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Science Policy News
Science policy news and articles from around the community, curated by the Coalition for the Life Sciences.
- Nov 5, 2026 · Aau
Coalition of 116 organizations asks Congress to stop agencies from circumventing the pause on OMB grantmaking changes
The Association of American Universities (AAU) announced that a coalition of 116 organizations sent congressional leaders a letter challenging efforts by federal agencies to implement policies resembling the proposed OMB overhaul of the Uniform Guidance. The coalition argues that agencies are advancing changes despite Section 157 of the FY2027 continuing resolution, which prohibits OMB from implementing the proposed government-wide revisions through December 11, 2026.
Read article - Nov 5, 2026 · Nature
Democrats take control of Congress, creating a new landscape for federal science oversight
The November 3 midterm elections resulted in Democrats winning control of both chambers of Congress. The Washington Post reports that a record number of Democratic doctors, nurses, scientists, and engineers will also enter Congress next year. These incoming lawmakers are expected to help shape the party's health policy agenda and increase congressional scrutiny of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Read article - Nov 5, 2026 · Aamc
Higher education groups urge changes to research-security provisions in the FY2027 NDAA
AAMC's November 5 advocacy update lists a letter from the American Council on Education (ACE) urging congressional conferees to revise research-security provisions in the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act and exclude the DETERRENT Act from the final legislation. The listing identifies concerns about the proposed research-security measures but does not provide enough detail to independently characterize every provision of the letter.
Read article - Nov 4, 2026 · Inside Higher Ed
CSU System Researchers Sue Trump Administration Over Grant Cancellations
Three professors in the California State University system have filed a federal lawsuit against the National Science Foundation challenging the termination of previously approved research grants. The researchers allege that NSF used a methodology associated with Senator Ted Cruz to identify grants containing terms such as "equity," "inclusion," and "climate justice," and subsequently canceled their funding. The lawsuit alleges violations of the First and Fifth Amendments and the Administrative Procedure Act.
Read article - Nov 4, 2026 · Reuters
US judge rules DOJ cannot link states' grant funding to immigration enforcement
A federal judge in Rhode Island ruled that the Department of Justice cannot require states to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement as a condition of receiving certain law-enforcement and juvenile-justice grants. The ruling applies to two grant programs and permanently prohibits DOJ from implementing the challenged conditions. The judge concluded that Congress's formula-based structure for those programs limits the department's authority to add such requirements.
Read article - Oct 29, 2026 · Nature
How the US mid-term elections could shake up science
Nature examines how changes in congressional control could affect federal science funding, oversight of research agencies, and the administration's proposed changes to federal grant review. It discusses the potential for increased congressional investigations and legislative efforts to constrain executive-branch actions affecting NIH and NSF.
Read article - Oct 28, 2026 · Reuters
US Health Secretary Kennedy opens access to some unapproved peptides
Reuters reports that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. issued an interim enforcement-discretion policy allowing certain licensed pharmacies and physicians to compound six unapproved peptides under specified conditions. The decision followed disagreement between FDA leadership and agency scientific staff over the safety and evidence supporting these substances. The policy does not constitute FDA approval of the peptides.
Read article - Oct 27, 2026 · Hhs
FDA and CMS Announce New Steps to Advance Gene Therapies and Expand Access for Patients with Rare Diseases
FDA issued draft guidance outlining a regulatory pathway for individualized genome-editing therapies for rare genetic diseases. The guidance addresses how multiple variations of a therapy could be covered under a single biologics license application and how additional variants might be incorporated after approval. CMS also announced plans to expand its Cell and Gene Therapy Access Model.
Read article - Oct 22, 2026 · Home
Treasury Issues Proposed Rule to Implement Comprehensive Outbound Investment National Security Act
Treasury proposed regulations implementing the COINS Act that would expand outbound investment restrictions to additional sensitive technology sectors, including specified biotechnology activities. The proposal includes restrictions on certain transactions and notification requirements; comments are due December 7, 2026
Read article - Oct 20, 2026 · AP News
Associated Press reports that researchers are leaving the United States amid funding uncertainty
The Associated Press reports that researchers have accepted positions abroad amid delayed grants, uncertainty about federal funding, and concerns about changes to scientific research policy. The article describes recruitment initiatives by foreign universities and draws on interviews with researchers and scientific organizations; it also notes that the overall scale of the movement cannot yet be quantified reliably.
Read article - Oct 20, 2026 · Aip
Democrats Outline Priorities for Next Congress’ House Science Committee
House Science Committee Democrats say that if they gain control of the House in the November midterm elections, they will prioritize restoring federal science funding, strengthening the scientific workforce, and investigating Trump administration actions affecting research agencies. These are Democratic lawmakers’ stated priorities, contingent on the election outcome, not enacted policy or a guaranteed legislative agenda.
Read article - Oct 20, 2026 · The Washington Post
Scientists publish research intended to sustain national climate assessments outside the federal government
The Washington Post reports that researchers who were dismissed from work on the National Climate Assessment have published a paper through a new U.S. Climate Collection initiative led by the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society. The paper, involving 175 contributors, reviews advances in climate science since the 2023 assessment and identifies areas requiring further synthesis; its authors say the collection is intended to support future assessments but is not a replacement for the federally mandated report.
Read article - Oct 20, 2026 · Grants
NIH seeks input on reducing administrative burden
The National Institutes of Health issued a request for information seeking specific, actionable recommendations to reduce unnecessary administrative requirements associated with obtaining, maintaining, and reporting on NIH extramural research funding. The agency is accepting voluntary responses through December 1, 2026, and says recommendations may inform changes within NIH's authority or require coordination with other agencies or changes to regulations or statutes.
Read article - Oct 12, 2026 · Gao
GAO finds HHS violated the Impoundment Control Act by withholding AHRQ grant funds
The Government Accountability Office concluded that the Department of Health and Human Services violated the Impoundment Control Act when it withheld funds from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) following the removal of personnel responsible for administering grants. GAO found that HHS left more than $78 million in FY2025 appropriations unobligated without submitting the required special message to Congress proposing rescission; the agency's actions were not simply a programmatic delay.
Read article - Oct 9, 2026 · Nsf
NSF lays the foundation for the next generation of technologies and support for American talent
The National Science Foundation announced a series of initiatives aligned with the White House's Science: A New Golden Age strategy. These include a new Office of Metascience to study how different funding and review mechanisms affect scientific progress, two interdisciplinary research prize competitions, an NSF X-Labs Consortium, and new programs for early-career researchers and STEM workforce development. NSF - U.S. National Science Foundation
Read article - Oct 5, 2026 · STAT News
NIH awarded all its grant funding, but delayed and opaque decisions stymied researchers
NIH spent its roughly $34 billion external grants budget but funded approximately 58,000 projects, down from about 61,000 in FY2025 and roughly 63,700 annually in the years before the current administration. STAT reports that delays in grant review and uncertainty surrounding decisions continued to affect researchers, while awards involving health disparities, race and ethnicity declined.
Read article - Oct 4, 2026 · Whitehouse
White House and 16 countries endorse the “Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science”
The White House announced that the United States and 16 other countries endorsed the Kyoto Vision for a Golden Age of Science at the Science and Technology in Society Forum in Japan. The declaration calls for new research institutions and funding mechanisms, expanded use of AI, including “super intelligence”, in scientific workflows, and greater support for early-career researchers and cross-sector research partnerships.
Read article - Oct 2, 2026 · Roll Call
Lame-duck effort brewing to protect NIH grantmaking
Senate appropriators from both parties are working on language for the FY2027 Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill that would prevent the White House from exerting political influence over NIH research grants.
Read article - Oct 2, 2026 · The New York Times
NSF Withheld $1.4 billion in research funding during FY2026
The NSF withheld roughly $1.4 billion in research funding that Congress had appropriated during FY2026. The report says the money was held back as the administration sought to shift federal research spending toward priorities including artificial intelligence and quantum computing; the underlying funding dispute concerns the administration's implementation of congressional appropriations.
Read article - Sep 25, 2026 · NPR
NPR: These 6 charts show how NIH research funding has been reshaped under Trump
NPR visualizes how NIH research funding has been disrupted and reshaped under the Trump administration in six charts.
Read article - Sep 23, 2026 · Politico
Collins: White House drops effort to politicize health research grants
Sen. Susan Collins said the White House is abandoning its push to add political litmus tests to health research grant decisions.
Read article - Sep 22, 2026 · Science
Researchers file First Amendment challenge to NIH grant screening
Science: Researchers challenge NIH grant screening practices on First Amendment grounds.
Read article - Sep 21, 2026 · Politico
Collins warns Trump on NIH shakeup
Politico: Senator Collins cautions the administration over a proposed NIH reorganization.
Read article - Sep 20, 2026 · CNN
CNN barred from White House press pool
CNN: The White House removes CNN from the press pool.
Read article - Sep 20, 2026 · The New York Times
NIH grants caught between Bhattacharya and OMB
New York Times: Tension between NIH leadership and the White House budget office over grant decisions.
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