By Will Dow, Chair, PAA/APC Government and Public Affairs Committee and Mary Jo Mitchell, Director, PAA/APC Government and Public Affairs
To say that the PAA/APC Government and Public Affairs Committee (GPAC) was busy in 2025 is an understatement. The Trump Administration brought 
unprecedented changes to Washington, DC, upending government agencies, programs, surveys, and the federal workforce. In a matter of weeks, federal websites and data disappeared, NIH and NSF grants were terminated, federal advisory committees eliminated, and thousands of federal workers were either fired or chose to leave their positions. Further, the new Administration introduced proposals to drastically reduce indirect cost rates, reorganize the National Institutes of Health (NIH), eliminate the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and undermine undergraduate and graduate research training programs. As if this wasn’t enough, in 2025, the nation endured the longest federal government shutdown in U.S. history.
Unfortunately, some of the Administration’s efforts were successful. The US Agency for International Development was abolished, affecting the future of the Demographic and Health Surveys program (some DHS services now housed within ICF). The U.S. Department of Education is being slowly dismantled, jeopardizing surveys and programs supported by the Institute for Education Sciences and National Center for Education Statistics. Recommended changes to the NIH and National Science Foundation (NSF) peer review processes are being pursued, generating uncertainty and concerns.
Fortunately, the Population Association of America (PAA) and Association of Population Centers (APC) joined forces with the scientific research advocacy community to respond. Our efforts, including our record-breaking 2025 PAA Advocacy Day in Washington, DC in April, paid off, blunting the impact or preventing implementation of specific proposals. For example, working independently and with our coalition partners, we helped restore federal websites, grants, and contracts. We were also successful in securing proposed funding increases from Congress for the NIH, NSF, and Census Bureau, and encouraging Congress to oppose the Administration’s drastic proposed reorganization of the NIH and adopting appropriations report language supporting NIH population research programs.
While we are pleased about these achievements, our work continues. Most federal government agencies, including the agencies that directly and indirectly support the population sciences, run out of funding on January 30, 2026, when the current continuing resolution expires. Congress must work with the Administration to pass and enact the remaining nine Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bills or risk another prolonged federal government shutdown.
In February, when the President sends Congress his proposed Fiscal Year 2027 budget, we expect the Administration to reprise several of the proposals that we addressed and successfully opposed last year. As discouraging as that news is, we must remember that advocacy works. To reinforce that point, below is a summary of GPAC’s major 2025 accomplishments. We look forward to working with you in 2026 and hope you will continue to support GPAC by responding to our action alerts, sharing your stories, and keeping us apprised of your views and concerns.
Congressional Engagement
- Sponsored record-breaking in-person advocacy day on Capitol Hill in which over 100 PAA members from 30 states met with staff in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives to promote federally funded population research activities and the funding needs of scientific and statistical agencies that directly and indirectly support the population sciences. They also discussed how the loss of federal data and funding were affecting their ability to conduct research and deliver research findings that could improve the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities.
- Secured language in Fiscal Year 2026 reports issued by the Appropriations Committees in the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate promoting population research activities and findings supported by the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and encouraging the agencies to continue investing in the surveys, centers, and grant programs that support the field. The language also raised awareness about the implications of cuts to NICHD-supported large data collection activities.
- Established and promoted secure, confidential portal for PAA members where they could share details regarding grant and contract terminations and the impact of the federal government shutdown on their research and training activities. The information that PAA members provided was used in several fact sheets PAA produced (Stories Behind the Statistics and Impact of Grant Terminations) as well as shared informally with congressional and federal agency officials.
- Sponsored in-person congressional briefing, “U.S. Birth Rate Trends: Patterns, Drivers, and Implications for U.S. Families.” The in-person event drew interest from almost 100 registrants representing the U.S. House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, National Institutes of Health, Government Accountability Office, National Academies of Science, Congressional Research Service, a range of scientific and health stakeholder organizations, and the media.
- Organized three off-the-record briefings attended by over 500 staff at the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative, non-partisan agency that works for Congress, regarding disappearing federal data and declining response rates in federal surveys. Since 2011, PAA has sponsored these briefings to share subject area and technical expertise with GAO professionals including statisticians, data analysts, economists, and demographers.
- Issued 10 action alerts to PAA members that generated hundreds of messages to congressional offices throughout the year to urge support for funding federal agencies that directly and indirectly support the population sciences and oppose actions threatening federal data, the federal workforce, surveys, and programs.
- Signed 56 letters in support of funding for agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Health Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau, Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and National Science Foundation, that directly and indirectly support the population sciences, as well as coalition letters on a variety of topics, including the NSF Social, Behavioral, Economic Directorate, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, federal economic statistics, and the 2026 Census Test.
- In recognition of the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, the PAA Office of Government and Public Affairs worked with The Data Center in New Orleans, Louisiana to produce a policy brief highlighting relevant, federally funded population research findings and shared it in meetings with members of the Louisiana congressional delegation.
- Spearheaded letter to Congress signed by 230 national, state, and local organizations and 2,600 individuals representing data users nationwide, urging the restoration of taxpayer financed data removed from federal agency websites. Issued related press release and provided and/or arranged background interviews to reporters at Politico, New York Times, Associated Press, and National Public Radio.
- Organized letter to congressional leadership that was signed by 36 national organizations and almost 400 individuals urging the restoration of the Food Security Supplement in the Current Population Survey.
- Organized letter to congressional leadership regarding cancellation of the Social Security Administration’s Retirement and Disability Research Centers, which was signed by 20 organizations and over 400 individuals nationwide.
- Organized letter signed by six scientific societies opposing HR 151, the Equal Representation Act, which would exclude noncitizens from the apportionment count and add an untested citizenship question to the decennial.
- Submitted testimony to the House and Senate Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittees and House and Senate Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations Subcommittees in support of PAA and APC’s Fiscal Year 2026 funding priorities.
- Sponsored session at the PAA 2025 Annual Meeting, “Navigating the New Political Landscape.”
- Awarded 2025 PAA Excellence in Public Service Awards to Annika Christensen, U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Pamela Davidson, Government Accountability Office.
- Sponsored August webinar for PAA members providing comprehensive legislative update and tips for how population scientists can engage with their federal policymakers.
Federal Government Engagement
- Scheduled in person and virtual meetings with NIH officials including the NIH Director, and Directors of the National Institute on Aging, NICHD, and NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Science Research, to share examples of key population research activities and findings and encourage continued support of the population sciences. (Meetings were scheduled for November 2025, but canceled due to government shutdown and will be held in January 2026.)
- Nominated PAA members to serve on the following Federal agency advisory and National Academy of Sciences working groups and panels:
- U.S. Sentencing Commission
- NAS Working Group on Standards for Systematic Reviews
- NAS Workshop on Enhancing Scientific Integrity
- Successfully advocated for restoration of staff at the National Center for Health Statistics, including staff running the National Death Index.
Responses to Requests for Information and Comments
Drafted comments in response to proposals and requests issued by Federal agencies, including:
Statements
Coalition Participation
- Represented PAA and APC in meetings and activities convened by coalitions, including the Coalition for Health Funding; Friends of NCHS; Friends of NICHD; Friends of NIA; Coalition for National Science Funding; The Census Project; Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA); Friends of IES; Friends of AHRQ; Friends of BLS; and International Family Planning Coalition.
- Participated in Advocacy Days on Capitol Hill organized by Consortium of Social Science Associations and Coalition for Health Funding.
- Cosponsored Research America’s “Americans for Medical Research Campaign” to raise awareness about the importance of investing in the National Institutes of Health.
- Participated in symposiums and workshops sponsored by the American Statistical Association, USA Facts, and Center for Strategic and International Studies on future of federal statistical system.
- Cosponsored the 2025 Rally for Medical Research, an event which brought hundreds of participants to Washington, DC to advocate for the National Institutes of Health. Mary Jo led a training session for the participants.
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