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On July 25 and August 1, 2024, the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S.  Senate, respectively, adjourned for their traditional August district work period. When both chambers return on Monday, September 9, they will be in session approximately two weeks before returning home to campaign in the run up to the 2024 elections on Tuesday, November 5. It is likely Congress will reconvene after the elections for a “lame duck” session to complete the unfinished business of the 118th Congress.

The Population Association of America and Association of Population Centers are tracking several major items that remain on the congressional “to do” list. 

Fiscal Year 2025 Appropriations

Despite swift action this summer by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to complete action on almost all 12 Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 appropriations bills, none of the bills were brought to the Senate floor and only 5 of these bills passed the House before the end of July. 

For a variety of timing and political reasons, it is nearly impossible to imagine a scenario in which Congress passes all 12 appropriations bills and sends them to President Biden to sign before FY 2025 begins on October 1, 2024. To prevent a government shutdown, lawmakers are expected to work on a continuing resolution (CR) when they return to Capitol Hill after Labor Day. Informal negotiations on the FY 2025 appropriations bills between the House and Senate will occur this fall in hopes that final measures can be approved by both chambers and enacted before the 119th Congress arrives in January 2025. The fate of the FY 2025 appropriations process rests largely on the outcome of the November elections. Depending on the outcome of the elections, members will either be eager to resolve the FY 2025 process during the lame duck session or will want to pass another CR in hopes of revisiting the FY 2025 totals in the new year. 

Below is a chart comparing the FY 2025 funding levels that the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have recommended for the Federal agencies that are priorities for the population sciences. As the chart illustrates, overall, the Senate recommends more generous funding levels. PAA is working with its coalition partners in Washington, DC, to advocate for the highest possible levels of funding for scientific research and statistical agencies that directly and indirectly support population research. 

In addition to advocating for robust funding, the PAA Office of Government and Public Affairs is also working to strip provisions of the House version of the FY 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill that would dramatically restructure the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Further, the Office is working to ensure parallel language regarding NIH population research programs is included in the final explanatory statement accompanying the FY 2025 Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill, which funds the NIH.

See Related Posts:

• Congress Praises NIH Population Research Programs
• House Proposes Fiscal Year 2025 Bills Containing Cuts, NIH Reorganization
  

NIH Reform

In early June, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), in partnership with the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education (LHHS) Chair Robert Aderholt (R-AL), released a framework outlining potential reforms for the NIH, “Reforming the National Institutes of Health (NIH): Framework for Discussion.” The document recommends numerous policy changes, including a dramatic restructuring of the NIH that would reduce the existing 27 Institutes and Centers (ICs) to 15, eliminate the National Institute of Child and Human Development, and rename the National Institute on Aging the National Institute on Dementia. These restructuring provisions were included in the House version of the FY 2025 LHHS Appropriations bill, which funds the NIH.

On August 7, in response to a Request for Information, the Presidents of PAA and the Association of Population Centers sent comments on the Framework to Chair McMorris Rodgers. The comments not only address issues that the Framework raises, but also highlight interests that the population research community has in other facets of potential NIH reform legislation. 

The framework is NOT a bill nor a formal legislative proposal. Yet, given the House Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over the NIH, the document could be used to inform future NIH reform that the Committee may consider. Media and political pundits have reported that it is very unlikely NIH reform legislation will be considered in the remaining months of the 118th Congress. In addition, NIH restructuring provisions will almost certainly be removed from the final FY 2025 LHHS Appropriations bill given the Senate did not include similar language in its version. When the 119th Congress convenes in January 2025, however, NIH reform deliberations may resume. 

The PAA/APC Office of Government and Public Affairs will continue to monitor the FY 2025 appropriations process and action regarding potential NIH reform legislation. The Office will issue “action alerts” to encourage PAA members to contact their congressional delegation as needed in the remaining months of the 118th Congress. Please be on the lookout for these alerts and consider responding. Your voice makes a difference! Policymakers otherwise do not know how their actions impact population scientists in their districts and states.

If you have any questions, please contact Mary Jo H. Mitchell, Director, Government and Public Affairs, Population Association of America/Association of Population Centers at maryjo@popassoc.org.