President's FY27 Proposed Budget
On Friday, April 3, President Trump released his Fiscal Year 2027 skinny budget request, calling for a 10% reduction (about $73 billion) in non-defense discretionary funding. Of specific concern, the budget proposes a 12% cut to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services funding while reviving previously rejected policies, including significant reductions to NIH and other public health programs. It also reintroduces a major reorganization, creating a new “Administration for a Healthy America” (AHA) operating agency, consolidating agencies like SAMHSA and HRSA to focus on nutrition, food safety, and chronic disease prevention. Emory’s Office of Government and Community Affairs will work with congressional appropriators to continue advancing funding that supports Emory’s priorities.

In some good news, the President's budget recommends an infusion of $10.5 billion in new funding for the Pell grant program and adjusts the way that funding is calculated going forward to ensure the program remains on solid financial footing. This is a welcome signal of support for Pell.

The President's budget continues to propose a 15% cap on indirect costs for research. However, with this week's decision by the Department of Justice to not pursue a Supreme Court ruling on the issue, we may be seeing a diminished appetite to pursue this course of action. OGCA continues to work with appropriators to protect the current F&A structure until a replacement, like the FAIR model, can be instituted.

As a reminder, the President's budget outlines the Administration's priorities, but most provisions are unlikely to become law. Congressional appropriators develop the 12 funding bills that must be enacted by October 1, 2026.

HRSA announces $11.25 million for the Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) Program
On April 7, 2026, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced plans to award up to 15 grants of up to $750,000 each over three years to support new rural residency programs in high-need specialties, including family medicine, internal medicine, psychiatry, OB-GYN, general surgery, and preventive medicine. Physicians who train in rural settings are significantly more likely to practice there, helping address workforce shortages.

Anyone in the Emory community — regardless of voter registration status — is encouraged to sign up for a two-hour shift via Emory OPEN. Volunteers primarily welcome voters to the building and point them to the beginning of the queue for the actual voting precinct space.

Volunteers do not answer any voting-specific questions but instead direct voters to poll workers or other DeKalb County representatives who will be present at the site. More information about what to expect as a volunteer and logistics such as where to park can be found on Emory OPEN.

“Emory is proud to continue hosting DeKalb's voting site,” says Cameron Taylor, vice president for the Office of Government and Community Affairs. “As a flagship community engagement initiative, the polling site at 1599 demonstrates Emory's commitment to serving our entire community.”

Early voting will be available through May 15, Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Other dates and times for early voting include:

Saturday, May 2, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Sunday, May 3, 12 p.m.-5 p.m.

Saturday, May 9, 9 a.m.-6 p.m.

Sunday, May 10, 12 p.m.-5 p.m.

Any registered DeKalb County voter can cast an early ballot at 1599 Clifton Road; parking is free.

Board of Visitors 

On March 5, members of the Emory Board of Visitors toured The Hatchery, Emory’s Center for Innovation, and were welcomed by Executive Director Ben Garrett. The visit highlighted Emory’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and featured remarks from three student founders, who shared their startup journeys and innovative ideas, offering a firsthand look at The Hatchery’s impact.

Emory's Economic Impact
OGCA is pleased to share a new one-pager on the economic force that Emory’s work brings to Georgia. We contracted with Econsult Solutions, Inc. to quantify Emory’s economic impact.