision Applications for Basic Social and Behavioral Research on Social, Cultural, Biological, and Psychological Mechanisms of Stigma
• Home and Family Based Approaches for the Prevention and Management of Overweight or Obesity in Early Childhood

March 11, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 5

• House Passes FY 2013 Appropriations Bill to Keep Government Open Past March 27; Senate Action This Week
• Duplication, Sequestration Main Themes of Appropriations Hearing with Public Health Research Agencies
• House Panels Hold Hearing on Cybersecurity; Hear About Importance of Human Behavior Research
• Ed Sondik to Leave NCHS
• AHRQ Report Identifies 22 Ways to Make Health Care Safer
• NSF Seeks Proposals to Transform Neuroscience and Cognitive Science
• Board on Environmental Change Discusses Climate Change Adaptation
• Social Workers' Group Has New Leader
• DBASSE Has Two New Committee Directors
• Hamilton Project Suggests Rethinking the Federal Budget
• OPPNet -- Short-Term Mentored Career Enhancement Award: Cross-Training at the Intersection of Animal Models and Human Investigation
• 2013 NIMHD Translational Health Disparities Course: August 5 - 16, 2013
• Planning Grants for the New NIH BUILD and NRMN Initiatives
• NIH Director's Biomedical Research Workforce Innovation Award: Broadening Experiences in Scientific Training (BEST)

February 25, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 4

• And So It Comes to This Once More: Sequester on the Immediate Horizon
• SBE Prepares Report for Rep. Wolf on Youth Violence
• Administration Issues Open Access Policy Statement
• More Newcomers for the Second Term
• IES Oversight Board Meets
• EPA Solicits Nomination for its Board of Scientific Counselors
• HUD Requests Input on American Housing Survey Redesign
• New NCHS Data on Pharmaceutical Overdoses, Contraception, Nutrition
• American Community Survey Data Users Group Organized
• National Humanities Alliance to Hear Senators Durbin and Warren at Annual Meeting
• Interventions for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention in Native American Populations
• RFI: Implementation Plans for NIH ACD Biomedical Research Workforce Working Group's Recommendations
• NIA Seeks Applications to Explain Regional and International Differences in Health and Longevity at Older Ages
• NIAAA Seeks Research on Alcohol and HIV/AIDS

February 11, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 3

• House Majority Leader Questions Federal Funding of Social Science Research
• NSF Director Suresh Steps Down; Will Become President of Carnegie Mellon
• Carolyn Clancy Leaving AHRQ
• National Climate Assessment Draft Open for Public Comment
• Supreme Allied Commander of NATO Calls for More Language and Cultural Training
• Healthy People 2020 Reviews Cancer and Genomics Progress
• AHRQ Report Shares Lessons on Advancing Patient-Centered Care through Health IT
• PCORI Governing Board Discusses Priority Setting for Patient Oriented Research
• NIJ Seeks Proposals for Research on Firearms and Violence
• William Julius Wilson Announced as Recipient of Moynihan Prize
• Sheldon Danziger Named New President of Russell Sage Foundation
• Sequester Looms Larger; NDD Coalition Assesses Current Fiscal Deal
• PAA Holds Congressional Briefing on Immigration
• AAAS Science and Human Rights Coalition Discusses Children's Rights
• NSF, NEH, IMLS Join International Partners to Fund Another Round of Digging Into Data Challenge
• NSF Solicits Applications for Building Community and Capacity for Data-Intensive Research in the SBE Sciences
• Proposals Designed to Examine School Nutrition and Physical Activity Policies, Obesogenic Behaviors, and Weight Outcomes Wanted
• Policy Fellowship Opportunity at Human Research Protections' Office
• AERA Solicits Applications for Institute on Statistical Analysis
• SAGE Makes Open Access Publications More Available to Social Science and Humanities Scholars

January 28, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 2

• Fiscal Trifecta Very Much in Play
• Collins Discusses Impact of FY 2013 Budget Process on NIH
• NIH SMRB Begin Discussion of the Value of Biomedical Research
• NICHD Holds 149th Advisory Committee Meeting
• BBCSS Considers Revisions to the Common Rule for Social and Behavioral Science Research
• EDM Forum & AHRQ Launch New Journal, eGEMs
• Brookings Foreign Policy Scholars Advise on "Big Bets and Black Swans

January 14, 2013 - Volume 32 Issue 1

• Welcome to 2013
• The New Congress Continues to Organize
• Positions Filled in the Executive Branch
• NIH Data and Information Implementation Plan
• Overall Success Rate for NIH Research Grant Remains Static
• Justice Office Scientific Advisory Board Meets
• NSF to Alter Research Reporting Requirements
• DBASSE Holds Planning Meeting on Science of Team Science
• NAS Holds Workshop on the Design of the National Children's Study
• Shorter Lives, Poorer Health: U.S. Losing Ground in the Control of Diseases, Injuries, and Other Sources of Morbidity
• PCAST Releases Agricultural Preparedness Report
• NIH Seeks Applications for Exploratory/Developmental Dissemination and Implementation Research in Health
• FDA Offers Fellowships to Work on Tobacco Regulation