From 27 UNIHTED, NIH Alumni Action Network advancing the future of biomedical research for human health. Not gov. affiliated. 

Political control of NIH is about to become the law, but you can stop it

June 29

"Read our short guide on the "Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance," learn how you can leave an effective comment, and other actions you can take"

The deadline to submit comments is July 13. You may submit comments anonymously. The link for comments is https://www.regulations.gov/document/OMB-2026-0034-0001

For background, see the previous DCSS news items:

"Further updates on Trump Administration attempt to politicize federal grantmaking" (June 28)

"Updated: White House Aims to Establish Political Oversight of Federal Grants; Comments Needed" (June 4)

“Changing Fertility Preferences and Understanding Recent Fertility Decline”

Office of Population Research, Princeton University (November 13–14, 2026)

"We are pleased to invite submissions for a small interdisciplinary workshop on Changing Fertility Preferences and Understanding Recent Fertility Decline, to be held at the Office of Population Research, Princeton University, on November 13–14, 2026. The workshop is organized by Alícia Adserà and Jim Raymo and supported by the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) and OPR.

"This interdisciplinary workshop will focus on new approaches to understanding fertility change, with particular attention to the measurement of fertility preferences and to factors explaining changing fertility behavior across different world regions. We are especially interested in papers that examine settings beyond the traditional low-fertility contexts, including countries and regions experiencing more recent or rapid fertility decline."

"Please submit either a full paper or an advanced draft by August 25, 2026. Proposals that include a full paper will receive priority consideration. Decisions will be made by September 15.

"The organizers will provide hotel accommodation (up to two nights) and meals during the workshop. Participants are expected to make their own travel arrangements and cover their own travel expenses. Limited financial assistance may be available to help offset travel expenses for junior scholars."

Read the complete call [PDF]

From the Center on Education and the Workforce, Georgetown University

Equity Is an Economic Imperative

By Jeff Strohl, Director (June 30, 2026)

"For decades, traditional public finance has held that equity and efficiency are zero sum—that more of one means less of the other. According to this logic, allocating public resources requires hard choices: By sharing resources equitably, we create inefficiencies that reduce the total number of resources. But what if investments in equity actually result in more resources? Our recent work at the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce (CEW) suggests that when we invest in postsecondary equity, we are not pouring society’s resources into a “leaky bucket.” Instead, we are making a smart investment in our country’s financial health with demonstrable financial returns."

Read the complete blog post on the Center website

[Previously updated on June 27; adding a further news article at bottom]

Background in earlier DCSS news item, "Comment on revisions to the American Community Survey (ACS) and the Puerto Rico Community Survey (PRCS) by June 14"

The Census Quality Reinforcement Task Force (CQR) submitted comments on behalf of 29 organizations and 32 individual signers. [PDF]

"Conclusion:
"First, the research record supports implementation in the 2027 ACS, consistent with the Census Bureau's prior determination following formal analysis. That record, spanning more than two decades of Census Bureau testing and independent scientific advisory committee review, remains substantively unchanged. Each year of deferral beyond the Bureau's 2027 target reduces available time for implementation, testing, and evaluation before the current 2029 implementation benchmark, narrows the window for operational preparation before the 2030 Census, and extends the period during which known measurement limitations of the 1997 framework persist.

"Second, the program change described in the supporting statement is not reflected in the 30-day Federal Register Notice. The March 27, 2026 OMB bulletin extended the Action Plan submission timeline and stated that it otherwise made no additional changes to implementation timelines. The current September 2029 data collection implementation timeline referenced in OMB SPD 15 guidance therefore remains in effect, and the operational consequences of deferral identified above remain relevant regardless of the administrative latitude provided by the Action Plan extension.

"CQR respectfully submits that the technical record supports implementation of the updated standards in the 2027 ACS, consistent with the Census Bureau's prior determination, and that no new methodological findings in the public record justify further deferral."

"Census Bureau Quietly Scraps Plan for Improved Data Collection on Race and Ethnicity" (Talking Points Memo, Jun 26)

"The Census Bureau is walking back plans to unveil a new, more inclusive way to document race and ethnicity, delaying updates that would have affected policy about everything from SNAP benefits uptake to redistricting. 

"New race and ethnicity collection standards will no longer be used in the 2027 American Community Survey (ACS), according to a little-noticed update posted last month to the Federal Register. The ACS is largely viewed as the first look into how the consequential 2030 Census could shape up. And experts told TPM the Bureau’s indication that it won’t be using the updated race and ethnicity survey question standards puts at risk improved civil rights policy, redistricting, and more than a decade of research."

ASA is pleased to announce the 2026 Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants Research Scholars:

[DMV recipients from the full list]

Aaron D. Kinard (University of Virginia) 

Jingting Liang (Johns Hopkins University)

"The ASA Doctoral Dissertation Research Improvement Grants (ASA DDRIG) program supports theoretically grounded empirical investigations to advance understanding of fundamental social processes. Applicants who have completed their pre-dissertation requirements and are at the point of initiating or already conducting empirical dissertation research focused on advancing knowledge in any sociological sub-field regardless of method are welcome to apply.

"Up to 25 awards of a maximum of $16,000 each will be given each year to support highly talented doctoral students who are conducting cutting-edge sociological research that has the potential to both advance scientific knowledge and contribute to the public good. Along with this direct support, ASA DDRIG recipients will receive one year of membership to ASA as well as registration to the ASA Annual Meeting.

"ASA expects applications for the 2027 ASA DDRIG to open on August 1, 2026 with a deadline to apply by 5pm ET on November 2, 2026. This is contingent on pending funding from NSF."

Read the complete program description on the ASA website.

ASA Distinguished Scholarly Book Award for 2026

Fueling Development: How Black Radical Trade Unionism Transformed Trinidad and Tobago by Zophia Edwards, Johns Hopkins University

"Zophia Edwards is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Johns Hopkins University, and a scholar of racial capitalism, development, DuBoisian sociology, and labor who uses comparative-historical methods in her work. In Fueling Development: How Black Radical Trade Unionism Transformed Trinidad and Tobago, Edwards offers a masterful and sweeping analysis of the intersections of class, race, nation, and colonialism/post-colonialism across the 20th century. Based on extensive comparative-historical analysis, she develops a framework of “liberation unionism,” which encapsulates how Trinidad and Tobago succeeded, in terms of having high levels of democratic and redistributive development, despite their long histories of colonial exploitation. In doing so, she upends much of conventional thinking on sociology of development and draws upon literatures on race and capitalism."

Read the complete announcement on the ASA website

From WAMU (Jun 29)

"Washington D.C.’s child poverty rate spiked to more than 28% in 2024, according to the latest Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Data Book. The annual report tracks child well-being nationwide across four areas: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community structures.

"Rachel Metz, data and research manager with DC Action, says the situation in D.C. might be even worse than the report reflects, given the data came out prior to the mass federal layoffs that cratered the local economy last year. She also notes the rise in child poverty was not evenly distributed.

“We know that it’s a much higher increase among Black children specifically, and that speaks to economic inequality in the District and the need to really reduce those gaps and increase affordability for all,” Metz explains."

Read the complete article online, including a link to the original data source.

The original DCSS news item, “White House Aims to Establish Political Oversight of Federal Grants; Comments Needed” provides extensive background and resources for submitting a comment. This item provides additional resources.

The comment period ends July 13, 2026.

The American Sociological Association issued an “Advocacy Alert” that references a June 4 press release, “Sociologists Urged to Submit Public Comment on Proposed Changes to Federal Grant Rules” “Anyone who cares about how federal research and public-serving grants are awarded should take the time to comment,” said ASA Executive Director Heather M. Washington. “At the core of these rule changes is the question of whether federal funding decisions should be grounded in expertise, evidence, statutory purpose, and fair process. A system that can be reshaped around political priorities every time administrations change creates instability across the scientific enterprise and beyond. ASA members, researchers, institutions, and members of the public all have a stake in this debate.”

The Union of Concerned Scientists has set up a comment form, “Tell the Trump Administration: Politics Don't Belong in Science.” However, note that many advocates stress that comments should include individual perspectives from the submitter in order to have the greatest effect.

The Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) reported on June 16, “Research Community Organizing Around OMB Proposed Rule” See also the COSSA webinar on this topic scheduled for July 1.

The American Council on Education has prepared an eight-page summary of the proposed rule. [PDF]

The organization Defend Public Health issued an action appeal on June 16, “Oppose OMB Proposal to Put ALL Federal Government Grant Decisions in the Hands of Political Appointees” “…a proposal with breathtaking scope: It would create new terms and conditions for every grant issued across every department and agency of the federal government, including the Department of Health and Human Services. This would both politicize the awarding and continuation of grants and regulate the non-grant activities of those who receive federal funds.”

"Health equity researchers fear unseen level of scrutiny under White House proposal" (STAT, June 22) "Deep inside a White House proposal to overhaul how the government awards grants is a short section that health disparities researchers say could disqualify much of their work from federal funding — perhaps the most serious threat yet to the future of their field. 'If this rule is taken to mean that you’re not supposed to compare groups because some of them have quote-unquote protected status, then you’re ruling out actually understanding what’s truly going on in the population about distributions of exposures, distributions of health outcomes, and what the causes of these patterns are,' said Nancy Krieger, a social epidemiologist, who is considered a leader in examining the impact of structural racism on health and commented on the OMB proposal."

The Association of Health Care Journalists is also sponsoring a webinar on July 1, “How a new White House proposal could fundamentally change American science.” “Join a STAT reporter who has covered the issue, a former NIH official, a government relations professional and a leading research for an exploration of this specific policy….”

"On Tuesday, June 9, 2026, on the Anniversary of the Bethesda Declaration, Bethesda Declaration Organizers released "Bethesda Declaration: One Year Later," a document outlining the damage caused to the NIH and the Nation’s scientific infrastructure by this Administration’s harmful policies. In the wake of a proposed Office of Management and Budget rule that would codify the damaging policies of the past 18 months, this review provides an in-depth view of the damage caused by such policies. 

"This account is an update and expansion of the concerns that were stated in the June 9, 2025, Bethesda Declaration, an open letter to NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD. The Declaration raised five concerns about the actions taken in the first six months of the Administration, and was signed by more than 600 NIH staff and 32,000 external scientists, patients, and members of the general public. 

"Since the release of the Bethesda Declaration, the status of NIH has only worsened. The Bethesda Declaration: One Year Later provides evidence that current NIH policies continue to cause havoc in the US scientific enterprise, impeding the NIH mission and risking public health. Specifically, the report details how each of these concerns continues to impact NIH."

Read the full announcement on the 27 UNIHTED website. "27 UNIHTED is the NIH Alumni Action Organization, composed of former NIH workers and community allies in their personal capacities supporting the NIH workforce and advocating for the future of biomedical research."

Read the DCSS news items on the current Trump administration proposed rule to insert political review into federal grant making.

See also, "Inside the new political screening that’s stalling NIH grants" (Nature, June 27) "Hundreds of grant applications to the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) are being held up at any given time by unprecedented scrutiny after peer review. Some have been flagged by an algorithm for using terms, such as ‘gender’ and ‘climate change’, that have been deemed not to conform with the priorities of the administration of US President Donald Trump."

“A Trump push to cut ‘statistical noise’ could mean less data from the Census Bureau" (NPR, June 12) “Federal law requires the [Census] bureau to keep people anonymous in the data it produces from surveys and government records. But this month, the administration put out an order that many data experts say makes it harder, if not impossible, for the agency to balance protecting the confidentiality of people's information with releasing useful data about local areas and small populations.” [Note that the order also applies to Bureau of Economic Analysis.]

Joint statement on Commerce’s disclosure avoidance for statistical products (June 17) “This order subverts processes developed over decades to foster transparency and public trust and creates a scenario in which there will either be less privacy for our personal information, or less usable data, or both.” (From the Association of Population Centers, Association of Public Data Users, Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics, Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research at the University of Michigan, and Population Association of America) 

Commerce Department order (June 4) “Disclosure Avoidance for Statistical Products” 

Population Reference Bureau (PRB), “Disclosure Avoidance in the 2020 Census: What Should Data Users Know About Respondent Privacy and Data Accuracy?” (April 2023)

PRB and Census, “Why the Census Bureau Chose Differential Privacy” (March 2023)