APS LEGISLATIVE ALERT EMAIL

APS LEGISLATIVE ALERT EMAIL

TO: U.S. APS Members
FROM: APS Public Policy Board
SUBJECT: Legislative Alert – Science Funding

To all U.S. APS Members:
The 107th Congress adjourned without passing either a Budget or 11 of its 13 required 2003 spending (appropriation) bills. The government is temporarily funded by a special resolution, and the new 108th Congress starts January 6 to develop the next (FY2004) federal Budget. Thus, within 2-4 weeks the real key decisions on both the 2003 and 2004 federal funding for science will be made in Washington. The Council of Scientific Society Presidents (CSSP) urges your involvement in educating legislatures on the importance of funding science. They suggest you use 1-page faxes to legislative offices or prepare a 1 minute speech for personal phone calls, either in local legislative offices during the holiday recess or in D.C. after January 6. The full text of the CSSP request and contacts of legislatures involved in the appropriations process can be found below.

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To: Scientific Societies

From: CSSP

Subject: URGENT ALERT--can't wait until next year

We at CSSP wish you all a very happy holiday season and wonderful new year! Unfortunately, this is a time of multiple uncertainties. One of these uncertainties is the federal funding that will ensure the robust future of the national science enterprise that we all strive to ensure. We all know examples of how science saves lives, creates jobs, ensures our security. We know from public opinion polls that 4/5 of the public supports basic research even if there isn't an immediate payoff, that 86% think the US should remain a world leader in scientific research, 94% believe that science and engineering research is important to their own state economy, and 90% believe that scientific research is very important to countering bioterrorism. A dozen major unusual events have led to this new situation: the 107th Congress adjourned without passing either a Budget or 11 of its 13 required 2003 spending (appropriation) bills. The government is temporarily funded by a special resolution for several weeks. The new 108th Congress starts Jan 6 and the next (2004) federal Budget will be proposed within a month.

We've supported NIH increases and the NSF doubling bill was just signed into law yesterday, but it is not a spending bill, and other agencies supporting science have not fared well. Many increases in science funding were in various stages of finality when the 107th Congress ended. The slate is now clean and we start over in the 108th Congress. In a nutshell, within 2-4 weeks the real key decisions on both the 2003 and 2004 federal funding for science will be made in Washington.

We may hope for the Xmas spirit to carry over, but the reality is that the federal spending is way out of balance with the tax cuts already passed, and huge deficits, more tax cuts, and a possible war loom ahead. Over 4/5 of the $2 trillion federal budget are in entitlements, debt interest, & military expenditures. The rest is what funds most of what we think of a government functions and, of course science.

Proposals for homeland security are about $45 billion. In order to ensure a chance that the funding for science, not a priority for this administration in many areas, is not lost in the shuffle, and damaged for a long time by setting a new trend line of annual cuts, we need to focus the attention of the White House and new Congress now, before the other events take all their attention, on the national need to keep a strong and vigorous science enterprise.

We believe that you must communicate with your members of the House and Senate who are leaders in the subcommittees that appropriate science funds, and White House, now to express your own opinion. Be friendly, brief, focused, clear....ASK FOR THEIR SUPPORT. Relate the "why?" to how federally funded research helps your state. Say why you think growth in science investment by the federal government is important. Cookie cutter messages are usually useless, and few pieces of mail are delivered in DC these days. E-mail from constituents is tallied, but not potent. We suggest you use 1-page faxes to their offices and prepare a 1 minute speech for personal phone calls, local ones now and DC ones after January 6th. Your success or failure in being active and convincing now may well set the course for our future. A suggested list of federal contacts is listed below. There is still uncertainty about who will be in the 108th appropriations sub-committees, especially in the Senate, so this list will need to be updated.

Carpe Diem.

U. S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE

Robert B. Aderholt (R-AL)