Washington Week in Science - July 17, 202

 

A Weekly Update of Policy News and Select Funding Opportunities Compiled by Van Scoyoc Associates View this email in your browser July 17, 2026

Health   CDC director nominee pressed on vaccines at Senate hearing Nominees for the positions of CDC director and assistant secretary for preparedness and response (ASPR) faced tricky questions and some frustration Wednesday from senators on both sides of the aisle. Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD (R-La.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, asked ASPR nominee Sean Kaufman about his suggestion in a now-deleted LinkedIn post that countries who gave infants a hepatitis B vaccine at birth had the highest rates of hepatitis B. Erica Schwartz, MD, MPH, the CDC director nominee, also came in for some of Cassidy's wrath. "I felt you were always trying not to answer my questions, which was disappointing," he said to Schwartz at the end of the hearing. "I'm here personally liking you but feeling I have to represent the public health of the U.S.A." Read more:  MedPage Today   Top Democrats question RFK Jr.’s health care advisory panel Two high-ranking Democratic senators are questioning the credentials and financial conflicts of members of an advisory committee established by health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. that aims to improve and modernize the health care system. In a letter sent Tuesday to Kennedy and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz, Oregon Sens. Jeff Merkley, ranking member of the budget committee, and Ron Wyden, ranking member of the finance committee, write that they have “serious concerns” about credibility and conflicts of interest among those on the Healthcare Advisory Committee, which was announced in March. Read more:  STAT News   CDC, FDA link Taco Bell lettuce supplier to multistate cyclosporiasis outbreak Federal health officials said Thursday that a multistate outbreak of cyclosporiasis that has sickened thousands of people has been linked to shredded iceberg lettuce served at Taco Bell restaurants in five states, confirming key findings first reported by The Washington Post. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration said traceback investigators identified a single supplier of iceberg lettuce from Mexico used at Taco Bell restaurants in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and West Virginia. In updates posted to the CDC webpage and FDA webpage late Thursday, officials urged consumers not to eat shredded iceberg lettuce from Taco Bell restaurants in those states while the investigation continues. Read more:  Washington Post   FDA approves new pill to slash cholesterol levels The Food and Drug Administration approved a daily pill on Thursday that can lower cholesterol levels far below what can be achieved with statins, the cheap cholesterol-reducing pills. The drug, enlicitide, whose brand name is Lipfendra, is made by the pharmaceutical company Merck. Clinical trials have shown that it can bring levels of LDL — the dangerous type of cholesterol — down to 50 or 60 or even lower. Read more:  New York Times   FDA plans to release more drug rejection letters as controversial policy resumes After pausing a controversial policy to publicly release drug rejection letters in April, the FDA today confirmed that the pause has been lifted and that more documents will be coming down the line. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told Fierce last week that the policy to release complete response letters (CRLs) in real-time had been temporarily suspended in April, the first time the pause was confirmed. Mere days later, the agency dropped a new batch of 14 CRLs, raising questions about the policy’s status. Read more:  Fierce Biotech   National Security   Pentagon launches testosterone screening program for troops The Pentagon will begin annually screening service members for testosterone deficiency, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Wednesday, citing the need to ensure troops maintain the “biological foundation” to fight. Under the new program, the secretary said service members aged 30 and older will be tested yearly for testosterone deficiency as part of routine health assessments. Troops under 30, meanwhile, will have the option to be tested, he said. Read more:  Military Times   Pentagon announces multiyear deals to buy thousands of affordable cruise missiles The Pentagon announced framework agreements for new multiyear deals with three companies to mass-produce more affordable, less exquisite air-to-ground missiles for the Air Force, part of a larger strategy to bring cheaper firepower to a future fight. The deals, announced July 15, seek to stabilize the department’s demand signal to industry and provide a steady stream of missile production. The Pentagon expects to receive a total of 8,000 missiles annually once production ramps up for its three selections—Anduril’s Barracuda; CoAspire’s Rapidly Adaptable Affordable Cruise Missile, or RAACM; and Zone 5 Technologies’ AGM-188 Rusty Dagger. Read more:  Air & Space Forces Magazine   Senate Democrats block $1 trillion defense bill in protest over Iran war Senate Democrats blocked a $1 trillion annual defense bill Tuesday, refusing to advance the bipartisan package that would substantially increase Pentagon spending, including a pay raise for the troops, in protest of President Donald Trump’s war against Iran. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer announced his opposition and other key Democrats said they could not support the annual bill, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, as the war drags into a fifth month with no clear endgame in sight. The tally was 50-46, failing largely along party lines to reach the threshold needed. Read more:  AP News   DOD halts cybersecurity requirements for CMMC Phase 2 The Pentagon placed an immediate freeze on forthcoming cybersecurity requirements after government research suggested the policy would drive many businesses out of the defense industrial base at a time when the U.S. military urgently needs their innovations. Defense Department Chief Information Officer Kirsten Davies and Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey unveiled plans Monday to suspend the much-anticipated Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) Phase 2 requirements that were set to take effect Nov. 10. Read more:  DefenseScoop   Sea drones strike Iranian port in combat first for US The U.S. Central Command utilized three Corsair unmanned surface vessels to strike a submarine and ship maintenance facility at the Bandar Abbas naval base in Iran, marking the “first time American forces have employed sea drones in combat operations,” CENTCOM confirmed on X on Monday. The latest round of strikes by the U.S. comes after it revoked a license on July 7 that allowed Iran to sell oil. U.S. President Donald Trump declared the ceasefire between the two nations — which began on April 8 — to be over, but ceded that Iran had agreed to continue to negotiate. Read more:  Defense News   Defense funding to research troops’ brain injuries shrank since 2025 Funding for Defense Department medical research into traumatic brain injuries has dropped by more than three-quarters in the last three fiscal years, even as the problem continues to plague U.S. servicemembers. At issue is the Pentagon-funded program to research detection and treatment of TBIs and to understand psychological health issues, including those that can come with TBIs, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Spending on this initiative has dropped from $175 million in fiscal 2024 to $40.5 million in fiscal 2026, and the House’s Defense spending bill for fiscal 2027 would not increase the funding. Read more:  Roll Call   Senate Armed Services Committee moves to codify new defense innovation advisory board The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee is moving to formalize the Pentagon’s new technology-focused advisory board. The committee’s fiscal year 2027 defense policy bill includes a provision codifying the new Defense Science, Technology, and Innovation Board, dubbed STIB. This body is to focus on “pressing and complex technology problems” as well as “research, engineering, manufacturing, [and] acquisition process.” The bill is currently stalled after a failed vote on July 15. The Pentagon established the STIB in January by merging the Defense Innovation Board and Defense Science Board. In May, the department appointed the first members. Read more:  Aerospace America   Energy   Department of Energy extends contract with UChicago Argonne LLC The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced July 14 it has renewed its management and operating contract for DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory with UChicago Argonne, LLC, which manages Argonne for the DOE’s Office of Science. The new five-year contract starts October 1. Read more:  ANL   DOE selects first companies for nuclear launch pad The Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy and the National Reactor Innovation Center have announced their first selections for the Nuclear Energy Launch Pad: three companies developing microreactors and one developing fuel supply. The four companies—Deployable Energy, General Matter, NuCube Energy, and Radiant Industries—were selected from the initial pool of Reactor Pilot Program and Fuel Line Pilot Program applicants, the two precursor programs to the launch pad. Read more:  Nuclear Newswire   Space   SpaceX aborts Starship Flight 13 launch attempt SpaceX aborted the launch of its latest Starship test flight on July 16 when some of the vehicle’s engines failed to ignite. Starship was scheduled to lift off on the Flight 13 mission from the company’s Starbase, Texas, test site at 6:45 p.m. Eastern. However, the launch was aborted just as Raptor engines in the Super Heavy booster ignited. SpaceX said moments later that it was calling off the launch attempt for the day. Read more:  Space News   NASA astronaut joins Russian cosmonauts in launch to International Space Station A NASA astronaut blasted off from a launch site in Kazakhstan Tuesday along with two Russian cosmonauts as part of a mission to the International Space Station. Anil Menon launched aboard the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome site around 10:47 a.m. ET along with cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina. Read more:  ABC News   NASA taps SpaceX’s Starlink to deliver Artemis III imagery NASA has selected SpaceX to deliver laser communications capabilities for next year’s Artemis III mission, enabling the agency to provide a front row seat for viewers from the Orion spacecraft as four astronauts test rendezvous and docking capabilities between Orion and test versions of commercial human landing systems needed to return astronauts to the Moon in 2028. To supplement Orion’s existing communications system, NASA will install two of SpaceX’s Starlink mini laser terminals – the same laser crosslink technology that SpaceX developed for its Starlink constellation – on the exterior of the spacecraft to downlink 4K imagery and video to the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. Read more:  NASA   Science and Technology   Foreign students’ time in US restricted under finalized DHS rule Foreign students on F-1 visas will be limited to four-year stays in the US under new regulations finalized by the Department of Homeland Security. The DHS rule released Thursday eliminates the “duration of status” framework that for decades has allowed foreign students to remain in the country as long as they maintain a full course of study. F-1 students would have to apply to renew their status with DHS after the four-year admission period is up. Read more:  Bloomberg Law   Fundamental Science and Engineering   NSF awards 12 new Regional Innovation Engines to fuel research, jobs and economic growth nationwide The U.S. National Science Foundation has awarded the newest NSF Regional Innovation Engines (NSF Engines) awards to 12 U.S. teams across 20 states. These NSF Engines will build and scale innovation clusters that aim to accelerate the development of critical technologies, prepare talent for emerging jobs and grow regional economies. Each team, led by a coalition of regional organizations, including universities, nonprofits and private industry, will initially receive an award of $15 million over two years. Read more:  NSF NSF launches Project Triad to advance quantum technology for real-world applications The U.S. National Science Foundation announced last week Project Triad, a first-of-its-kind initiative to integrate quantum sensing, quantum networking and quantum computing into a single operational system. By bringing these three capabilities together for the first time, Project Triad will move quantum technology out of the lab and into real-world use — with applications spanning safety, healthcare, energy, manufacturing and more. The initiative will lay the scientific and technological foundation needed to refine, scale and commercialize these systems through U.S. industry, strengthening American economic competitiveness, national security and quality of life. Read more:  NSF Under new policy, NSF won’t fund research involving Chinese scientists The National Science Foundation will bar U.S. colleges and universities from collaborating with many Chinese scientists and other entities on the federal government’s restricted parties lists. The proposed policy, which was released last week, will take effect Oct. 1. Organizations that receive NSF funding will have to certify that they aren’t collaborating with any entities on the restricted lists. The various lists include several prominent Chinese research universities, such as Nanjing University, Beijing Institute of Technology and the University of Science and Technology of China. U.S. universities’ collaborations with Chinese scientists and institutions have come under increasing scrutiny during both the first and second Trump administrations, and several universities have cut ties in response. Read more:  Inside Higher Education   Oceans and Atmosphere   Major NOAA satellite outage tested eastern US weather forecasting A key National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather satellite that watches the eastern U.S. and the Atlantic Ocean is back online after an outage Thursday that lasted nearly the entire day, giving meteorologists a reminder of how much modern forecasting depends on satellites. GOES-19, also known as GOES East, entered what’s known as safe hold mode, a protective setting that temporarily shut down its Earth-observing mission. University of Maryland atmospheric scientist Lars Peter Riishojgaard said safe hold is essentially a survival mode that satellites use when something unexpected occurs. Read more:  WTOP   NOAA identifies six foreign governments engaging in IUU fishing, including Russia and China NOAA Fisheries has identified six nations engaged in illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing based on the activities of those foreign governments from 2022 through 2024. Every two years, the agency sends a report to Congress identifying which countries are engaged in IUU fishing, which countries have adequate shark protections, and which countries have forced labor present in their seafood supply chains. NOAA Fisheries also issues certifications based on what actions countries identified in past reports have done to address the problems raised by the agency. The 2026 Report to Congress on Improving International Fisheries Management identified six nations engaged in IUU fishing: Costa Rica, Grenada, Mexico, Morocco, China, and the Russian Federation. Read more:  Seafood Source   Environment   Interior Department moves to let states manage grizzly bears The Trump administration has proposed giving states and tribes more leeway to haze, move and lethally remove federally protected grizzly bears in Idaho, Montana, Washington and Wyoming. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rolled out the proposal July 14, saying it will promote the conservation of grizzly bears by reducing conflicts with humans and livestock. Read more:  Capital Press   EPA weighs eliminating public comment requirements for a common data center air permit Environmental advocates say the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposal to eliminate public comment requirements for “minor source” air permits is another attempt at weakening transparency amid the AI buildout. Most data centers in Arizona, and across the country, obtain these permits to allow them to run backup diesel generators or small gas turbines. The EPA is proposing eliminating a federal 30-day public notice requirement for those permits. Instead, the feds would let state and local air agencies decide how much public comment is necessary. Read more:  KJZZ   EPA approves three PFAS pesticides for food crops The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved three pesticides containing PFAS — often called "forever chemicals" because they can persist in the environment for long periods — according to a recent report from the Environmental Working Group (EWG). The nonprofit says the approvals bring the total number of PFAS pesticides authorized by the agency to five – all in less than two years. The newly approved pesticides are trifludimoxazin, diflufenican, and epyrifenacil. Read more:  Consumer Affairs   EPA air pollution chief Aaron Szabo resigns after a year Aaron Szabo, the top air pollution regulator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is resigning from his position later this month. Szabo informed staff that he plans to leave his role as assistant administrator at the Office of Air and Radiation, according to reporting from Bloomberg, citing an EPA employee who requested anonymity. The agency confirmed his departure to Bloomberg but Szabo did not cite a reason for his resignation. Szabo served as the Trump administration’s top air regulator for approximately one year, overseeing several major policy rollbacks at the agency. Read more:  Investing.com   Agriculture   Trump's rancher allies push Rollins to reopen border to cattle The Trump administration’s strategy for warding off a flesh-eating pest threatening the American beef industry is rapidly losing allies. Closing the southern border to Mexican livestock imports last year became a pillar of Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins’ effort to slow the northward advance of the New World screwworm while the Trump administration weathered criticism over high beef prices. The move won Rollins praise at the time, but now that the Agriculture Department has confirmed 35 cases in Texas and New Mexico, ranchers and beef producers are pushing her to open up. Read more:  Politico   Rollins touts USDA ‘progress’ in crackdown on SNAP fraud Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins on Wednesday touted her department’s crackdown on alleged fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). “Within a year and a half, we have found billions of dollars, we’re reaching $10 billion soon, and we’ve made 1,000 arrests,” Rollins told NewsNation’s Katie Pavlich at the annual Hill Nation Summit. Vice President Vance has in recent months overseen a Trump administration task force geared toward tackling fraud in federal programs. The task force has homed in on SNAP, a program that is federally funded and administered by individual states. Read more:  The Hill   Missouri corn CEO urges farm bill action, backs mandatory base acre update U.S. Senate Ag Committee Chairman John Boozman has said he wants to mark up the farm bill this month, and the CEO of the Missouri Corn Growers Association says time is running out before the August recess. Bradley Schad tells Brownfield “We need some support in the ag world, really, across the board. Hopefully, we can get this accomplished by the end of the year and for the future of the farmers.” Schad, who is attending Corn Congress this week, says corn farmers are asking lawmakers to include a one-time mandatory base acre update in the next farm bill. Read more:  Brownfield Ag News   House reconciliation bill could include $11 billion in farm aid Politico’s Meredith Lee Hill and Kelsey Brugger reported that “House Republican leaders and White House officials are coalescing around a roughly $80 billion policy package as they prepare for a final summer push to enact party-line budget reconciliation legislation.” “House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) said the bill would pump $67 billion into Pentagon programs and $11 billion to farm assistance, without including offsetting spending cuts,” Lee Hill and Brugger reported. “Three other people granted anonymity to describe the negotiations confirmed the outlines of the deal, which is also likely to include several billion dollars in election grants meant to replicate portions of the SAVE America Act that President Donald Trump is pushing for.” Read more:  Successful Farming   USDA expands the farm safety net, offering turfgrass producers first-ever insurance solution The U.S. Department of Agriculture is expanding American producers’ access to crop insurance, offering turfgrass producers in select states and counties a new risk management option through a pilot program, Turfgrass Value Select. The inventory-based plan of insurance was announced by USDA’s Risk Management Agency. “USDA is expanding the farm safety net and offering American turfgrass producers, whose options have been limited until now, a first-ever opportunity for this type of insurance coverage,” said RMA Administrator Pat Swanson. Read more:  The Fence Post