September begins a budget push in Congress

September looks busy for Congress, which faces a looming budget deadline. The House of Representatives returns today, while the Senate will remain in recess until Sept. 14. Unless Congress takes action , most federal funding will run out on Sept. 30 when the fiscal year ends. That leaves few days in the legislative calendar ahead of that deadline, with midterm election campaigning beckoning.

In August, the Senate passed a stopgap budget bill extending government funding into December. However, it came with riders unlike the House’s earlier-passed “clean” funding bill, which those lawmakers must now decide whether to accept. The House has so far passed only three of its full appropriations bills for next year’s budget, while the Senate hasn’t passed any.

House hearings will resume this week, including ones on advanced nuclear reactors and patent fees. The Energy and Commerce Committee will meet Tuesday to consider several AI- and quantum-related bills as well as an update to satellite and spectrum licensing rules. However, the key science policy fight will be over the provision in the Senate stopgap funding bill that temporarily blocks a proposed Office of Management and Budget rule on federal grantmaking. The proposed rule has sparked concern not only because it would give political appointees final say over grants, but also power to terminate active ones at will. Some parts of the rule drew opposition from Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-ME), and more recently among Republicans in the House, such as Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY), who reportedly circulated an August letter to OMB calling for the rule’s withdrawal. Democrats have widely opposed the rule.

Science agencies, national labs, among targets of Chinese hacking group

The Department of Justice announced last week that it had taken steps to dismantle a Chinese state-sponsored hacking group that targeted multiple federal agencies, including NASA, the Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, and three unnamed national labs. Federal authorities seized domains supporting two of the group’s hacking platforms on Aug. 26, making them inoperable.

According to court documents, the hacking group, known as QTFY, attempted to gain access to NASA networks in 2019 using a virtual private network vulnerability but was unsuccessful. It is unclear how many of the group’s other hacking attempts were successful, though the three national labs are among entities described as “victims” of the group. FYI has reached out to DOE for comment.

“Today’s announcement demonstrates the Justice Department’s steadfast commitment to going on the offensive against cyber threats to the national security,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Eisenberg said in a press release. “These court-authorized seizures deny PRC-linked hackers access to tools they use to mount online attacks against our nation’s critical infrastructure.”

NSF announces $290M in quantum research alongside new Treasury readiness initiative

Last week, the federal government announced new efforts to advance quantum research and prepare for the technology’s potential security risks. The National Science Foundation is committing $290 million to support eight Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes, which will focus on quantum sensing, communications, and computing.

That funding establishes three new research centers and extends five existing ones, bringing together 36 universities and federal laboratories with more than 30 corporate partners. They will work over the next five years on technical challenges that include fault tolerance and quantum error correction, while developing the field’s next generation of scientific talent.

Also last week, the Treasury Department announced a new Quantum-Readiness Task Force, a public-private collaboration designed to help financial organizations and government agencies transition toward post-quantum cryptographic standards. The department said the task force will help deliver the goals of an executive order focused on quantum cryptography that President Trump signed earlier this summer.

Quantum information science is identified as a priority in the White House’s recently published National Security Science and Technology Strategy, which says the field is important to maintaining US economic and technological leadership.

Also on our radar

• NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launched successfully on Sunday and is now headed to its observation orbit.
• DOE and the Small Business Administration established a Small Business Investment Company-Energy Initiative last week. The SBIC-E will invest in strategic technologies and provide small businesses with technical expertise.
• NSF launched three new science and technology centers, providing $6 million to each over 5 years. They will study turbulence, cell aging, and robotics, respectively.
• DOE hosted the launch of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s new ATLAS initiative to promote maritime use of nuclear power.
• The House Science Committee chair and ranking member requested a GAO review of NOAA weather satellite programs. The agency has recently raised its GeoXO satellite program life-cycle cost, the request noted.
• Faulty assumptions about gasoline prices and consumer fuel efficiency valuations underlie a 2026 EPA rollback of greenhouse gas standards for vehicles, an analysis in Science finds.
• Pennsylvania’s Department of Health confirmed two measles-related deaths on Aug. 25, both in unvaccinated people. The most recent nationwide measles case count stands at 2,903 cases, according to the CDC.

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All events are Eastern Time unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement. Events beyond this week are listed on our website.

Monday, August 31

SDSC: Fast Machine Learning for Science Conference (continues through Friday)

NASEM: Assessment of technical and scientific capabilities at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, meeting 14
1:00 - 3:00 pm

NASA: Turkey Artemis Accords signing ceremony
2:30 pm

House: Hearing to consider the Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act and other bills
4:00 pm, Rules Committee

Tuesday, September 1

National Academies: Facilitating Experiential Learning for Emerging and Novel Technologies (ExLENT) workshop (continues through Wednesday)

National Academies: Reenvisioning the future of STEM research at emerging research institutions (continues through Wednesday)

National Academies: Space Weather Roundtable (continues through Wednesday)

House: Hearing to consider several bills, including the American Quantum Competitiveness Act, Chip EQUIP Act, and Open-Source AI Leadership Act
10:15 am, Energy and Commerce Committee

House: Hearing to consider the Satellite and Telecommunications Streamlining Act and five other bills
2:00 pm, Energy and Commerce Committee

AEI: Graduate education after Grad PLUS
1:30 - 4:25 pm

Wednesday, September 2

NASEM: New Voices and Vanderbilt Sustainability, Energy, and Climate Symposium (continues through Friday)

NASEM: Modernizing Mathematics Education for Grades 9-14, meeting 4 (continues through Thursday)

House: Renewal of USPTO Fee Setting Authority: Giving Full Effect to the America Invents Act
10:00 am, Judiciary Committee

House: Powering the Nuclear Renaissance: Accelerating U.S. Leadership in Advanced Nuclear Reactors
10:00 am, Science, Space, and Technology Committee

Thursday, September 3

CNAS: The AI open-weight debate: Balancing innovation and security
3:00 - 4:00 pm

RFF: Economic and financial impacts of climate change: An overview
1:00 - 2:00 pm

Friday, September 4

No events.

Monday, September 7

No events.

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Deadlines indicated in parentheses. Newly added opportunities are marked with a diamond.

Job Openings

National Academies: Assistant to the president (ongoing)
APS: Head of scientific programs (ongoing)
AIP: Director of social science research (ongoing)
ACS: Congressional fellowship (ongoing)
AACR: Director, Regulatory Science and Policy (ongoing)
◆DOE: Director, CMEI Office of Budget (Sept. 8)
◆DOE: Deputy director, Office of Enterprise Assessments (Sept. 9)
IDA: Research analyst, science policy (Sept. 30)
AIP: Science policy fellowship, State Department (Oct. 1)
AAAS: Pathways to Policy Fellowship (Nov. 1)
AIP: Science policy fellowship, Congress (Dec. 1)

Solicitations

Physics Today: Reader information survey (ongoing)
APS: Call for ideas for the NSF Forward initiative (ongoing)
ACS: Call for ACS members to address global grand challenges in chemistry (ongoing)
FAS: Public Impact S&T Initiative open call (ongoing)
NIST: Request for letters of interest for the Neutron-Based Materials Characterization Consortium (ongoing)
NIST: Request for nominations for members to serve on NIST federal advisory committees (ongoing)
NRC: RFC on reforming and modernizing the NRC’s radiation protection framework
DOE: RFI on public-private partnerships in computing (Sept. 8)
◆OSTP: RFC on proposed amendment to the Fifth National Climate Assessment (Sept. 9)
NOAA: Solicitation of nominations for membership on the NOAA Science Advisory Board (Sept. 18)
NIH: RFI on proposed changes to reporting outcomes from NIH peer review (Oct. 13)
NIST: RFI on modernizing the National Vulnerability Database in the age of artificial intelligence (Oct. 13)
NIH: RFC on draft NIH Biosafety Policy for Research Involving Biohazards (Oct. 19)

Know of an opportunity for scientists to engage in science policy? Email us at fyi@aip.org.

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Do you have a story to tell about how science policy is impacting you?

AIP’s research team is gathering first-hand accounts from scientists, engineers, students, and staff whose careers have been affected by policy and funding changes over the past year. Volunteers can submit their stories via this online form. Participants’ stories will be added to the Niels Bohr Library & Archives digital repository as searchable, citable records — with options for anonymity and a five-year embargo period. Read more about the initiative here.

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News and views currently in circulation. Links do not imply endorsement.

White House

White House: President Trump establishes a commission to design the United States Space Academy
Stat: Comments on OMB research rule mysteriously removed from federal website
E&E News: Trump admin wins defense of Biden-era EPA air rule
FedScoop: New Treasury task force will help financial sector prepare for quantum transition
FedScoop: OPM memo attempts to clear path for more AI use in federal hiring

Congress

Politico: The House is back in session. Many Republicans hope it won’t be for long
Politico: The midterms are months away. Members are already jockeying for seats on this powerful panel
Brookings: Why data centers are a top issue in the 2026 midterms
House Energy and Commerce Committee: Committee chairs announce markup of six bills to strengthen communications networks and modernize satellite regulations
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA): In new letter, Murray, colleagues demand NIH director restore lifesaving pediatric research
Senate Energy Committee: Sen. Heinrich (D-NM) cosponsors bipartisan legislation to advance responsible, international nuclear energy cooperation

Science, Society, and the Economy

National Academies: Potential of emerging research institutions to be explored at upcoming National Academies summit
NPR: The US relied on these science advisers. Then the Trump administration cut them
Boston Review: How to save science (perspective by Zeynep Pamuk)
Chronicle of Higher Education: A scholarly association’s secretive Washington playbook
AGU: Wins, losses, and why we keep showing up
Nature: Will Meta’s deal make social media safe for kids? Researchers are dubious
Nature: Dolly Parton dies aged 80 — researchers celebrate her contributions to science
Nature: These rodent OnlyFans stars are helping to fund scientific research

Education and Workforce

AFGE: Unions challenge Trump administration rules governing federal employee performance evaluations and job suitability decisions
Inside Higher Ed: Postdocs aren’t burger flippers: Why unionization is a bad idea (perspective by Evan Morris)
Undark Magazine: The new student visa policy doesn’t add up (perspective by David Kaiser)
Science: NSF shrinks support for social sciences in prestigious graduate fellowship program
Science: NSF’s new plan to fund graduate students to work in industry covers familiar ground
Issues in Science and Technology: Ideas for improving the SBIR program (perspective by Warren Katz)
Chronicle of Higher Education: Once seen as a sure thing, computer science has lost 53,000 majors

Research Management

ACE: Comments on NSF’s proposed guidance on financial assistance
New York Times: Some scientists have ‘magic hands’ in the lab. This A.I. Is learning why
Chemical & Engineering News: How AI is quietly reshaping chemical sciences
Nature: The future of peer review requires AI support, not AI bans (perspective by Xuegong Zhang)
Retraction Watch: Elsevier to ‘soon investigate’ two Macchiarini papers more than a year after retraction request

Labs and Facilities

Princeton University: DOE and Princeton University extend, strengthen partnership
Berkeley Lab: Planning a new era of discovery with the upgraded Advanced Light Source
Lawrence Livermore: LLNL partners with industry to advance next-generation reactor fuel
Los Alamos: Remember: Lab is a no-drone zone
Fermilab: URA honors Fermilab researchers advancing laboratory’s top priorities
NOAA: NOAA to rebuild historic science lab in Beaufort, North Carolina

Space

New York Times: SpaceX to spend $100 billion on new spaceport in Louisiana
NASA Watch: NASA HQ procurement blackout notice
NASA: NASA’s Artemis II crew receives Congressional Space Medal of Honor
NASA: NASA’s dark universe-seeking Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope launches
NASA: Ribbon-Cutting event for NASA Deep Space Network’s Deep Space Station 23
Science News: A space telescope was falling from orbit. Its rescue mission fell apart too
The Guardian: Space junk punched a new hole in the Moon. It’s not ours to abuse (perspective by Moriba Jah)
IEEE Spectrum: A new NASA design turbocharges nuclear spacecraft

Energy

NPR: Nuclear regulator prepares to abandon a decades-old radiation safety rule
Nature: Are pro-nuclear politics a threat to public safety? (perspective by Peter Fairley)
IAEA: IAEA launches ATLAS as countries explore nuclear power for shipping and offshore energy
Power: NRIC adds 13 projects to Nuclear Energy Launch Pad, expanding advanced reactor and fuel-cycle pipeline
DOE OIG: Additional action would assist the Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy fulfill the US manufacturing requirement (report)
DOE OIG: The Department of Energy’s payment integrity reporting in fiscal year 2025 (report)
Nature: Billion-dollar machine aims to set a fusion-energy record

Defense

The Information: US judge orders Pentagon to rescind blacklisting of Anthropic
DOD: Army lasers blast drones, proving directed-energy weapons are future
DOD: Army selects vendors, sites for nuclear microreactors
DefenseScoop: Initial Golden Dome tests focused on C2, software
DefenseScoop: One year in, America’s counter-drone task force still has ‘a ton of work to do’
GAO: National security space: DOD has opportunities to improve its use of commercial data and related services (report)
Inside Defense: Key DOD acquisition policy office reshuffles senior leadership amid pricing overhaul
Inside Defense: Golden Dome test ‘successes’ arrive as independent MDA scrutiny disappears

Biomedical

The Guardian: ‘So much fringe science’: RFK Jr’s advisers are pushing an extreme makeover in autism research
Stat: At a federal autism advisory committee meeting, members double down on long-debunked theories
Stat: A bill is supposed to protect US biotech from Chinese competition. But there’s a loophole
Reese Richardson: At least 15 companies are selling antibodies using faked validation data
MedPage Today: ‘Transformation’ project underway at CDC
Stat: We quit the CDC last year. The problems we protested remain (perspective by Debra Houry, Daniel Jernigan, and Demetre Daskalakis)

International Affairs

Science|Business: Greenland research institutions halt new US collaborations citing mistrust
Science|Business: Does Europe dare to invest in the Arctic? (perspective by Tore Furevik)
Physics World: With e-MERLIN facing the axe, what next for Jodrell Bank and UK astronomy? (audio)
Science|Business: Japan’s national research agency RIKEN lays out plan to become carbon neutral by 2050
Retraction Watch: Japan institute defends Nobel Prize winner amid allegations of image duplication
Science|Business: Copernicus contract shortfall stirs exit debate in UK