Washington Week in Science - February 28, 2025

 

A Weekly Update of Policy News and Select Funding Opportunities Compiled by Van Scoyoc Associates View this email in your browser February 28, 2025

Health NIH ban on renewing senior scientists adds to assaults on its in-house research The Trump administration has imposed a new restriction on employment that could push out thousands of NIH’s senior scientists: The agency cannot retain scientists in 1-year to 4-year positions that have long been routinely renewed. The hold on renewals could eventually affect the vast majority of the program’s staff scientists, research fellows, and tenure-track investigators, most of whom are hired under a statute known as Title 42. Tenured researchers make up just 20% of NIH’s nearly 4000 senior scientists. Also in limbo are the intramural program’s trainee programs. Read more:  Science   NIH partially lifts freeze on funding process for medical research The Trump administration has partially lifted a hold that had frozen ability of the National Institutes of Health to review new grant applications for research into diseases ranging from heart disease and COVID to Alzheimer's and allergies. The freeze occurred because the Trump administration had blocked the NIH from posting any new notices in the Federal Register, which is required before many federal meetings can be held. The stoppage forced the agency to cancel meetings to review thousands of grant applications. But on Wednesday the NIH released a statement saying the agency could now "begin sending notices incrementally to the Office of the Federal Register to advertise meetings of scientific review groups/study sections and begin their resumption." Read more:  NPR   First death reported in Texas measles outbreak The first death has been reported in the ongoing measles outbreak in West Texas, according to a press release sent out by the Texas Department of State Health Services Wednesday. The victim was an unvaccinated child who was hospitalized in Lubbock last week. When asked about the measles outbreak and death during a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said they are following and will continue to monitor the outbreak. “It’s not unusual, we have measles outbreaks every year,” he said. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the last measles death in the United States was reported a decade ago in 2015. Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000. Read more:  Politico   CDC will no longer process transgender data The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will no longer process transgender identity data in order to comply with President Trump’s executive order, agency representative Melissa Dibble told STAT on Tuesday. The decision will likely affect a number of federal health surveillance systems, including the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance Among Transgender Women and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Read more:  STAT News   Proposed legislation targets breaking up NIAID Proposed legislation, should it make its way through Congress, would dismantle the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) as it currently exists, replacing it with three separate research institutes. The bill would replace NIAID with a new National Institute of Allergic Diseases, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, and National Institute of Immunologic Diseases, according to an announcement from its sponsor, Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX). It also would require directors of these institutes to be appointed by the president, be subject to Senate confirmation, and be limited to no more than two 5-year terms. The proposed legislation was introduced in the House and referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce at the end of last week. Read more:  MedPage Today   FDA cancels meeting to update next season’s flu vaccines The Food and Drug Administration unexpectedly canceled an annual meeting of its advisers to update next season's influenza vaccines, an adviser on the panel and multiple officials confirm to CBS News, potentially upending the process to start manufacturing next winter's flu shots. Read more:  CBS News   Defense   Pentagon may break up tech offices in acquisition-policy shift As part of a broader shift in acquisition philosophy, the Pentagon may combine parts of several innovation-fostering offices into a new one focused on buying cutting-edge products from companies, a senior defense official tells Defense One. “We are going to create an organization that is the commercial-engineering version of DARPA,” using portions of the Strategic Capabilities Office, the Defense Innovation Unit, and the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office, the official said on condition of anonymity. In another change, the official said, the Pentagon aims to spend less on research, and what the official described as “abstractions” and more on usable arms and gear. Read more:  Defense One   Hegseth draft memo lays out software acquisition reform push Pentagon leaders are crafting a plan to shake up how they buy and field technology, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth starting things off by potentially directing that the department adopt the Software Acquisition Pathway (SWP) as the preferred method for software development. In a draft memo obtained by Breaking Defense, Hegseth calls on the department to adopt the Software Acquisition Pathway, a practice created in 2020 to accelerate software development by implementing best practices from the private sector. Read more:  Breaking Defense   A vague Pentagon memo has some contractors on edge An acting undersecretary has told managers throughout the Defense Department to review contracts for consulting services. Not just a casual review, but with an eye towards terminating or descoping them. Read more:  Federal News Network   Civilian nominee talks NGAD, hypersonics, and more Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth or perhaps even President Donald Trump will have the final say on a way forward for the Air Force’s Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter, the nominee to serve as the Pentagon’s No. 2 civilian said at his confirmation hearing. Stephen Feinberg, nominated to be Deputy Secretary of Defense, also acknowledged the Air Force’s diminishing capabilities and promised lawmakers he would take a close look at next steps for the service, to include a more robust pursuit of hypersonic weapons and divestment of older aircraft systems. Read more:  Air & Space Forces Magazine   SECNAV nominee: Trump wants ‘shipbuilding, shipbuilding, shipbuilding’ Navy secretary nominee John Phelan has no military experience, but he was speaking the language Thursday during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill. He called “people our most precious resource,” vowing to “restore operational readiness” as the Navy faces “an inflection point” with China’s growing naval power outpacing the U.S.’s ability to put more ships in the water. Read more:  Defense One   Energy   Kaptur, Murray demand answers from Trump DOE as it continues to block investments Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Senate Appropriations Committee Vice Chair and Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development Ranking Member, sent a new letter to Energy Secretary Chris Wright demanding answers about the Department of Energy’s freeze of key energy investments. Kaptur and Murray pressed Secretary Wright to provide answers to questions they posed in a January 31 letter — responses that DOE has failed to provide—and to expeditiously release illegally blocked funding. Read more:  House Appropriations Committee -- Democrats   Sec. Wright emphasizes importance of AI, nuclear modernization in visit to Los Alamos and Sandia U.S. Secretary of Energy released the following statement after visiting Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico this week.  "It was an honor to visit Los Alamos and Sandia National Laboratories, two institutions with rich histories in the development of American nuclear deterrence and essential roles in our future energy innovation,” said Secretary Wright. “I look forward to working closely with the scientists and engineers of Sandia and Los Alamos to modernize our nuclear weapons systems, unleash American nuclear energy, and ensure America continues to lead the world in scientific and technical innovation.” Read more:  DOE   Interior halts employee spending and travel The Interior Department has paused spending and travel for employees — a move that could potentially hinder scientific work at the agency. An email viewed by The Hill shows that spending limits on employee purchase cards have been reduced to $1 — meaning staffers can no longer use these cards to make purchases of equipment or to pay to submit scientific research to journals. Read more:  The Hill   Space   NASA associate administrator for exploration to retire The head of NASA’s exploration programs is leaving the agency in the latest leadership shakeup since the start of the Trump Administration. NASA announced Monday that Cathy Koerner would retire from the agency at the of the week as associate administrator for exploration systems development. Koerner has served in that position since 2023. Read more:  Space News   NASA must 'consider alternatives' to put Artemis astronauts on the moon, experts tell US Congress The U.S. is in a race with China to get to the moon, amid potential changes to the Artemis program and turmoil at NASA, according to a House hearing on Wednesday. As Intuitive Machines' IM-2 lunar lander sat on the pad awaiting its nighttime launch, a meeting of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology's space and aeronautics subcommittee took place on Feb. 26 to discuss the next steps of the Artemis program and how it plays into efforts to get to Mars. Read more:  Space.com   NASA launches satellite on mission to detect water on the moon A dishwasher-sized NASA satellite was launched into space from Florida on Wednesday to identify where water - a precious resource for lunar missions - resides on the moon's surface in places such as the permanently shadowed craters at its poles. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral carrying NASA's Lunar Trailblazer orbiter. The Lunar Trailblazer spacecraft was built by Lockheed Martin's space division. The satellite was a secondary payload onboard the rocket, with the primary payload being a lunar lander mission led by Intuitive Machines (LUNR.O). Read more:  Reuters   Science and Technology   OSTP nominee Kratsios vows focus on AI, quantum, innovation Michael Kratsios, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), pledged during his Senate confirmation hearing this week to bolster the nation’s efforts in artificial intelligence and quantum technology if confirmed. Speaking before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, Kratsios – who worked in the first Trump administration as the nation’s chief technology officer (CTO) – told senators that if confirmed to lead OSTP he would “double down” on the “American free market approach to scientific discovery” to usher in what he called a “golden age of American innovation.”  Read more:  MeriTalk   Agencies brace for more layoffs Following the initial round of layoffs at science agencies last week, cuts may soon extend to additional agencies and be deepened at agencies affected in the first round. The layoffs could include up to 500  probationary employees at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, according to Axios and Bloomberg. In addition, the Defense Department said it expects to lay off about 5,400 probationary workers starting this week and eventually reduce its civilian workforce by 5 to 8%. Read more:  AIP   Fundamental Science and Engineering   NSF downsizes summer research program for undergraduates The National Science Foundation (NSF) is shrinking its support of a long-running program that offers summer research opportunities to thousands of college students—many from groups historically underrepresented in science. Within the past few weeks, several universities have had to cancel plans to host these students this summer after getting word they won’t be funded through NSF’s Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program. Read more:  Science How far do Trump’s cuts to science reach? To the ends of the Earth The National Science Foundation has fired workers at the office that manages polar research, raising fears about a reduced U.S. presence in two strategic regions. Kelly Brunt wasn’t the only federal employee to be laid off this month while traveling for work. But she was almost certainly the only one whose work trip was in Antarctica. Read more  New York Times   Oceans and Atmosphere NOAA begins firing hundreds of staffers The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began the process of firing hundreds of probationary workers Thursday, the latest mass job cuts within federal agencies, multiple sources with knowledge of internal operations told The Hill. The cuts, which are said to affect between 560 and 1,830 workers at the agency, were planned for at least a week, contingent upon the confirmation of Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who oversees the agency. NOAA reported a permanent workforce of 11,758 in fiscal 2023, meaning the cuts could affect more than 10 percent of employees. Read more:  The Hill   Environment       EPA backtracks on Trump comment about cutting staff but says major spending cuts are coming Despite a comment by President Donald Trump, the Environmental Protection Agency does not plan to reduce its staff by 65%, the White House and the agency said Thursday, though major budget cuts are likely. A White House spokeswoman said the 65% figure referred to expected spending cuts at the agency, rather than staffing levels, a comment that was amplified by EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. Read more:  AP News   EPA moves to ditch finding that greenhouse gases cause harm The Environmental Protection Agency will move to reverse its 2009 declaration that greenhouse gases endanger human health and welfare — a step that would threaten most major climate regulations and make it harder for future presidents to enact new ones. Three people granted anonymity to discuss the action said EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has recommended to the White House that the agency overhaul the finding, which underpins all Clean Air Act climate regulations. Read more:  Politico   Agriculture   Egg prices could jump 41% this year, USDA says, as Trump’s bird flu plan is unveiled The U.S. Agriculture Department predicts record egg prices could soar more than 40% in 2025, as the Trump administration offered the first new details Wednesday about its plan to battle bird flu and ease costs. With an emphasis on farms tightening their measures to prevent bird flu’s spread, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said the USDA will invest another $1 billion on top of the roughly $2 billion it has already spent since the outbreak began in 2022. Read more:  AP News   Farmers, green groups sue USDA over ‘unlawful purge’ of climate data Farmers and green groups sued the U.S. Department of Agriculture on Monday for an “unlawful purge” of climate data from its website. “This lawsuit challenges the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s unlawful purge of climate-related policies, guides, datasets, and resources from its websites, without any advance notice as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act, without engaging in reasoned decision-making as required by the Administrative Procedure Act, and in violation of its obligation under the Freedom of Information Act to publish certain information proactively,” the filing reads. Read more:  The Hill