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4/20/05
ACTION ALERT: ASK YOUR REPRESENTATIVE
TO SUPPORT INCREASED FUNDING FOR NSF
Each year during the appropriations process, members of
Congress circulate "Dear Colleague" letters. These
letters allow members of Congress to demonstrate their support
for an issue (e.g., increased funding for the National Science
Foundation). These letters are generally signed by multiple
members of Congress. A large number of signatures demonstrate
strong support for the policy outlined in the letter. Currently,
United States Representatives Vernon Ehlers (R-MI) and Rush
Holt (D-NJ) are collecting signatures for a Dear Colleague
letter that will be sent to the House Subcommittee on Science,
State, Justice and Commerce Appropriations-the subcommittee
with jurisdiction over the NSF.
The Ehlers--Holt Dear Colleague requests that Congress
provide $6.1 billion for NSF in fiscal year 2006. Last year,
165 members of Congress signed a similar letter. It is important
that more members of Congress sign the letter this year.
The federal budget is once again austere and quite competitive.
A demonstration of strong bipartisan support for NSF is
required.
The Ehlers--Holt letter urges the chair and ranking member
of the Science, State, Justice and Commerce Appropriations
subcommittee to grant NSF a Fiscal Year 2006 budget of $6.1
billion. The President's request for this year is $5.6 billion
-- $2.9 billion less than the FY 06 authorized level Congress
set in 2002. If the President's budget request is approved,
NSF will receive only a slight increase of 2.4 percent.
This funding level would leave some research directorates
at or below FY04 funding levels.
What you can do:Contact your Representative and request
they sign the Ehlers--Holt NSF Dear Colleague letter. Effective
ways to reach your Representative include:
1: Call your Representative's Washington, DC office.
You may obtain the phone number from their official website
(via www.house.gov)
or you may call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard (202-224-3121)
and ask to be connected to Representative [name] office.
NOTE: You must know the name of your Representative prior
to calling the switchboard; they will not be able to tell
you who your member of Congress is. If you are not certain
who your Representative is, go to www.house.gov and enter
your 9 digit zip code.
Ask to speak to the legislative assistant responsible for
NSF. When connected: Encourage the staffer to have Representative
[name] sign the Ehlers-Holt NSF Dear Colleague letter. Be
prepared to mention how important NSF funding is to your
research, academic department/institution, and/or your community.
Legislative staff are busy, so you may be asked if you would
like to leave a voice mail - you do. Simply convey the same
information you would have if you spoke to the staffer in
person, but be sure to leave your contact information.
2. E-Mail or Fax your Representative
Due to security and time considerations, it is best to
send your members of Congress an e-mail or fax. Their e-mail
addresses and fax numbers are available on their website
at www.house.gov.
Tips for an effective e-mail or fax message:
-Be sure that the subject line in your e-mail is clear:
Please sign the Ehlers/Holt NSF Dear Colleague, or Request
Rep. [name] support increased funding for NSF.
-Be sure that you include your contact information at the
top of the e-mail/letter; this must include your name, mailing
address, phone number and e-mail address. NOTE: many offices
will discard correspondence that does not include contact
information, or that comes from outside of their district
or state.
-In the opening paragraph of your message, clearly state
that you are writing to ask that your Representative sign
the Ehlers-Holt NSF Dear Colleague letter. Tell them that
the letter requests that Congress provide the National Science
Foundation with $6.1 billion in FY 2006 funding.
-Briefly explain why NSF funding for basic research is
important to you and/or your institution (e.g., only source
of funding for your area of research, helps support undergraduate/graduate
student research experience, leads to innovation, etc).
To further bolster your argument, you may wish to incorporate
statistics from the National Science Foundation (http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/).
DEADLINE:Representatives Ehlers and Holt anticipate collecting
signatures through April 22, 2005, so please contact your
Representative as soon as possible.
6/4/04
YOU CAN HELP INCREASE FUNDING
FOR NSF
An effort is underway in Congress to help secure increased
fiscal year 2005 funding for the National Science Foundation.
This year's spending levels have not yet been finalized,
but a growing budget deficit and competing interests could
reduce the amount available for the NSF. Thus, it is important
that your members of Congress hear from you. It is not too
late to ensure that your voice is heard. In addition to
writing or calling your Representative and Senators, the
coming months are an excellent time to visit them while
they are back in their home states for the summer holidays.
You can learn about district events your member of Congress
will be participating in by contacting one of their district
offices.
To learn more about what you can do to support funding
for the National Science Foundation, please visit http://www.aibs.org/announcements/040507_action_alert_letter_to.html.
5/11/04
ACTION ALERT: NSF 'DEAR COLLEAGUE'
LETTER CIRCULATING IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Each year during the appropriations cycle, members of Congress
circulate what are known as "Dear Colleague" letters.
In these letters, multiple members of Congress sign a letter
to a committee chair regarding an item or bill under his/her
jurisdiction. Rep. Vern Ehlers (R-MI) has once again initiated
a "Dear Colleague" letter to the chairs of the
House Appropriations subcommittee handling NSF. The letter
requests a large increase for NSF funding. Last year, 155
members of Congress signed the letter. Rep. Ehlers would
like to have more signatures this year. A large number of
signatures by members of Congress demonstrates
broad support for increased funding for NSF, making it easier
for Reps. Mollohan and Walsh to justify providing large
increases for the agency. The budget for this year is extremely
tight, and NSF is up against programs, such as Veteran's
Affairs, which have very broad support. If the NSF letter
has fewer signatures this year than it did last year, it
sends a message to the appropriators that members of Congress
feel that funding for scientific research is not as important
in tight fiscal years.
Background:
The Ehlers letter urges the chair and ranking
member of the VA-HUD Appropriations subcommittee to grant
NSF as large an increase as possible over the President's
request for FY05. The President's request for this year
is $5.7 billion - $1.7 billion less than what Congress authorized
for NSF in FY05 in the 2002 reauthorization bill. If the
President's request is approved, NSF will receive only a
slight increase (3%), with some research directorates, including
the Biological Sciences Directorate, barely keeping pace
with inflation.
What you can do:
Contact your Representative in the House to request that
they sign on to the "Ehlers NSF Dear Colleague".
(Note that there is no letter like this circulating in the
Senate, so you do not need to contact them at this time).
The letter is posted at http://www.aibs.org/announcements/040426_action_alert_letter_to.html
The most effective way of doing this is to place a phone
call to your member's D.C. office and request to speak to
the "Science or Technology Legislative Assistant".
Encourage the staff to have their boss (your Rep.) sign
on to the letter. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT TO MENTION HOW MUCH
NSF FUNDING MEANS TO THE DISTRICT AT THIS POINT.
For your convenience, we have summarized the NSF funding
information for the top 100 academic institutions (posted
at http://www.aibs.org/announcements/040426_action_alert_letter_to.html).
The chart contains the following information that you will
need: a total funding amount, the amount received from the
BIO Directorate, and the name of the Representative for
that institution. If your institution is not included in
the top 100, you can get the information from the NSF website
at http://dellweb.bfa.nsf.gov/starth.asp.
Be prepared to FAX or email them a copy of the Ehlers letters
(also available at www.aibs.org).
They should already have a copy, but with the volume of
mail they receive, things get lost very quickly.
The letter is open for signatures through early May. Contact
Adrienne Froelich, AIBS Director of Public Policy (afroelich@aibs.org),
if you have questions or would like assistance. The original
letter from Rep. Ehlers, a spreadsheet of the members who
have signed this year, as well as the list of those who
signed last year are available
on the AIBS website at http://www.aibs.org/announcements/040426_action_alert_letter_to.html.
Contact information for your Representative can be found
at www.house.gov.
9/30/03
ACTION ALERT: YOUR SUPPORT COULD
MEAN AN ADDITIONAL $37 MILLION (250 GRANTS AND TWO NEON
PROTOTYPES) FOR THE BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES!
As is customary in Congress, both the House and Senate Appropriations
Committees traditionally "mark up" their own version
of spending bills. Once both houses pass those bills, the
houses will "conference" a bill, working out differences
in funding allocations between the two versions.
As noted above, there is a significant difference in funding
for biological sciences research at NSF between the House
and Senate marks. The House version of the bill would provide
$9.6 million more to the Biological Sciences Directorate
than the Senate. Because the Senate designates an additional
$15 million to plant genome, the discrepancy in funding
for core BIO programs is approximately $25 million. The
House also provides $12 million in the Major Research Equipment
and Facilities Construction (MRE) account for the National
Ecological Observatory Network. NEON has been requested
in three budget cycles; this is the first time it has received
funding in any congressional mark. (For more information
about NEON, visit www.aibs.org/ibrcs).
WHAT TO WRITE:
Biologists interested in making their voice heard should
FAX a letter to their members of Congress. In all letters,
be sure to thank them for their support of the National
Science Foundation. Below is a suggested outline for your
letter:
- Thank them for their support of NSF in the past. Mention
last year's passage of the NSF Reauthorization Act, which
authorized a five-year doubling path for the agency. (You
may want to acknowledge that while current budget situations
have put this year's goal out of reach, you hope they
will continue their strong support for scientific research
at NSF.)
- Mention the benefits of NSF funding to your state/district.
You can get statistics on actual award amounts for your
university and state from http://dellweb.bfa.nsf.gov/.
- Encourage the conferees to accept the House numbers
for the BIO Directorate and NEON. The median annual award
for BIO is $94,000; hence the House would provide for
approximately 250 additional grants.
- Offer to provide them with additional information as
they find necessary. A nice touch is to extend them (and/or
their staff) to visit your lab/department at their convenience.
WHO TO CONTACT:
ALL biologists are encouraged to contact their members of
Congress to express support for biological science funding.
Unless you bring the issue to their attention, they are
unlikely to support increases. Educating members of Congress
on the value of biological science research is essential
to future growth.
If you live in any of the following states, calls or letters
to the Senators below (members of the Appropriations subcommittee
handling NSF) are especially valuable. Biologists in the
states of Missouri and Maryland are particularly encouraged
to contact Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) and Sen. Barbara Mikulski
(D-MD), chair and ranking member, respectively, of the Senate
subcommittee with jurisdiction over NSF funding.
Sen. Conrad Burns (R MT)
Sen. Richard C. Shelby (R AL)
Sen. Larry E. Craig (R ID)
Sen. Pete V. Domenici (R NM)
Sen. Mike DeWine (R OH)
Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R TX)
Sen. Patrick Leahy (D VT)
Sen. Tom Harkin (D IA)
Sen. Robert C. Byrd (D WV)
Sen. Tim Johnson (D SD)
Sen. Harry M. Reid (D NV)
Biologists living in the following districts are also strongly
encouraged to contact their representatives, who sit on
the House Appropriations subcommittee. Biologists from the
25th district of New York and the 1st district of West Virginia
are particularly encouraged to contact Rep. James T. Walsh
(R NY-25) and Rep. Alan B. Mollohan (D WV-1), chair and
ranking member, respectively, of the House subcommittee
with jurisdiction over NSF funding.
Rep. David L. Hobson (R OH-7)
Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R MI-9)
Rep. Anne Meagher Northup (R KY-3)
Rep. Virgil H. Goode Jr. (R VA-5)
Rep. Robert B. Aderholt (R AL-4)
Rep. Ray LaHood (R IL-18)
Rep. Dave Weldon (R FL-15)
Rep. Mike Simpson (R ID-2)
Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D OH-9)
Rep. David E. Price (D NC-4)
Rep. Robert E. Bud Cramer Jr. (D AL-5)
Rep. Chaka Fattah (D PA-2)
Rep. Sanford D. Bishop Jr. (D GA-2)
IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS: Do not hesitate to contact Adrienne
Froelich (afroelich@aibs.org)
or Robert Gropp (rgropp@aibs.org)
if you would like assistance drafting a letter or finding
contact information for your representative and senators.
9/8/03
NSF EDUCATION AND
HUMAN RESOURCES FY04 APPROPRIATIONS UPDATE
The National Science Foundation's Education and Human Resources
Activity conducts programs that draw talented students into
science and technology careers, improve undergraduate science
education, assist in providing all pre-college students
with a level of education in math, science, and technology
that reflects the needs of the nation, and extend greater
research opportunities to underrepresented segments of the
scientific and engineering communities. EHR priorities identified
in the President's fiscal year 2004 (FY04) budget request
included: increased funding for Math and Science Partnerships
that improve pre-K12 science education; larger graduate
student stipends to attract highly-qualified students; and,
an $8.5 million investment to support NSF's Workforce for
the 21st Century initiative which builds on NSF's education
programs to foster collaborations to design a suite of complementary
and integrated programs for pre-K12 to the post-doctorate
level to provide a route for students to advance in a seamless
progression. On July 25, 2003, the U.S. House of Representatives
approved HR 2861, legislation that would make appropriations
for Veterans Affairs, Housing and Urban Development and
Independent Agencies (includes NSF). In this legislation
are the House's desired spending levels for EHR Activities.
Overall, the House recommends that EHR receive $910.68 million.
While this amount is approximately $7.5 million more than
EHR's comparable appropriation for FY03, this funding level
is $27.36 below the President's FY04 budget request. More
specifically, the House would provide $140 million for the
Math and Science Partnerships, less than the budget request
for MSP but a $12.5 million increase over FY03. The House
would also provide the Experimental Program to Stimulate
Competitive Research (EPSCoR) program with $90 million,
equal to the FY03 appropriation. The recommendation for
Elementary, Secondary and Informal Education is $10 million
over the budget request for Informal Science, bringing the
total program level to $60 million or $1 million below the
FY03 level. In the Undergraduate Education activity, $6.84
million more than the budget request would be provided for
the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) program bringing
total funding to $45 million. The House provides no money
for NSF to begin its Workforce for the 21st Century initiative.
Finally, within the Human Resource Development Activity,
an additional $1.27 million above the budget request would
be added to the Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation
(LSAMP) program, bringing total LSAMP funding to $34 million.
Just over $2 million would be added to the President's budget
request for Historically Black Colleges and Universities
Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) for total FY04 funding of
$22 million. All other programs and activities within EHR,
with the exception of the Robert Noyce Scholarship Program
which would receive $10 million, would be funded at the
levels proposed in NSF's 2004 budget justification.
The Senate has yet to draft its version of FY04 appropriations
legislation for the NSF. After returning from summer recess
in September, Congress must complete work on 13 appropriations
measures before the end of the fiscal year on September
30th, or begin passing temporary spending bills (Continuing
Resolutions) to avoid shutting down government programs
not yet appropriated. Individuals interested in NSF EHR
programs may wish to share their thoughts with their Senators
in the coming weeks. Information about the status of FY04
funding for other NSF programs, such as the BIO Directorate
is available in the August 18th edition of the AIBS Public
Policy Report which is available online at www.aibs.org.
6/26/03
NSF FUNDING ACTION
ALERT: SUPPORT FOR NSF FUNDING LOW IN SENATE, YOUR LETTERS
AND CALLS NEEDED
AIBS has learned that very few Senators have expressed
support for increasing the budget of the National Science
Foundation. While Senators Bond (R-MO) and Mikulski (D-MD),
who head the subcommittee that funds NSF, have both stated
they hope to double the NSF budget over the next five years,
they will not do so without support from their colleagues
in the U.S. Senate. As Congress begins drafting the bills
that fund the federal government, it is critical that Sens.
Bond and Mikulski hear support from other Senators. A message
of support, conveyed to Bond and Mikulski by their colleagues
is the best way to guarantee the continued growth of NSF
funding. Given budget constraints, Senators Bond and Mikulski
will have difficulty providing NSF with a significant funding
increase unless more Senators express support for the agency.
Funding for NSF is critical for the AIBS community: over
60% of all academic non-medical biology is funded by NSF.
It is particularly important that the Senate be contacted
in this regard. As you may recall, last year the Senate
appropriations committee provided an additional $350 million
to NSF for research, NONE of which was allocated for biology.
Even though the House rectified that oversight last year,
we need to continue to educate members of the Senate of
the importance of NSF to answering many of the pressing
questions in the biological sciences.
The AIBS community is encouraged to write their senators
asking them to contact the Chair and Ranking Member of the
Senate VA-HUD-IA Appropriations Subcommittee in support
of increased funding for the National Science Foundation.
Sample letters, provided by the Ecological Society of America,
have been pasted below for you to use as a template. Please
note that BOTH letters will need to be personalized. It
is very helpful if you include the amount of funding your
state and your institution receive from NSF, both overall
and within the BIO directorate. You can obtain this information
at http://dellweb.bfa.nsf.gov/
(click on award by state/institution to view state and organization
totals; from there, you can change the "funding org"
to BIO, then click "view report" again to get
the amount of funding for biology).
WHAT YOU CAN DO:
STEP 1: Personalize both letters to reflect the
specific information (funding levels, benefits, research
focus) for your institution.
STEP 2: Determine the contact information for your
Senators http://www.visi.com/juan/congress/
If you have the time, phone calls are the most effective
way of communicating with congressional staff. If you choose
this method, call the main number and ask to speak to the
staffer handing science/technology issues. FAX is also an
adequate method of communication. We do not recommend communication
via email unless it is sent directly to a staff member (i.e.,
not the general office email).
STEP 3: Contact your Senators and ask them to send
a letter to Subcommittee Chairman Kit Bond (R-MO) and Ranking
Member Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) in support of NSF funding.
You need to provide them with a sample letter (letter B)
that they can send on their own (see letter B below)
NOTE: Please personalize both letters before faxing
them to your Senators.
LETTER A - DRAFT LETTER TO YOUR
SENATOR
Dear Senator X,
I am writing to ask that you contact Senators Bond and
Mikulski in support of increased National Science Foundation
funding for fiscal year 2004.
As you know, NSF provides the bulk of the funding for
basic research in our country and supports large numbers
of graduate students, who are the key to a vibrant technically
trained workforce. The President signed into law last
year the NSF Authorization Act, which specifically outlines
the admirable and valuable goal of doubling the NSF budget
in real terms over the next five years. I strongly support
this goal as NSF is the primary federal agency supporting
non-medical biological research such as (INSERT YOUR FIELD
HERE).
Our state of (YOUR STATE) benefits from NSF funding.
At (YOUR INSTITUTION) institution alone, we rely on NSF
funding for [MENTION ONE OR TWO KEY PROGRAMS OR RESEARCH
EFFORTS]. Institutions in our state received a total of
(INSERT TOTAL HERE) from NSF; (INSERT BIO TOTAL HERE)
of that funding goes toward research in the biological
sciences.
For your convenience, I have attached a draft letter
for you to consider sending to Senators Bond and Mikulski.
If I can be of any further help to you in the future,
please do not hesitate to contact me. I am happy to help
you in whatever way I can.
Sincerely,
(YOUR NAME)
LETTER B - DRAFT LETTER FROM
YOUR SENATOR to SENATORS BOND AND MIKULSKI
Dear Chairman Bond/Ranking Member Mikulski:
As you move to mark up the FY2004 VA/HUD/IA appropriations
bill, I urge you to do your best to support funding for
the National Science Foundation (NSF) at, or near, the
$6.4 billion level contained in the NSF authorization
bill which Congress approved and the President signed
into law last December.
The support that NSF provides for scientific research
and education at universities in my state, such as [INSTITUTIONAL
NAME(S)], is critical to maintaining and advancing our
nation's leadership in science, technology, and education.
NSF's support of basic research is absolutely essential
to the development of areas including nanotechnology,
mathematics, and environmental biology. NSF also helps
ensure that the best and the brightest students have access
to talented faculty at world class facilities so that
the U.S. continues to train adequate numbers of future
scientific leaders.
The simple fact that NSF has supported more than 100
Nobel Laureates over the past 50 years shows the importance
of the agency in helping maintain a robust scientific
enterprise and in driving the U.S. economy. NSF programs
from which [X University] has particularly benefited include
[NAME SPECIFIC NSF PROGRAMS OF INTEREST TO YOUR CAMPUS].
]
I am aware that budgetary constraints make your task
of crafting the VA/HUD/IA bill most difficult. But in
light of the critically important role that NSF plays
in advancing research and education in my state and throughout
the nation, I would again request that you do what you
can to support NSF at the authorized level in your appropriations
bill.
Sincerely,
Member, U.S. Senate
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