PAA Members Storm Capitol Hill—50 Meetings in One Impactful Day!
On March 11, 2026, a small, dedicated delegation of the Population Association of America (PAA) from 10 states descended on Capitol Hill, meeting with members of Congress and congressional staff in 50 offices! The 2026 PAA Capitol Hill Day was an opportunity for PAA officers and other invited participants to meet with key members of Congress and congressional staff to inform them about federally funded population research activities and advances and discuss how federal scientific and statistical agencies directly and indirectly support the population sciences.
Participants thanked congressional offices for funding key federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Census Bureau, and National Center for Health Statistics, in the final Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations bills, and encouraged them to sustain support for these agencies in Fiscal Year 2027. Additionally, the participants amplified recent concerns PAA has raised regarding a variety of issues, including the cost and operational implications of proposed changes to the 2026 Census Test, the elimination of the Current Population Survey Food Security Supplement, and organizational changes at the National Science Foundation.
On a positive note, participants also presented the 2026 PAA Excellence in Public Service Award to staff representing Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WVA) and Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI). Given the U.S. Senate was in session on March 11, select members of the PAA delegation had the opportunity to meet in person with Senators Katie Britt (R-AL), Alex Padilla (D-CA), David McCormick (R-PA), and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
PAA produced a one-page document for these meetings, summarizing the organization’s Fiscal Year 2027 priorities. Appropriations bills are tentatively scheduled to be marked up in the House starting as early as May. The PAA Office of Government Affairs will issue action alerts to encourage members to send messages of support once the Fiscal Year 2027 appropriations process gets underway.
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