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Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader McCarthy, Leader McConnell and Leader Schumer:
The undersigned organizations and institutions, representing hundreds of thousands of individuals and entities working in science, technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics, urge you to complete work on the fiscal year (FY) 2021 appropriations bills without delay. The disruption created by short and long-term continuing resolutions (CRs) has severe consequences for science and research. The public health and economic crises caused by COVID-19 further compound the negative effects of unpredictable funding; as such, in addition to finalizing the annual funding levels for science agencies and programs, we urge enactment of emergency research relief funding to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Federal investments across more than two dozen defense and non-defense agencies provide the lifeblood for research, discovery, innovation and development in the United States, driving one of the most powerful engines for American prosperity and global leadership. Failing to complete work on the appropriations bills that fuel this engine in a timely manner impedes our ability to not only respond and recover from COVID- 19, but also to address persistent and fundamental challenges such as chronic and infectious diseases, food and energy security, national security and natural disasters—all of which require advancements in science and technology fostered through federal investments.
As we continue to grapple with the pandemic, federal science and public health agencies need certainty— their activities are put at risk by disruptive, long-term CRs that stand in the way of new programming and long-term planning. Earlier this year, many researchers, students, post-docs and laboratory personnel across all scientific disciplines were forced to close facilities and suspend their work as a result of quarantine requirements. Disruptions of this magnitude have implications not only for the research workforce, but also on the process of scientific discovery. Recently released data from the Council on Governmental Relations show research output dropped between 20 – 40 percent in the first six months of the pandemic with a potential impact in the tens of billions of dollars across the research enterprise. Scientific research cannot be turned on and off like a faucet, and ramping back up after a closure will take time and can be a costly endeavor.
We call on you to work in a bipartisan manner and without delay to complete work on the FY 2021 spending bills and provide emergency research relief funding so that we can not only move beyond COVID- 19, but also continue to lead the world in science and innovation and improve the health, security and economic strength of our nation. Our organizations and our members stand ready to work with you toward this goal. Thank you for considering our request.
Sincerely,
AABB
Academy for Radiology & Biomedical Imaging Research
Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
AcademyHealth
American Association for Clinical Chemistry
American Association for Dental Research
American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy
American Association of Geographers
American Association of Immunologists
American Association of Mycobacterial Diseases
American Association of Physical Anthropologists
American Association of Physicists in Medicine
American Association of Physics Teachers
American Astronomical Society
American Brain Coalition
American Cancer Society Cancer
Action Network (ACS CAN)
American Chemical Society
American Crystallographic Association
American Dairy Science Association
American Gastroenterological Association
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
American Heart Association (AHA)
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
American Institute of Biological Sciences
American Lung Association
American Mathematical Society
American Meteorological Society
American Physical Society
American Physiological Society
American Psychological Association
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
American Society for Gravitational and Space Research
American Society for Investigative Pathology
American Society for Microbiology American Society for Nutrition
American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
American Society for Virology
American Society of Agronomy
American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology
American Society of Hematology
American Society of Human Genetics
American Society of Nephrology
American Society of Neuroradiology
American Society of Plant Biologists
American Society of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene
American Sociological Association
American Thoracic Society
Aquatic Plant Management Society
ASME
Association for Clinical Oncology
Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Association for Psychological Science
Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO)
Association for Women in Mathematics
Association of Academic Health Sciences Libraries
Association of American Cancer Institutes
Association of American Medical Colleges
Association of American Universities
Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges
Association of Independent Research Institutes
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO)
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
Association of Science and Technology Centers
AVS - The Society for Science and Technology of Materials, Interfaces, and Processing Behavior Genetics Association
Binghamton University - State University of New York
Biophysical Society
Brain Aneurysm Foundation
Case Western Reserve University
Coalition for National Security Research (CNSR)
Computing Research Association
Consortium for Ocean Leadership
Consortium of Social Science Associations
Council of Graduate Schools
Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics (COPAFS)
Council on Undergraduate Research
Crop Science Society of America
Duke University
Ecological Society of America
Endocrine Society
Entomological Society of America
FASS
Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences
General Atomics
Geological Society of America
Global Health Technologies Coalition
GO2 Foundation for Lung Cancer
Harvard Medical School
Hepatitis B Foundation
HIV Medicine Association
Hydrocephalus Association
Infectious Diseases Society of America
Institute of Food Technologists
International Bipolar Foundation
International Code Council
International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis
IPPF
Johns Hopkins University & Medicine
KidneyCAN
Lasker Foundation
LUNGevity Foundation
Materials Research Society
Mathematical Association of America
Medical Library Association
Michigan State University
Moffitt Cancer Center
Mycobacterial Diseases of Animals – Multistate Initiative
National Alliance for Eye and Vision Research
National Alliance on Mental Illness
National Federation of Federal Employees
National Multiple Sclerosis Society
Natural Science Collections Alliance
New York University
North American Society for Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
North American Vascular Biology Organization
Northern Illinois University
OSA-The Optical Society
Patrick Risha CTE Awareness Foundation
PBM Foundation
Population Association of America/Association of Population Centers
Prevent Blindness
Research!America
Seismological Society of America
Society for Advancement of Violence and Injury Research (SAVIR)
Society for Neuroscience
Society for Research in Child Development
Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues
Society for the Study of Evolution
Society for Women's Health Research
Society of Breast Imaging
Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists
Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging
Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound
Society of Toxicology
Soil Science Society of America
Solve CFS
SPIE, the international society for optics and photonics
Stony Brook University
Supporters of Agricultural Research (SoAR) Foundation
The Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology
The Brain Recovery Project: Childhood Epilepsy Surgery Foundation
The Gerontological Society of America
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
The Science Coalition
The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America
The Society for Pediatric Radiology
The Society for Pediatric Radiology Research and Education Foundation
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina System UCLA
Union of Concerned Scientists
United for Medical Research
University at Albany, State University of New York
University at Buffalo
University of California San Diego
University of Delaware
University of Maine
University of Maine System
University of Oklahoma
University of Oregon
University of Pennsylvania
US Dairy Forage Research Center Stakeholder Committee
Vanderbilt University
Veterans for Common Sense
Washington State University
Wayne State University
Weed Science Society of America
West Virginia University
Yale University