News

NIH Budget; CDC Leader; NSF TIP

BU IN DC

Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Treasurer Nicole Tirella, Vice President & Chief Information Officer Chris Sedore, and Associate Vice President for Internal Audit & Advisory Services Marion Candrea attended the National Association of College and University Business Officers 2025 Annual Meeting from July 26th to 29th.

SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES NIH INCREASE, HOLDS STUDENT AID STEADY

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill yesterday that would fund the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at $48.7 billion in fiscal year 2026, an increase of 0.8% over the agency's current funding level and a clear rejection of the Trump Administration's proposed 40% cut. The bill also would prohibit the Administration from changing the NIH's reimbursement model for facilities and administrative costs. In contrast to the President's proposal to reduce Pell Grant awards by 23% and effectively eliminate the Federal Work Study program, the Committee's approved bill recommends maintaining both programs at their fiscal year 2025 funding levels. The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to release its version of the bill in September. Both chambers will need to negotiate and pass a compromise measure before the legislation can be signed into law.

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BUZZ BITS...

• Columbia University and Brown University both recently announced resolution agreements with the federal government that restore frozen federal funds and close pending investigations into the institutions' compliance with federal civil rights laws. Columbia will pay the U.S. Treasury $200 million over three years and send $21 million to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Brown will make $50 million in payments to Rhode Island workforce development programs.
• The U.S. Senate confirmed Dr. Susan Monarez as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday. Dr. Monarez was the deputy director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health during the Biden Administration and previously held positions in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and National Security Council.
• On Wednesday, the Department of Justice released a memorandum to federal agencies with guidance on determining what constitutes unlawful discrimination by federal grantees. The memo criticizes race-based scholarships and programs, hiring, and access to facilities. In April, federal courts rejected the Department of Education's narrower guidance on racial discrimination.

GRANT NEWS YOU CAN USE

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP) announced its new Translation to Practice (TTP) program. TTP aims to identify and support translational research; develop partnerships between higher education and industry, government, open-source ecosystems, and other entities; and advance STEM education and training for all Americans, particularly students and post-doctoral researchers. NSF anticipates it will issue more than two dozen awards, totaling $30 million in funding. The first submission deadline is September 16, 2025.

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A NOTE TO OUR READERS

Beltway BUzz will temporarily pause publication during the Congressional District Work Period. Please visit our website, follow us on LinkedIn, or check the University’s Federal Actions page for updates.

NEH & NEA Budgets; AI Action Plan; Military Health Symposium

BU IN DC

Ahmad "Mo" Khalil of the College of Engineering explained his research to Congressional staff who toured the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) at the National Institutes of Health on July 21st.

CONGRESS OPPOSES ADMINISTRATION'S PLAN TO ELIMINATE  CULTURAL AGENCIES

The Senate Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill yesterday that would fund the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) at $207 million each in fiscal year 2026, identical to their current level of funding. The Senate bill offers a stark contrast to the Trump Administration's plan to eliminate both agencies. On Tuesday, the House Appropriations Committee approved a spending bill that would fund the NEH and NEA at $135 million, a 35% reduction from their current funding levels. A final determination of both agencies' budgets will be made later this fall after both chambers negotiate and vote on a final spending bill.

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BUZZ BITS...

• President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order on collegiate athlete name, image, and likeness rights on Thursday. The order follows passage of the Student Compensation and Opportunity through Rights and Endorsements (SCORE) Act by two House committees on Wednesday. The NCAA-backed legislation would establish a federal standard for collegiate name, image, and likeness rights and protections for student athletes. While the bill was introduced with bipartisan support, no Democrats voted to advance the bill out of either committee. The legislation may head to the House floor in September.
• The White House released its AI Action Plan on Wednesday. The Plan has three pillars: accelerating artificial intelligence (AI) innovation, building AI infrastructure, and leading in AI diplomacy and security. The document recommends investing in “theoretical, computational, and experimental research" to advance AI, utilizing the National AI Research Resource (NAIRR), bolstering AI-enabled science, and strengthening export controls and international cooperation in AI.
• Last week, the House Appropriations Committee approved a bill that would provide $8.4 billion for the Department of Energy Office of Science in fiscal year 2026, an increase of 2% above the fiscal year 2025 (FY25) enacted level. In contrast, the President’s Budget Request proposed a $1.1 billion (14%) reduction from the FY25 levels. The Senate Appropriations Committee has not released its version of the bill.

EVENT NEWS YOU CAN USE

Registration recently opened for the Military Health System Research Symposium (MHSRS), the Department of Defense’s (DOD) premier, annual medical research meeting. The symposium offers a unique opportunity for interested researchers to engage with program managers and DOD officials, who are often hard to reach virtually without a prior connection, on military biomedical and health-related research topics. Breakout sessions will include topics such as infectious disease, traumatic brain injury, psychological health, and injury prevention, among others. MHSRS is scheduled for August 4th through 7th in Kissimmee, Florida. 

Register here

NSF & NASA Budgets; Antisemitism Hearing; Research Security

BU IN DC

Noel Vest of the School of Public Health addressed a Capitol Hill briefing organized by the Friends of the National Institute on Drug Abuse on "Advancing the Science of Addiction Recovery" on July 17th. Vest also discussed his research on substance use recovery with the offices of Representatives Lori Trahan (D-MA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), and Lisa McClain (R-MI).

Tim Hirschel-Burns of the Global Development Policy Center participated in a meeting of the US-Africa Policy Working Group convened by Congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-MN) on July 17th. The group discussed debt sustainability in Africa.

CONGRESS SIGNALS DISAGREEMENT WITH TRUMP CUTS TO NSF, NASA

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees recently released fiscal year 2026 spending bills that do not align with the steep cuts to the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) proposed by the Trump Administration, demonstrating that policymakers are not inclined to accept the President's budget recommendations for the agencies. The Senate committee proposes to give both NSF and NASA's Science account the same level of funding they currently receive, in contrast with the President's proposal to cut their funding by 56% and 50%, respectively. The House committee has proposed a 23% cut to NSF and an 18% cut to NASA's science activities. Lawmakers will need to negotiate and approve a compromise bill to finalize the budget numbers. In the likely event that Congress does not approve spending bills before the September 30th statutory deadline, a continuing resolution will be necessary to keep the government operational.

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HOUSE COMMITTEE HOLDS ANOTHER CAMPUS ANTISEMITISM HEARING

On Tuesday, the House Education and Workforce Committee held a hearing titled “Antisemitism in Higher Education: Examining the Role of Faculty, Funding, and Ideology” featuring the leaders of Georgetown University, The City University of New York, and the University of California, Berkeley. Committee Republicans asked university leaders to discipline specific faculty and staff for their social media posts and events; pointed to the role of faculty unions in criticizing Israel; expressed concerns regarding global campuses and foreign donors; and asserted that diversity, equity, and inclusion policies harm Jewish students. Committee Democrats focused on antisemitic statements and social media posts by members of the Trump Administration; the lack of Congressional hearings on racial and other forms of discrimination; and the Trump Administration’s budget and staffing cuts to the Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights.

Watch the hearing

CONGRESS CONSIDERS RESEARCH SECURITY POLICIES

The House and Senate Armed Services Committees have each approved their versions of the Fiscal Year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which sets policies at the Department of Defense (DOD). The defense policy bill passed by the House Armed Services Committee would ban gain-of-function research and prohibit DOD from sending funding to universities where an "antisemitic demonstration" has occurred. The Senate Armed Services Committee approved a bill that would prohibit colleges receiving DOD funds from entering into contracts with certain "foreign entities of concern." It would also create an incubator program to enable colleges to facilitate the development of innovative technologies that meet national security needs. Both chambers will have the opportunity to modify the bills once they are scheduled for floor consideration.