House LHHS Subcommittee Approves FY26 Budget for NIH, IES
Upon returning from the August recess on September 2, the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (LHHS) voted along party lines to advance its budget for fiscal year 2026 (FY26). This bill covers …
HHS Secretary Kennedy Challenged on Management and Vaccine Policies in Senate Finance Hearing
On September 4, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), appeared before the Senate Finance Committee in a hearing on the President’s 2026 Health Care Agenda. Unsurprisingly, many senators from both sides of …
Federal Agencies Submit Plans for Gold Standard Science
Responding to guidance from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), federal agencies have submitted plans for complying with the May 23, 2025 Executive Order (EO) on Restoring Gold Standard Science. (See previous FABBS article.) Initially, agencies …
NSF Restructuring and GRFP Uncertainty
On August 25, National Science Foundation (NSF) employees received a memo informing them of changes to the leadership structure at the agency. According to the memo, which remains internal, the changes reflect steps to implement restructuring of the NSF workforce …
Senate Advances Budgets for Health and Education Agencies
Before leaving for August recess, the Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) voted to approve the Labor, Health and Human Services (LHHS) budget for fiscal year 2026 (FY26). The bill, which includes key federal agencies funding FABBS disciplines, is a clear rebuke …
Trump Politicizes Federal Grantmaking in New Executive Order
On August 7, the White House issued an executive order (EO) claiming to improve oversight of federal grantmaking, but experts are deeply concerned that the actual impact would dramatically politicize grantmaking and undermine the U.S. scientific enterprise. The EO hands …
