2025 CGS Advocacy Day

On April 23-24, CGS graduate education leaders and students from across the country participated in Advocacy Day in Washington, D.C. On the first day, CGS President Suzanne T. Ortega and the CGS Government Relations and Public Policy Department led a Pre-Advocacy Day Workshop in which graduate education leaders and students learned how to be effective and impactful advocates for graduate education.

During the workshop, Advocacy Day attendees had robust and substantive discussions on a number of topics, including: the First 100 Days of the Trump administration and the impact of executive actions on graduate education; federal funding for higher education programs and scientific research; the15-percent caps on indirect costs for Department of Energy and NIH grants; free speech and academic freedom on campus; and potential changes to student visa policies.

After the Pre-Advocacy Day Workshop, Sarah Brown, News Editor at the Chronicle of Higher Education was the guest speaker at the evening reception. Brown shared breaking news on the Trump Administration’s new executive orders on accreditation, HBCU’s, and enforcing laws on foreign gifts to universities. She also shared her insights on the challenges and opportunities facing graduate education and gave the graduate leaders a “behind the scenes look” at the inner working of Capitol Hill and the views some policymakers have about higher education.

On the second day, attendees headed to Capitol Hill to meet with the offices of Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Shumer (D-NY); the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee; Senate Judiciary Committee; House Ways and Means Committee, and the offices of Representatives Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Jay Obernolte (R-CA). In addition to these and other meetings organized by the CGS staff, graduate deans organized their own meetings with members of their congressional delegations.

During congressional meetings, Advocacy Day Attendees raised the following issues:

• The importance of robust and sustainable federal funding for graduate education programs and fundamental scientific research. Specifically, attendees mentioned the importance of funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy.
• During the meeting with the Senate HELP Committee, attendees expressed concerns about the planned dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education, raised concerns about impacts of proposed cuts to NIH funding and a cap on indirect costs, and Senator Bill Cassidy’s (R-LA) proposal to reform the NIH. Committee staff welcomed input from the graduate education community on Cassidy’s NIH proposal.
• During the meeting with the House Ways and Means Committee, attendees discussed the recent House Budget Committee proposal for eliminating the tax-exempt status of scholarships and fellowships and how this would undermine efforts to make graduate education accessible and affordable. CGS will continue to closely monitor the Reconciliation bill and oppose any provisions to tax scholarships and fellowships.

CGS hosted another successful Advocacy Day. The meetings were productive, insightful and provided CGS graduate deans and students with the opportunity to highlight the value of graduate education to the workforce and why federal funding is crucial to graduate education.

Make sure you are signed up for Washington Insights and Highlights, CGS’s advocacy newsletter, to stay up to date on new executive orders, changes to the Department of Education and the reconciliation bill in Congress.