CU Federal Government Transition Updates Page

As a reminder, CU Federal Relations has created a Federal Government Transition Updates page to provide access to communications and information regarding the ongoing federal transition, recent executive orders, and their ongoing impact on CU.

In addition, CU Federal Relations will be providing occasional updates on federal legislation and the appropriations process. These updates can be found on the Federal Legislation and Appropriations page.

2025 Colorado Capital Conference Summary

The University of Colorado and President Todd Saliman, alongside Sens. Bennet and Hickenlooper, and Colorado Mesa University President John Marshall hosted the 2025 Colorado Capital Conference June 24-26. Nearly 100 Coloradans from across the state traveled to Washington D.C. for the opportunity to learn and engage with federal legislators, ambassadors, digital health experts, reporters, and other speakers.

The conference was attended by CU Regents Ken Montera, Nolbert Chavez, Elliott Hood, Frank McNulty, Ray Scott and Mark VanDriel; CU Denver Chancellor Ken Christensen; UCCS Chancellor Jennifer Sobanet; CU Anschutz Chancellor Don Elliman; and CU School of Medicine Dean John Sampson. Students from Mesa and all four CU campuses were awarded scholarships to attend.

Participants heard from members of the Colorado delegation, including Sens. Bennet and Hickenlooper and Reps. Neguse, Hurd, Crank, Crow, Pettersen and Evans. Participants also heard from House Minority Leader Jefferies (D-NY), Reps. Begich (R-AK) and LaMalfa (R-CA), former Reps. Perlmutter (D-CO) and Davis (R-IL), and Architect of the Capitol Thomas Austin.

More about the conference can be read in CU Connections. Recaps on LinkedIn are available for Day One, Day Two, and Day Three of the conference.

CU Leadership Capitol Hill Visits
During the week of the conference, CU leadership met with members of the Colorado delegation and their staff. President Saliman met with Rep. Evans. Chancellor Christensen met with Reps. DeGette and Pettersen and Rep. Hurd’s staff. Chancellor Elliman and Dean Sampson met with Sen. Bennet and Reps. Neguse, Crank, and Pettersen. Chancellor Sobanet met with Reps. Boebert and Crank as well as staff from the National Science Foundation.

Reconciliation Update

On July 4, President Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (H.R. 1) into law, following passage in the Senate and the House. Colorado Reps. Boebert, Hurd, Crank, and Evans voted in favor, and Reps. DeGette, Neguse, Crow, and Pettersen along with Sens. Bennet and Hickenlooper voted against it.

The legislation was advanced using budget reconciliation, a process that allowed the Senate Republican majority to pass the bill through the Senate with a 50-vote majority and bypass the 60-vote filibuster threshold normally required to enact legislation. 

The legislation included tax cuts and extensions, increases in border and national security funding, reductions to Medicaid, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, the elimination or reduction of various student aid programs, and the rollback of tax credits for clean energy programs, among other things. For more information, read CU Federal Relations’ Summary of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Appropriations and Rescissions Update

Congress is focusing on FY26 appropriations following passage of the reconciliation bill. The House Appropriations Committee marked up and approved the Legislative Branch, Homeland Security, Defense, and Agriculture-FDA bills, with three additional bills scheduled for markup in July. The House has already passed the Military Construction-VA appropriations bill.

The Senate Appropriations Committee also began their work late last week, passing the Agriculture-FDA bill unanimously and passing the Legislative Branch appropriations bill as well. The Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) appropriations bill markup recessed on July 11 due to disagreements over an amendment barring the FBI from repurposing money to relocate its headquarters to Maryland. Funding details of the CJS bill have not been publicly released as a result. A subcommittee meeting on July 10 revealed NSF and NASA budgets will remain relatively flat under the proposal rather than cut significantly as proposed by the White House. Read more from Science here.

Senate GOP leaders are discussing potential amendments to a rescissions package that would claw back funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting. Several GOP senators have expressed concerns with the House-passed package, citing cuts to programs such as the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and rural public radio.

FY26 NDAA Chairman’s Mark Published

The full House Armed Services Committee version of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), also known as the chairman’s mark, was obtained by POLITICO ahead of its public release. The bill is scheduled for markup by the committee on July 15. The draft bill contains two requests that CU submitted, including the SMART for TBI Act (more details below) and language on combat casualty care in the Arctic and other extreme cold weather environments led by Rep. Pettersen.   

Reps. Crow, Crank Introduce SMART for TBI Act

Reps. Crow and Crank introduced the SMART for TBI Act on July 10, which would mandate the establishment of a working group to develop strategies for treating service members with traumatic brain injury (TBI) using digital health technologies. Dr. Vik Bebarta, interim chair of Emergency Medicine and director of the Center for COMBAT Research at CU Anschutz, said “we are grateful for Congressman Crow and Congressman Crank's leadership by introducing SMART TBI Act, ensuring Colorado remains the leader in digital health innovation and TBI treatment.” More can be read in the press release issued by Rep. Crow.

Rep. Neguse Leads Letters, Releases Statement Against Proposed NOAA, CI Cuts

Rep. Neguse led two letters objecting to proposed budget cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), including to the Cooperative Institutes (CI) and NOAA research labs across the country. CU is home to the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), one of two CI’s in Colorado and 16 across the nation. The letters, signed by 23 members, were addressed to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Acting NOAA Administrator Laura Grimm and to the House Commerce, Justice and Science Committee. Rep. Neguse also released a joint statement with Sen. Bennet condemning the proposed cuts. CU has been working closely with Rep. Neguse and other members of the Colorado congressional delegation on this issue.

Sen. Hickenlooper Introduces Bill to Create Defense Tech Hubs

Sens. Hickenlooper and Schmitt (R-MO) introduced the Defense Technology Hubs Act on June 9. The bill, which is supported by all four CU campuses, would foster the creation of DoD tech hubs, which would boost defense technology innovation and investment in 10 regions, including states like Colorado. Iain Boyd, Director of the Center for National Security Initiatives, was quoted in Sen. Hickenlooper’s press release, stating that “The Hub concept recognizes that regional alliances of universities with complementary capabilities can best meet the needs of today’s defense technology challenges.” More can be read in the press release issued by Sen. Hickenlooper.

Aerospace Industry Partners Send Letter Supporting Space Science, University Aerospace Programs

A coalition of companies and business groups from Colorado’s aerospace industry sent a letter to Colorado’s congressional delegation on June 30 urging continued support of NASA science and research programs. The letter highlighted the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at CU Boulder for its contributions to workforce development. The letter has also been shared with NASA, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, and congressional committee staff.

Department of Education Updates on SAVE and PSLF

The Department of Education (ED) announced plans to restart interest accrual on August 1 for borrowers that have loans and are enrolled in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, established during the Biden Administration. Borrowers are encouraged to choose a new plan before restarting loan payments. Read ED’s press release for more information.

Additionally, ED conducted a three-day session of negotiated rulemaking on the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program, which concluded on July 2. The committee voted to refine the definitions of a qualifying employer to exclude those who engage in activities that have an illegal purpose when determining eligibility of the employee under PSLF. ED made 15 changes to the regulatory language due to the negotiations. Read ED’s press release for more information.

Rep. Bergman Visits CU COMBAT Center & MIBH

Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI) visited the CU Center for COMBAT Research and the Marcus Institute for Brain Health (MIBH) at CU Anschutz on June 19. Rep. Bergman toured facilities and discussed efforts to improve innovative and life-saving care for military and veteran communities.

CU Students and Faculty Receive NSF Fellowships and Awards – Summer 2025

This summer, 11 CU Boulder engineering graduate students received NSF Graduate Research Fellowships Program awards, aimed at helping STEM students who are pursuing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees.

Phillip Brown at UCCS and Reed Bay, Anthony Straub, Andras Gyenis, Lauren Blum, and Laurel Hind at CU Boulder received CAREER awards from NSF to support their research, beginning in June and July 2025. Stacey Smith at CU Boulder also received an NSF Collaborative Research grant. Read more about their important work through the above linked award abstracts.

Recent Capitol Hill Visits

Dr. Bethany Ehlmann, incoming Director of LASP at CU Boulder, and Dr. Frank Eparvier, Interim Director of LASP, met with staff for Sens. Bennet and Hickenlooper and Reps. DeGette, Neguse, Crank and Pettersen on July 1. Additionally, Dr. Ehlmann and Dr. Massimo Ruzzene, Senior Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation at CU Boulder, met with staff for NASA, the White House Office for Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and the House Space, Science and Technology Committee on July 10.

Dr. Iain Boyd, Director of the Center for National Security Initiatives (NSI) at CU Boulder, met with staff for Sens. Bennet and Hickenlooper and Reps. Neguse, Crank, Crow, and Evans on June 25.