Stalemate
Today marks day 16 of the government shutdown, with no resolution in sight. The Senate returned to Washington this week and held multiple votes on a Republican majority-led stopgap funding bill, the 10th of which failed today. An attempt by the majority to pass one of the 12 appropriations bills, that of the Department of Defense (DOD), also failed. The House remains on a district work period and Speaker Johnson (R-LA) has indicated House members won’t return until the Senate passes a stopgap measure.
Last Friday, approximately 4,200 employees across at least seven agencies received reduction-in-force (RIF) notices. It is our understanding that no NIH employees received RIF notices, but nearly 1,000 staff from other parts of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) did receive these notices. Reportedly, hundreds of the RIF notices were subsequently revoked, including at CDC. While temporary furloughs are typical during shutdowns, mass RIFs are unusual and legal challenges have already been filed, resulting in a temporary restraining order.
Stay up to date on this and other developments with our Timeline of Administration Actions.
DOD R&D: This week, several news outlets reported that DOD plans to redirect Research, Development, Test & Evaluation (RDT&E) funds to help ensure active-duty military personnel receive pay during the government shutdown. The specific programs from which dollars will be redirected have not been identified publicly, though this category of funding includes such initiatives as the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP). Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME) has called on the White House to provide more information on the reallocation of funding.
Research!America will continue to monitor developments and share updates as more information becomes available.
Compact Expanded: As previously reported, on Oct. 1 the White House sent letters to nine universities offering preferential treatment in grant funding if they agree to sign a compact with pledges that are both operational and ideological in nature. To date, it has been made public that three of the universities receiving this initial letter, Brown University, University of Pennsylvania, and MIT have declined to sign. News organizations are reporting that the administration has opened the compact to all of higher education. More to come on this.
August Challenge: Your late-summer energy and creativity — thank you for your submissions — made this powerful video montage possible. We’ll be sharing it on our social channels and in advocacy efforts to keep the spotlight on the importance of medical research, and we hope you’ll do the same.
Take a minute to watch, share, and tag us!
Fall Events: While Congress may be at a stalemate, we are not. We have a full slate of fall programming, including:
- Our next alliance members-only meeting will take place over Zoom on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at noon ET. We will be joined by Mary Dee Beal from KDCR Partners to discuss the status of FY26 appropriations and review other research and public health-relevant developments. We’ll leave plenty of time to discuss whatever may be top of mind for you. If your organization is a Research!America alliance member, email Jacqueline Lagoy to receive the Zoom registration link.
- Join us on Friday, Oct. 31, from 11 a.m to noon ET for a webinar spotlighting three civic science recipients of Research!America’s inaugural Public Engagement Content Awards. These early career scientists will discuss their efforts in creating and implementing open-access curricula designed to help scientists connect effectively with non-scientists in a variety of ways. We will also share our plan for the upcoming cycle of awards. Register now.
- We will host a Health Services Research (HSR) Capitol Hill Briefing on Monday, Nov. 17, at 8:30 a.m. ET (breakfast will be served). This briefing will shed light on the role of HSR, an undervalued and underutilized area of research critical to ensuring medical progress translates into patient benefit. The briefing will be at 2044 Rayburn House Office Building, 45 Independence Ave SW, Washington, D.C. Register here.
Engaging with the Public: I had the opportunity to comment in strong agreement with points made in this compelling analysis and commentary authored by Erica Palma Kimmerling and Eve Klein at the Association of Science and Technology Centers (ASTC) and published in Issues in Science and Technology. The authors argue that “to maintain and rebuild a scientific enterprise that serves our diverse society, more robust data, research, and public engagement are needed to inform communication strategies and policy development.”
In my response (and this will not surprise anyone who knows Research!America’s efforts to promote public engagement), I reinforce that scientists must confront the reality that the invisibility of science places its funding and relevance at risk: “The science community has work to do to deploy scientists themselves to help overcome public invisibility — one person, one Thanksgiving dinner, one conversation on the sidelines of a child’s sports event, one letter to the editor of a local newspaper, one visit to the local office of a member of Congress at a time.”
Keep Those Answers Coming: Last week, we asked you to take a super quick, anonymous poll about the hurdle (or hurdles) that could be making advocacy challenging for you. We truly appreciate your responses, and ask that you keep them coming! Here’s the link. We will use your insights to inform our advocacy tools and trainings going forward, and share some common themes in a future letter. We are all in this together; help us help you!
Support Our Work: We receive frequent feedback and insights, as well as heartening positive feedback, about this weekly letter. Your feedback matters to us and your financial support does too. Your support enables us to provide this resource, host alliance member only meetings, and engage in intensive advocacy side by side with you. Consider a donation to help Research!America continue and expand the resources we provide and advocacy we do. And know that we appreciate your interest, engagement, and partnership. Donate now.