Social Science Space

Congress cleared the final fiscal year 2018 Omnibus Appropriations Act, and the president signed the measure into law, narrowly averting another government shutdown. The House and Senate approved separate several financial services bills related to the Dodd-Frank Act. The House also approved several regulatory relief bills, and the “Right to Try” Act. The Senate also approved and cleared for the president’s signature the “Allow States and Victims to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act.”

While Congress will have the final say on the fiscal year 2019 budget, the budget proposal offered by President Trump would cut the National Science Foundation’s spending on social science would be cut by more than 10 percent.

The Trump administration has requested that the upcoming decennial census include a “citizenship” question that asks respondents to identify whether or not they are U.S. citizens. Organizations like the Census Project have argued that asking questions about citizenship and immigration could — by deterring many immigrants (legal or illegal) from responding — hurt the response rate (and thus, accuracy) of the 2020 Census and this America’s ability to know our true population numbers.

The House and Senate cleared the final version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which was signed into law on December 22. Congress also approved a short-term continuing resolution to keep the government funded through January 19, and cleared a disaster assistance package for victims of hurricanes and wildfires

The House and Senate approved their respective versions of a tax reform package (the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act). The House also approved the Protecting Seniors Access to Medicare Act, the Community Health and Medical Professionals Improve Our Nation Act, and the 21st Century Flood Reform Act. The House and Senate also cleared the final House-Senate conference report to the fiscal year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act.

While most eyes in Washington are focused on tax reform, two new bills that affect social science have been introduced: one that re configures how peer-review would be used for determining research grants, and another that would make use of recommendations from a bipartisan study on evidence-based policy.

After returning from summer recess, the House in September approved an Omnibus Appropriations Act comprised of several appropriations bills, including the Commerce-Justice-Science and Labor-Health and Human Services-Education Appropriations Act.

The House approved the fiscal year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act and a security “minibus” that included fiscal year 2018 appropriations for the Departments of Defense, Energy and Homeland Security.  The House departed for its August recess, while the Senate plans to stay in session for the first two weeks of August.

In a budget year where the U.S. Congress is far behind where it would usually be in appropriating decisions, the social, behavioral and economic directorate at the National Science Foundation is seeing normal funding, while the Census Bureau is feeling some pressure.

On May 5, Congress finally cleared the fiscal year 2017 spending bill package, which included increases for the National Institutes of Health and flat funding for the National Science Foundation. Weeks later, President Trump unveiled his fiscal year 2018 budget, which includes sweeping cuts to NIH, NSF and federally-funded science research and education.

Topics this month include a look at Congress clearing the Fiscal Year 2017 budget- and rejecting the Trump-proposed cuts to NSF and NIH funding, and what’s next for the science community after the heralded March for Science.

Trump Administration Proposes Cuts to Science Agencies On March 16, the Trump Administration released its “skinny budget” for fiscal year […]