Good evening -
As you know doubt know, there are numerous significant headline-dominating issues confronting Washington. Despite the noise, there are a number of key updates to share with you this week.
Reminder -- Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act
As I wrote last week, following the recent successful Senate HELP Committee vote to advance the Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act, INFORMS is encouraging members who are constituents of the senators who voted in favor of the legislation in the Committee to reach out and thank them for their support.
If one of the following senators represents your state, please take a moment to contact their office. Thank them for voting for the bill on February 26th, and encourage them to continue working with their colleagues and Senate leadership to bring the legislation before the full Senate as soon as possible.
INFORMS also encourages members in New Hampshire and Tennessee to contact Senators Maggie Hassan and Marsha Blackburn, the bill's two original Senate co-sponsors.
Senator Hassan also serves on the HELP Committee and voted to advance the bill.
Senator Blackburn, while not a member of the committee, has been a key leader on this legislation from the outset. If either senator represents your state, please thank them for their leadership and encourage them to keep building momentum for swift Senate consideration.
You can use the links below to contact the senators who voted to advance the bill in committee, as well as Senator Blackburn.
U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions
Members who voted Yes on 2/26/26 on
the Mathematical and Statistical Modeling Education Act
* Please let me know if you've contacted your Senator about the bill, or if you have any questions. Knowing how many INFORMS members contacted their Senator is an important metric for our advocacy efforts in Washington on this bill.
Congress
- House Appropriations Committee hearing: Oversight Hearing – National Institutes of Health
- Full hearing of Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies
- Witnesses: Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D. (Director, National Institutes of Health)
- Date: Tuesday, March 17, 2026, at 10:30 AM ET
- Livestream available here
Federal Agencies
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) notice: Proposed Collection; 60-Day Comment Request; Early Career Reviewer Program Online Application and Vetting System-Center for Scientific Review (CSR)
- Comments due May 4, 2026
- For more info or to submit comments, contact Dr. Hope Cummings, Project Clearance Liaison, Center for Scientific Review, NIH, Room 907-M, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892; or email at hope.cummings@nih.gov
- General Services Administration (GSA) notice: Information Collection; System for Award Management Registration Requirements for Financial Assistance Recipients
Federal Grants
In The News
As always, I will continue tracking these and other developments and sharing updates relevant to the INFORMS community.
Don't forget, if you want to get more involved in or learn more about INFORMS advocacy efforts, please reach out to me at: jcohen@informs.org
Best regards,
Jeff Cohen
------------------------------
Jeffrey M. Cohen, MBA | PhD Candidate
Chief Strategy Officer
INFORMS
jcohen@informs.orglinkedin.com/in/jmcsc
------------------------------