And looks like that provision was also in the FY25 House version too (docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/...). Not sure what press attention it got last year. Likely overshadowed by proposed NIH restructuring back then.
Physicist Turned Psychologist | Senior Researcher in #STEMed | Meta-Analysis Nerd | https://d-miller.github.io/ Also posts about 🧪 science funding to focus my attention. Personal account. I don’t speak for my employer or any other orgs.
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And looks like that provision was also in the FY25 House version too (docs.house.gov/meetings/AP/...). Not sure what press attention it got last year. Likely overshadowed by proposed NIH restructuring back then.
Nice find! I was searching for "indirect" / "overhead" to no avail. A bit perplexing too. The part about IRS section 4968 (link below) also limits this to: 1. Private colleges/unis 2. Endowment of $500K+ per student 3. Has 3,000+ students So targeting Harvard, Columbia, Stanford, etc.
I'll keep saying it: RFK Jr. is a deadly threat to our public health and safety. He is razing CDC, NIH, and other health agencies to the ground—putting politics and deranged conspiracy theories over science. We need bipartisan oversight immediately, and he must be FIRED.
👎 Less good: the bill would slash CDC's budget by $1.7 billion, a -19% cut. From the Dems' summary: democrats-appropriations.house.gov/sites/evo-su... CALL YOUR REP. Also call for RFK Jr. to resign for his ongoing coup of CDC.
Less good in House: -23% cut for NSF in House version (and basically flat in Senate version). That's in a separate subcommittee. Next goes to full approps committee, so call to R House members in this committee matters: appropriations.house.gov/about/member...
And re: Vought/OMB, this remains essential: all the fuckery this year was with no budget cuts from Congress. So: appropriations are still critical. But equally so are protective measures to see $ spent as intended by Congress. Good 🧵 about that below 👇
This is very good news. BUT, as we saw this year when NIH was operating under a flat budget, Trump and Russell Vought can effectively destroy NIH even if Congress holds the budget flat. To stop Vought and make sure NIH can function, Congress must go much further than “no cuts to budget.” 1/
Immediate next steps are: 1️⃣ Subcommittee markup tomorrow at 5 pm ET (link below) 2️⃣ Full committee markup 3️⃣ Full House floor vote (and in Senate too) 4️⃣ Resolve House-Senate diffs 5️⃣ President's signature So far from over...and OMB/Vought remains pressing threat for actually spending approp $
Link to the bill summary (bear in mind: talking points selectively picked by Rs): appropriations.house.gov/sites/evo-su...
Part of the "far from over": Will the FY26 budget get passed? Some version of a continuing resolution seems inevitable (nice read below). But it's also possible that at least some of the 12 spending bills could get passed this month too.
🧪 And House appropriators say: no cuts to NIH budget! House subcommittee version just came out (link below). Holds NIH flat at $48 billion. To be clear: this is far from over. But a good sign that science still matters across both sides of aisle. YOUR VOICE MATTERS!!
NEW: Don't ask too many questions, but... NIH may not re-terminate the 900ish grants at issue in the main NIH lawsuits after all. To the PIs of reinstated grants, SPEND NOW! 🧵 Here's what NIH is probably thinking. Bear with me:
This is VERY. BAD. Russell Vought at OMB wants to rip away Congress' most important power, the power to set the budget, and put it in the hands of a president-king. This illegal impoundment stuff runs contrary to the most important principle of Anglo-American gov't—
Oh I'm certain those risks are already being considered from those closely exploring it on the inside. I'm just calling attention for a broader community. And truly agree 💯 on Vought!!
I wasn't assuming bad motives (except Vought of course). But there are legitimate risks that need to be considered, regardless of motive. And again, perhaps that will be addressed anyway if this is in addition to existinf, as the full article alludes to. But it's uncertain now.
I'm very much aware of the OMB shenanigans and agree that's where the brunt of the blame goes (certainly not with NSF POs). I hear your point and will add: that deserves active resistance, questioning the assumptions, etc. rather just uncritically accept, "well that's that and move on."
And for full context: This was in the context of having an industry partner model being a good thing, IN ADDITION TO broad-based GRFP. But without a broad-based GRFP, that's 👎. Major unanswered ❓ right now about what will be available.
I disagree with the premise of the question. The critical context is: we had exactly the same $ annual budget in FY25 as in FY24. With in that in mind, the question uncritically accepts the framing of, "well just less $ to go around".
The fears have a concrete factual basis: We saw exactly that with the second round 500 new fellows this year www.science.org/content/arti... That being said, the above quote was in the context of having an industry partnership *in addition to* broad-based GRFP. Still major ❓ now.
Especially if you have a Republican senator or House rep: URGE CONGRESS TO DEFEND THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS OF THE PURSE
“You don’t want to cut out all the talented people in geosciences and life sciences and psychology and sociology in favor of giving everyone who’s doing AI a fellowship.” -said @susanelise.bsky.social, former NSF program officer for the Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
This is good: With Trump/RFK destroying CDC, JB Pritzker's officials are exploring the possibility of buying Covid vaccines from manufacturers and distributing them in-state themselves, source tells me. Dem govs must step up and fill the void. New piece from me: newrepublic.com/article/1998...
Trump admin planning to change student visas from lasting for duration of academic program to fixed 4-yr term, and then much harder to renew Could destroy US ability to attract global talent, particularly those seeking advanced degrees in STEM. The median time to complete a PhD is 5.7 yrs per NSF.
Very handy skill/background for this moment 😊
this is doing the thing i hate most in this moment aside from the authoritarianism itself. you are not being savvy or clever when you do this. you are instead paving the way and making it easier for them. stop doing it.
Breaking: BILL CASSIDY is calling for CDC's vaccine advisers meeting to be postponed. "If the meeting proceeds, any recommendations made should be rejected as lacking legitimacy given the seriousness of the allegations and the current turmoil in CDC leadership."
"She had two lines in the sand ... One was anything that was deemed illegal. And the second was anything that she felt flew in the face of science. And she says she was asked to do both of those.” www.statnews.com/2025/08/28/c...
The newly ousted director of the CDC refused to fire top agency leaders or approve changes to vaccines from RFK Jr.’s hand-picked panel of advisers.
"NIH employees [could] refuse to terminate grants because such terminations are illegal and unconstitutional. " "Defending the Constitution now may require opposing illegal Trump administration actions, even when the Supreme Court provides political cover for those actions." Good post
New resource page here from @ecrhub.bsky.social for understanding the ECR:Core-specific changes: ecrhub.org/resource/com...
If you'd been planning to apply to NSF's ECR:Core program in October, take note 👇 ECR:Core supports fundamental research on STEM ed (e.g., more basic science on STEM learning). But eligibility *just changed* for preK-12 & informal learning proposals. More details here: ecrhub.org/resource/com...
NEW: As the Trump GOP higher ed agenda of funding cuts and fines weighs down on University of California, a new poll finds common ground among California Republicans and Democrats: 75% of Republicans have positive views of UC health centers and 58% favor UC research: www.latimes.com/california/s...
For those justifiably concerned/angry about this, there's a way to make your voices heard. Public notice and comment on this proposed rule goes through Sep 27 Go to this link and click "Submit a public comment" at the top: www.federalregister.gov/documents/20...
Nicely put! And more effective than mine ha :)
The brain drain created by this Administration’s anti science policies will affect research for decades. They are robbing your children of the cures they would have seen. Stealing science, killing cures.
Follow the #NIH on Bluesky!
1/Our client was notified tonight by White House staff in the personnel office that she was fired. As a presidential appointee, senate confirmed officer, only the president himself can fire her.
I had serious doubts about CDC Director Monarez’s willingness to stand up against RFK Jr.’s personal mission to destroy public health in America—I’m glad that I was wrong. If there are any adults left in the White House: we cannot let RFK Jr. burn what's left of CDC. FIRE HIM.
RKF Jr. is a dangerous man who is determined to abuse his authority to act on truly terrifying conspiracy theories and disinformation—leaving us unprepared for the next deadly pandemic and snuffing out potential cures while he’s at it. My full statement.
REMINDER: in this moment, the thing you want your Congressperson to do is (1) demand resignations and (2) threaten endless hearings. Impeachment isn't going to work. Read the article if you don't want to take my word for it - Larry is the most respected health law expert in America.
🙏
Re-upping: if you work at EPA, NOAA, FEMA, NIH, CDC, USDA or other agencies that involve really any sort of science in their work, and you have something you want the public to know, I would always love to hear from you. Signal is davelevitan.26 and you can remain anonymous.
I'm fuzzy on that myself.
“I am unable to serve in an environment that treats CDC as a tool to generate policies and materials that do not reflect scientific reality and are designed to hurt rather than to improve the public’s health.” That’s from the resignation of CDC’s Demetre Daskalakis @drdemetre.bsky.social (on X) 🧪
And the universe said...not today! 😂
Interesting points here on favoring calls for *resignation* over calls for *impeachment*. Impeach or resign though: call attention to how RFK Jr. is harming our public health. Including through actions that have rung major 🚨🚨🚨 to even Trump 2.0 appointees like the CDC director.
Nice study by @arghavansallesmd.medsky.social et al., even though quite a depressing read. Studies/articles like these are useful to help the public understand what's being lost and push back. Don't want to have long depressing chats with your family, friends, etc. yourself? Send 'em here.
🤣🤣🤣🤣
Good for her! I don't know her well, but we published a paper together after we spoke together at a conference on preparedness. She was at DHS at the time and struck me as smart and passionate.
Makes it a good time to re-up: IMPEACH and remove RFF Jr as the head of HHS:
This of course contrasts with what "official" HHS is claiming. Primary source for that: x.com/HHSGov/statu...
Key update: The CDC director HAS NOT RESIGNED. Especially wild that she was a Trump 2.0 **appointee**. But now Trump 2.0 wants her out for standing up for science.
Breaking News: FEMA suspended about 30 employees who had told Congress that the Trump administration had gutted the nation’s emergency preparedness.
Webinar is for NSF’s Division of Research on Learning (including the new program for preK-12/informal learning research). Note for clarity: There are still separate other NSF divisions and programs for STEM ed research at undergrad, graduate, and workforce levels.
➡️ New webinar on NSF EDU funding Have questions about this new solicitation? Or about other NSF funding for research on STEM learning? Ask and hear from NSF program officers next Thursday. Sept 4, 1:00-2:30 pm ET. Register here: nsf.zoomgov.com/webinar/regi...
“This shows not to underestimate the malice that this administration has toward NOAA,” a former agency official told Science.
Illinois Gov. Pritzker vows to pursue Trump officials who participate in an illegal National Guard deployment to Chicago: "If you hurt my people, nothing will stop me - not time or political circumstance - from making sure that you face justice under our constitutional rule of law."
FIGHTING BACK GETS RESULTS Don’t let the bullies convince you that standing down is the way to protect yourself. They do this so they don’t have to deal with consequences for their actions. They depend on our acquiescence. Standing up is *strategic*, not just brave. Stand up now or it keeps going.
Ever stared at a table of regression coefficients & wondered what you're doing with your life? Very excited to share this gentle introduction to another way of making sense of statistical models (w @vincentab.bsky.social) Preprint: doi.org/10.31234/osf... Website: j-rohrer.github.io/marginal-psy...
The same Trump administration that wants to abolish FEMA is decimating disaster response and openly ignoring lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina that get help to people in need after natural disasters. Republicans must join us in pushing for answers and accountability ASAP.
This is a devastating loss. AISL was led by folks who were dedicated to the program’s name: Advancing Informal STEM Learning, or all the ways that people engage with STEM outside of classrooms. Under the Biden admin, AISL had committed to basing this work in equity. We were on our way to…
Correct. For NSF EDU folks/proposers: ECR:Core still remains open for Oct 2 but only for higher ed & workforce proposals. K-12 or informal proposals for ECR:Core should instead go to the new program, which accepts proposals at any time. But note earlier points about the budget/year caps.
🧪 20 years ago, the govt's mismanaged response to Hurricane Katrina contributed to the nearly 2,000 deaths & costed billions. Today, over 180 FEMA scientists warn how Trump admin's actions will create one Katrina-level disaster after another. Read and sign support for the Katrina Declaration here:
they're literally taking science out of your kid's classroom
Terrible news for creating a workforce for the future, and an educated public.
The program pages for the other relevant K-12 STEM funding opportunities are now all listed as "archived." Here's an example for DRK-12, confirming the change: www.nsf.gov/funding/oppo...
As I say anytime anyone asks, it’s gotta be more fun to be in the movement than to not be in the movement.
My team at OSTP helped craft and implement the Biden administration’s scientific integrity policies to help keep politics out of government science. Unsurprisingly, the Trump administration has rolled back these safeguards for independent science. It’s an open invitation to political interference.
The Pentagon is reportedly planning to mobilize thousands of National Guard forces and deploy them in Chicago for the purpose of crime control. Trump is on even thinner legal ice with this plan than he is in Los Angeles and D.C. 1/12 www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
The State of Illinois at this time has received no requests or outreach from the federal government asking if we need assistance, and we have made no requests for federal intervention.
Military units occupying Los Angeles were based in California. Washington, D.C. is not a state. Therefore, this military deployment to Chicago may represent the first time military forces from one U.S. state have been sent into another state, uninvited or actively opposed, since 1957.
As one can imagine, I have some thoughts. Here’s a thread no one asked for: 1. SCIENCE IN THE US IS POLITICAL. No matter how much you want to ignore that fact, it is supported by taxpayer dollars and is therefore, political by nature. 2. BUT it has had bipartisan support for decades, which…
Hey friends! Are you interested in the science of learning? Then check out all the cool SOL researchers in this starter pack! go.bsky.app/CBPm1dV #academicsky #edusky #psychsky
Scientists are removing words like “diverse” and “disparities” from hundreds of federal grant renewals to avoid getting flagged in the Trump administration’s focus on eliminating diversity www.wsj.com/health/scien...
If I’m doing the numbers right the programs they are consolidating here (including DRK12 and ECR) had over $100M in combined funding allocated. This anticipates $30M. This isn’t death by a thousand cuts. This is one enormous cut.
As a former lead of DRK-12, I say this with the utmost gravity: this is a devastating and massive blow to STEM education education research. This is not a program revision so much as it is a drowning of the scientific endeavor in a bathtub.
General and current reminder: if you see unusual police or fed activity in the Chicago area, reach out via Signal at unraveled.66. Anonymity always protected
Donald Trump says he is going to deploy the National Guard to Chicago. This is what weak men do to pretend they’re strong. Stay safe, stand with your community, and most importantly, know your rights:
And a wider meaning for this: it was posted today. Which means NSF can again post solicitations.
Agencies have been instructed by OMB to act as if the WH FY26 budget was going to be enacted, because WH expects Congress to go to a CR for the later part of this calendar year (at least) while they continue Appropriations negotiations.
Me too for sure
The new solicitation says it's expected to accommodate proposals that would have fit with those prior programs. But other parts of it raise questions about if it has a more restricted narrow focus on AI/emerging tech in K-12 ed. e.g., see the framing here: www.nsf.gov/news/nsf-ann...
For those already familiar with NSF EDU programs: Here's more on the reorg of programs, which chiefly affects the Division of Research on Learning (DRL):
*The up to 750K is a soft cap (a "suggested range"). But the solicitation also notes: "Proposals that contain budgets significantly beyond these ranges may be returned without review." This solicitation is falsely acting as if the President's FY26 budget request had already been enacted into law
🚨 Major shake-up in NSF funding for K-12 STEM ed: Caps proposals at $750K max for 3 years. Prior cap used to be $5M up to 5 years for some programs. Archives several existing programs (DRK-12, AISL, CSforAll, TD, parts of ECR:Core). Combines into broad program with much lower expected # of awards.
Do you work at the Office of Management and Budget? Do you know someone who does? Are you a current or former federal worker with information that you can share about Russell Vought? If the answer to any of these is "yes," please contact @andykroll.bsky.social www.propublica.org/tips/
The whiplash is dizzying. “Just a few hours before the Supreme Court decision, I got an e-mail that I was able to resume spending,” one researcher tells @dangaristo.bsky.social and @maxkozlov.bsky.social. Now, the grant is likely to be cut again. “It’s heartbreaking.” www.nature.com/articles/d41...
Yesterday the Supreme Court issued a convoluted, 36-page emergency order about NIH grant terminations. Two main takeaways: -$2 billion (not the government # of $780 million) in NIH grants will likely be re-terminated -future legal challenges will be much harder w/ @maxkozlov.bsky.social:
Well, we were correct: the Supreme Court issued a stay, backing Trump. No matter what differences the Court splits, the fact remains that it will be impossible to reconstruct labs and projects. It is a lawless power grab to allow these Trump grant terminations to go ahead now.
Yeah that was my main wondering in context of both: A. New guidance/priorities from last week (www.science.org/content/arti...) B. Legal memo from July about new NIH terminations slated for after Oct 1 (www.statnews.com/2025/07/06/h...)
4/ @imillhiser.bsky.social described it well: The Supreme Court hands down some incomprehensible gobbledygook about canceled federal grants
3/ Barrett positions herself as a moderate, siding with the liberal justices on one issue (the directives) and the conservative justices on another (actual terminations). In reality: she just concocted a nightmare labyrinth system for getting any actual relief. Jackson put it best in her dissent:
2/ Despite ALL OF THOSE DIRECTIVES being declared as "void" and "illegal" and "no effect": SCOTUS then said: claims about any actual grants terminated based on those directives has to go to a *completely separate* lower court first. SCOTUS therefore reversed these two orders until that happens:
🧪 Showing just how absurd yesterday's Supreme Court decision on NIH grant termination was: Sort of 👍: Here's the long list of directives where a 5-4 SCOTUS effectively said: "yup, was OK for the district court to say those were illegal, void, of no effect, etc." But then 👎❓❓❓....
A federal judge ordered that no more immigrant detainees be sent to the “Alligator Alcatraz” detention center in the Florida Everglades, and that much of the facility be dismantled. The ruling rebuked the state and federal governments for failing to consider potential environmental harms.
Indeed, the Thakur plaintiffs just filed a letter making those exact two arguments. So, we'll see how this plays out. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Y'ALL the chronicle interviewed the vandy & wash u presidents (who probably agreed because, ya know, they seemed to be aligning themselves with an authoritarian takeover of higher ed & the US in the atlantic piece). What follows are my absolute favorite q&as. www.chronicle.com/article/the-...
A retired colleague and a younger cousin are joining me in this, so this campaign has cross generational appeal. RFKJ is a quack spreading deadly misinformation about vaccines and other public health issues. He is completely unqualified to lead HHS. #standupforscience @standupforscience.bsky.social
The practical upshot is that justice delayed is justice denied; or to be more precise, a lab which had to fire all of its researchers and halt work on groundbreaking research isn't going to be able to ever restore itself to the same position it would have been without a multi-year pause in funding.
That being said, I agree chances aren't high. Sound, consistent legal reasoning doesn't seem to be a hugely important consideration to this SCOTUS.