By Elizabeth Stulberg, Lewis-Burke Associates At the beginning of the new fiscal year, Wednesday, October 1, with no new funding bills or continuing resolution passed by Congress, many agencies within the federal government suspended their services. This is known as a government shutdown. It will end when Congress passes funding bills that reopen the currently-shuttered … Read more
Earlier this summer, the US Department of Agriculture announced reorganization plans that included relocating the majority of its staff to regional hubs around the country. Included in the relocation would be the USDA Biotechnology Regulatory Services (BRS), a program of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), that ensures the safety of organisms developed … Read more
As budget development continues, ASPB recently joined with other research institutions, scientific societies, and agricultural stakeholders in a letter to House and Senate Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittee Members requesting “no less than $500 million for the USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) in Fiscal Year 2026.” As a key grant program of the US Department … Read more
On June 13, 2022, ASPB, together with 90 scientific organizations, signed a letter in support of the LGBTQI+ Data Inclusion Act. The bill would require federal surveys to include data collection on sexual orientation and gender identity on a voluntary basis and ensure that lawmakers and federal agencies have the comprehensive data they need to … Read more
On February 6, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) published a new strategic document to steer future science activities for the Department through 2025. The USDA Science Blueprint is intended to provide direction and focus as the agencies within USDA strive for a more coordinated scientific enterprise. A primary goal of the document is the … Read more