The AAMC joined nearly 150 member organizations as part of the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) in an April 21 letter to House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Chair Lamar Smith (R-Texas) and Ranking Member Eddie Bernie Johnson (D-Texas) regarding the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1806).
In the letter, the organizations stress concerns in the current legislation pertaining to the National Science Foundation (NSF), “that will negatively affect NSF and the scientific community that relies on NSF,” most specifically opposing specific budget authorization levels for individual directorates at NSF and significant reductions for the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences (SBE) and Geosciences (GEO) directorates.
Additionally, the organizations affirm the coalition’s commitment to work with the committee “to produce the strongest possible legislation” that incorporates “the spirit and commitment of the original act” of 2007 and reauthorization legislation of 2010, and encourage a bipartisan compromise that can be supported not only by the committee, but also by the scientific and higher education communities.”
The legislation, which authorizes research, engineering, and education programs supported by the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy’s Office of Science, and National Institute of Standards and Technology, was approved along party lines (19-16) during a contentious April 23 committee mark-up. A House floor vote on the legislation may occur as soon the week of April 27.