COSSA Washington Update – July 2022

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Lawmakers have just three more weeks of work in July before leaving for the month-long August recess. House leaders are likely to try to schedule votes on as many of the bills as possible before then.

Of course, this is just half the story. The Senate Appropriations Committee has yet to consider any of its annual spending bills. In addition, many of the proposals in the House Democrat’s bills are considered dead on arrival in the highly divided Senate, especially with respect to defense spending levels. The path to completion is anything by straightforward.

However, one thing that could help lawmakers get to a deal on FY 2023 funding before the end of the year is the upcoming retirements of notable Appropriators, who will be looking to secure their legacies through enactment of the FY 2023 spending bills, presumably by the end of calendar year 2022. These dynamics coupled with the upcoming midterm elections will make for an interesting fall and ending to the FY 2023 appropriations process. COSSA will continue to report on these and other developments as the process unfolds.

Read on for COSSA’s analysis of the House FY 2023 funding bills for federal agencies and programs important to the social and behavioral science research community.

The statistics surrounding gun violence in America are staggering and the policy solutions varied. Recent tragedies in Uvalde, TX and at a grocery store in my hometown of Buffalo, NY—not to mention the countless other shootings that have occurred since then—underscore just how pervasive this crisis is, regardless of where you live. The institutions long-considered “safe spaces”—schools, hospitals, houses of worship—are no longer safe from the scourge of gun violence.

Mass shooting events are just one piece of this social and public health crisis. Everyday across the country families and communities are being rocked by gun violence, from suicide by gun to violence between domestic partners to tragedies stemming from improper storage of firearms in the home. While not all fatal, these experiences leave lasting effects on the communities in which they occur, changing countless lives forever.

What can we do to address a challenge as big and complex as gun violence in America?

The social and behavioral sciences provide an evidence base that allows us to better understand the many factors contributing to gun violence and inform policy or other solutions. Over the next few months, Why Social Science? will spotlight what social science research can tell us about gun violence—conditions that can lead to it, its effects on those involved, and possible solutions informed by science.

I invite you to read—and share—these posts within your own communities, starting with this first contribution by Dr. Rebecca Cunningham, Vice President for Research at the University of Michigan and leading expert on firearm injury prevention and public health.

By shining a light on the contributions of social and behavioral science, we hope to present a fuller picture of this complex issue and share insights and expertise that can help move the conversation forward… hopefully to a safer future.

Thank you, social scientists, for all you do.

Wendy Naus
Proud Buffalonian
COSSA Executive Director
#whysocialscience