INFORMS Open Forum

Good afternoon INFORMS members – 

I have several updates to share with you from Washington this week.

Congress

• Congress passes short-term funding bill, keeping the federal government funded through Dec. 11 and delaying OMB rule
• Related – See INFORMS comments (attached) regarding the OMB proposed rule.

 

White House 

• White House strategy: National Security Science & Technology Strategy
• White House policy: United States Government Policy for Stopping High-Risk Life Sciences Research
• Related press release- American Society for Microbiology (ASM): ASM Statement on USG High-Risk Life Sciences Research Policy

 

Federal Agencies

• INFORMS is partnering with the American Physical Society and other scientific societies on NSF Forward, an initiative to develop bold, actionable recommendations for strengthening the National Science Foundation and positioning it to meet the evolving needs of the U.S. research enterprise. The initiative is soliciting input from across the scientific community to inform policy proposals for consideration by the 120th Congress. Comments are due September 14^th. Learn more here.
• National Science Foundation (NSF) press releases: 
• NSF launches three new Science and Technology Centers with $90M investment in transformative research
• Related webpage- NSF: Science and Technology Centers
• Eight NSF research institutes to propel U.S. quantum science with $290M investment
• Learn more about the funded projects here.
• National Institute of Health (NIH) notice- Request for Comment: Draft NIH Biosafety Policy for Research Involving Biohazards
• Comments are due October 19 through the NIH comment form.
• For more information, contact the NIH Office of Science Policy at SciencePolicy@od.nih.gov. 
• Related factsheet - ASM: Gain of Function Research
• NIH notice - Request for Information: Draft NIH Policy on Sharing Summary Level Study Results with Clinical Research Participants
• Comments are due October 26 through the online portal. 
• For more information, contact the NIH Office of Science Policy at SciencePolicy@od.nih.gov

 

Federal Register 

• Department of Education (ED) proposed rule: Education Department General Administrative Regulations
• Comments are due on September 23 through the online portal.
• For more information, contact Zachary Rogers, Department of Education at EDGAR@ed.gov. 
• Related article- Feldesman LLP: Department of Education Announces Proposed Changes to Grant Regulations
• Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed rule: Notice of Proposed Rule Making on Fee for Certain H-1B Petitions
• Comments are due September 24 and must be submitted through the online portal.
• For more information, contact The Office of the Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Department of Homeland Security, 5900 Capital GatewayDrive, Camp Springs, MD 20746 or call 240-721-3000.
• Related working paper- The ROCKWOOL Foundation Berlin Institute for the Economy and the Future of Work (RFBerlin) Taxes on High-Skill Immigration: Demand and Supply Response in the International Student-OPT-Work Visa Pipeline
• Office of Science and Technology Policy proposed amendment: United States Global Change Research Program; Availability for Public Comment on the Proposed Amendment to the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5)
• Comments are due September 9 through the online portal. 
• For more information, contact Dr. Matthew Wielicki, Director of the U.S. Global Change Research Program, OSTP, at federalregister@ostp.eop.gov or 202-456-4444.

 

In The News 

• Science: NSF shrinks support for social sciences in prestigious graduate fellowship program
• Inside HigherEd: New Student Visas Dropped 23% in 2025
• Nature: Exclusive- NSF set to issue lowest number of new grants in four decades

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 External Affairs Officer
INFORMS
jcohen@informs.org
linkedin.com/in/jmcsc
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