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Policy Blog
The AAS Public Policy team uses the Policy Blog to communicate with the membership about current events in the science policy world. Most policy blog posts are written by the John N. Bahcall Public Policy Fellow.
Policy Update (5 August 2025)
5 Aug 2025
Congress is in recess until 2 September. The AAS submitted a comment to the Federal Communications Commission in support of protected radio astronomy bands.
House FY2026 Appropriations Report: NASA, NSF, and DOE Details
30 Jul 2025
The House released its Commerce, Justice, and Science spending bills and reports for FY2026. Here we break down the provisions related to the astronomical sciences for NASA, the National Science Foundation, and the...
Senate FY2026 CJS Appropriations Report: NASA and NSF Details
22 Jul 2025
The Senate released its Commerce, Justice, and Science spending bill and report for FY2026. Here we break down the provisions related to the astronomical sciences for NASA and the National Science Foundation.
Policy Update (22 July 2025)
22 Jul 2025
We have a new Action Alert in response to reports that OMB may be directing NASA and NSF to operate at deep cut levels in FY2026. A letter to Rep. Zoe Lofgren states that $2.2 billion has been withheld from NSF. A new...
My Recent Experience Advocating for Science
14 Jul 2025
AAS member and Nobel Prize Laureate Adam Riess describes his experience giving a speech to Congress at a recent event at the Capitol, "A Science Fair of Canceled Grants."
The FY2026 President’s Budget Request: DOE Office of Science and NIST Details
14 Jul 2025
Detailed budget requests for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science and National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) were released on 10 July. Here we break down the impacts on astronomical science...
Inside the Web of Policy: A High Schooler’s Experience in Advocacy
9 Jul 2025
Thamarie Pinnaduwage, a high school senior from Northern Virginia, shares her experiences shadowing the AAS public policy team for two weeks.
Policy Update (8 July 2025)
8 Jul 2025
NASA leadership is working on agency reorganization plans and motivating more employees to voluntarily resign. The One Big Beautiful Bill was passed. The Senate is scheduled to mark up their spending bill this week.
Reconciliation vs Appropriations
2 Jul 2025
Here we outline the key difference between the reconciliation process, which deals with mandatory spending and taxes, and the appropriations process, which determines the funding levels for discretionary programs.
Policy Update (24 June 2025)
24 Jun 2025
The nomination for the incoming NASA Administrator has been pulled. The Senate is working on the reconciliation bill. Congress will be marking up their spending bills for Commerce, Justice, and Science in July.