Dr. David Miller 🏳️🌈
Physicist Turned Psychologist | Senior Researcher in #STEMed | Meta-Analysis Nerd | d-miller.github.io
Also posts about 🧪 science funding to focus my attention.
Personal account. I don’t speak for my employer or any other orgs.
- Fuck that noise. Federal workers deserve our respect and pay. And more than that: it's the law. "Shall be paid...at the earliest date possible after the lapse in appropriations ends" 31 U.S. Code § 1341 (c)(2): uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?p...
- Johnson: "It's true that in previous shutdowns, many or most furloughed employees have been paid for the time they were furloughed, but there is new legal analysis - I don't know the details, I just saw a headline - but there are some legal analysts saying that might not be appropriate or necessary"
- A tale of two states and Trump's shakedown of higher ed: TEXAS: Oh goody, yes, we love to strip away academic freedoms to serve Trump's wishes. CALIFORNIA: Eat shit. Any university who signs the letter will lose state funding.
- Receipts for above: U of Texas Board of Regents (gift NYT link): www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/u... California governor: bsky.app/profile/gove... The 10-page "compact" itself: www.washingtonexaminer.com/wp-content/u...
- 📣 Calling 2nd-year grad students and their mentors: You just abruptly lost the ability to apply for the NSF grad research fellowship. Join ~900 others (and growing!) in signing @omfishient.bsky.social's petition to reverse that. [Or reshare this petition if you're not directly impacted]
- Though many NSF employees are currently furloughed, Congress is not (where this call is going to next):
- 📣 🧪 Update: #GRFP petition went to #NSF and OSTP (w/ the growing* comments list) yesterday. We are now working to get these impacts in front of Congress, so PLEASE keep signing/sharing the petition! *nearly 900! @danielbolnick.bsky.social @joshuasweitz.bsky.social @jasonwilliamsny.bsky.social
- Some further context on the abrupt policy change:
- One blatant violation of the Hatch Act after another:
- Needed to take a bit of a social media break for personal reasons, but hopping back on say: At awe of the civil servants at NSF, NIH, etc. While Vought uses their jobs/livelihood as a political pawn re: shutdown, their first instinct has remained: how do I support the communities of scientists?
- In that vein, NSF's shutdown plans just went public: nsf-gov-resources.nsf.gov/files/nsf-sh... Already-funded projects can continue. And proposals can be submitted. But don't expect a response from a program officer during the shutdown.
- Appreciate the timeline cleanse 😂
- 👎 BOO: Federal judge just denied a preliminary injunction to reinstate terminated NSF grants (link below). Also allows Trump admin to still apply the lawless new "priorities" to pending NSF proposals, at least for now (www.nsf.gov/updates-on-p...). A thread... (with call to action for Congress) 🧵
- This time, the blow was wasn't from a Trump appointee: Judge was Jia Cobb, a Biden appointee (who just blocked the firing of Lisa Cook). But was responding to other recent binding decisions, esp the SCOTUS "shadow docket" ruling on NIH terminations. Some context here:
- A tiny glimmer of hope: the opinion said the district court can still review claims about guidance for future proposals. Just: no preliminary relief for now.
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View full threadStatement from the plaintiffs: “We are as united and committed as ever to ultimately winning this case and protecting these important NSF grants. The Trump-Vance administration acted unlawfully when it terminated these crucial grants."
- Key initial win in court for Harvard and academic freedom!! Ruling based on free speech rights under 1st Amendment. Judge ruled that distinguishes the case from recent Supreme Court decision on NIH grant terminations. "This is not Calvinball." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
- AAUP-HARVARD, AAUP, & UAW WON THE HARVARD CASE!!!! storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
- (Needless to say: gov't will appeal, argue the case really isn't different from prior Supreme Court decision, etc. But still (a) sand in gears and (b) backs SCOTUS into increasingly awkward, even more indefensible positions to still side with Trump admin.)
- Judge Burroughs throwing shade on SCOTUS: “The Supreme Court’s recent emergency docket rulings regarding grant terminations have not been models of clarity.”
- SCOTUS favorability dropped from 70% to 48% in just the past five years. Largely driven by sharp decline for Dem voters.
- NEW from @pewresearch.org: The share of Americans with a favorable opinion of the Supreme Court remains near historic lows and the partisan divide remains enormous: 71% of Republicans vs. 26% of Democrats see the court favorably. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...
- Deleted previous post about this as "good news"... it's just a less bad version of what could be. Why can't HUD move there instead, rather than annexing NSF's custom-built building? Have heard that several review panels went back to in-person or hybrid in some directorates too, contrary to article
- After learning it would be evicted from its current headquarters and left in limbo about its future home, the National Science Foundation appears headed to new digs just down the street—and soon. scim.ag/4p1zzto
- 🧪 This House bill would also cap NIH indirect rates at 43% for elite private unis & colleges. Not the extreme 15% cap. But also inflexible / 👎 BUT THIS IS MALLEABLE. There's time for pushback (including for other things like multi-year funding). Details in next post (h/t joshuasweitz.bsky.social)
- Here's the House's provision: appropriations.house.gov/sites/evo-su... "30% of an award" --> .3/.7 = 43% indirect rate cap "IRS section 4968" --> private uni or college with $500K+ endowment per student (and 3,000+ students) So targets elite wealthy unis like Harvard, Columbia, etc.
- In contrast, the Senate version is more what to aim for: Sec 224: Blocks modified approach for indirect rates Sec 239: Blocks multi-year funding scheme www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...
- Thanks to @joshuasweitz.bsky.social for pointing out indirect rate provision:
- 👎 Less good: the bill would slash CDC's budget by $1.7 billion, a -19% cut. From the Dems' summary: democrats-appropriations.house.gov/sites/evo-su... CALL YOUR REP. Also call for RFK Jr. to resign for his ongoing coup of CDC.
- 🧪 And House appropriators say: no cuts to NIH budget! House subcommittee version just came out (link below). Holds NIH flat at $48 billion. To be clear: this is far from over. But a good sign that science still matters across both sides of aisle. YOUR VOICE MATTERS!!
- 🧪 Senate appropriators say: NIH's budget gets a... boost! Rather than 40% cut, NIH gets a $400M *increase* in the Senate committee bill for FY26 (about +1%). "Congress has your back," said @murray.senate.gov. ADVOCACY MATTERS! There's still a long road (esp in the House), so keep up pressure.
- Part of the "far from over": Will the FY26 budget get passed? Some version of a continuing resolution seems inevitable (nice read below). But it's also possible that at least some of the 12 spending bills could get passed this month too.
- Link to the bill summary (bear in mind: talking points selectively picked by Rs): appropriations.house.gov/sites/evo-su...
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View full threadAnd re: Vought/OMB, this remains essential: all the fuckery this year was with no budget cuts from Congress. So: appropriations are still critical. But equally so are protective measures to see $ spent as intended by Congress. Good 🧵 about that below 👇
- “You don’t want to cut out all the talented people in geosciences and life sciences and psychology and sociology in favor of giving everyone who’s doing AI a fellowship.” -said @susanelise.bsky.social, former NSF program officer for the Graduate Research Fellowship Program.
- And for full context: This was in the context of having an industry partner model being a good thing, IN ADDITION TO broad-based GRFP. But without a broad-based GRFP, that's 👎. Major unanswered ❓ right now about what will be available.
- Especially if you have a Republican senator or House rep: URGE CONGRESS TO DEFEND THEIR CONSTITUTIONAL POWERS OF THE PURSE
- If you'd been planning to apply to NSF's ECR:Core program in October, take note 👇 ECR:Core supports fundamental research on STEM ed (e.g., more basic science on STEM learning). But eligibility *just changed* for preK-12 & informal learning proposals. More details here: ecrhub.org/resource/com...
- Last Friday, #NSF released the NSF STEM K-12 solicitation restructuring funding opportunities for research on STEM teaching and learning, including changes that directly affect future proposals to the ECR:Core program. (1/3)
