INFORMS Open Forum

Good evening INFORMS members, 

Here are a few key updates to share with you from Washington this week.

Congress

• House Appropriations Committee press release: Committee Approves FY27 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act
• Access the full bill text here. Access the summary here.
• Related article- AIP FYI: Scholarly Publishing Costs Under Scrutiny by Trump Administration
• House Appropriations hearing: Subcommittee Markup of Fiscal Year 2027 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Bill and Fiscal Year 2027 Homeland Security Bill
• Date: Friday, June 5, 2026 -8:00 AM ET
• Location: Capitol Complex, H-140 CAPITOL, Washington, DC, 20515, USA (livestream)
• Senate confirmation of leadership at federal agencies
• View all nominations here.
• Related article- AIP FYI: Senators Grill NIST Director Nominee
• House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) press release: Moolenaar Unveils Legislation to Protect Taxpayer Funded Research From China
• Access the text of the Securing Innovation and Research from Adversaries Act here. 
• Related press releases-
• House Select Committee on the CCP press release: Select Committee Releases Report on NASA's Research Security and Enforcement of the Wolf Amendment
• House Education and Workforce Committee press release: Walberg Joins Chairs Warning Chinese Communist Party Is Infiltrating American Universities, Threatening National Security
• Congressman Rich McCormick press release: Reps. McCormick, Khanna Introduce a Bipartisan Package to Close America's Biotechnology Workforce Gap
• Access the Biotechnology Workforce Alignment Act here. 
• Access the Federal Biotechnology Workforce Assessment Act here. 
• Congresswoman April McClain Delaney press release: Rep. McClain Delaney Announces New Bipartisan Bill to Advance U.S. Leadership in Biotechnology
• Access full text of the Standards and Calibration for American Leadership in Engineering Biology (SCALE Biology) Act here. 
• Congressman Sam Liccardo press release: Bipartisan Coalition Urges Administration to Preserve International Student Visa Framework Critical to U.S. Innovation
• Access the full letter here.
• Related article- NPR: Trump administration to force foreigners in the U.S. to apply for a green card abroad

 

Federal Agencies

• NSF press release: NSF announces $1.5B NSF X-Labs initiative to pursue generational breakthrough science efforts

• Related program: NSF X-Labs
• Applications must be submitted through the NSF X-Labs Submission Portal. Find the full details on the opportunity solicitation here.
• For more information join an upcoming information session or contact xlabs@nsf.gov.

•  Restrictions on Co-Authoring With Foreign Scientists at NIH and NASA

• Related article- Science: NIH, NASA Restrict Co-Authoring With Foreign Scientists

• Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports: 

• Federal Research: Agencies Should Better Manage Anticipated Publishing Cost Increases Amid Shift to Public Access
• Related article- AIP FYI: Scholarly Publishing Costs Under Scrutiny by Trump Administration
• Artificial Intellegence: A Framework to Assess U.S. Competitiveness and Inform Policy Options
• Nuclear Waste Cleanup: DOE Shortages in Mission-Critical Positions Have Continued to Increase

Other News

• Phys.Org: We asked US researchers how the Trump administration's science policies have affected them
• AIP FYI: Republican Lawmakers Suggest Cutting Off Funding for National Academies
• Read Republican lawmakers' letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation (DoT) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) here.
• Related resources- 
• New York Post: GOP lawmakers urge Trump administration to defund 'woke' National Academies
• National Academies: Reference Manual on Scientific Evidence: Fourth Edition (2025)
• New York Times: Science Group Seeks Public Hearing for NSF Nominee (subscription required) 
• Related letter- American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS): NSF Confirmation Hearing Overdue

As always, I will continue tracking these and other developments and sharing updates relevant to the INFORMS community.

Best regards,

Jeff Cohen

P.S. If you want to get more involved in or learn more about INFORMS advocacy and public relations efforts, please reach out to me at: jcohen@informs.org

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Jeffrey M. Cohen, MBA | PhD Candidate
Chief Strategy Officer
INFORMS
jcohen@informs.org
linkedin.com/in/jmcsc
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