weekly letter

Dear Research Advocate, Public Support for a Science Strong Future : A new survey commissioned by Research!America affirms Americans’ support for investing in research as a top priority for the new Congress and Administration. Four of five express strong support for the value of both public and private sector research and innovation, and the percentage of Americans indicating support for basic research “even if it brings no immediate benefits” grew from 77% in August 2020 to 85% in January 2021, with three of four now favoring doubling federal spending on medical research. As reassuring as the new survey data is in most regards, one in five Americans say they have lost confidence in science...

Dear Research Advocate, Getting a fast start on assuring that our nation reclaims our – let’s face it – war-torn identity as a science-strong nation, the Biden Administration is moving full speed ahead. Consider PCAST (the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology ). President Biden issued an Executive Order (EO) chartering his advisory council earlier than any of the last four administrations. (You can track all of the President’s EOs here .) The President elevating the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) to a cabinet-level position is another straight-out-of-the-gate action. A cabinet-level science advisor is the first of three recommendations...

Dear Research Advocate, Supplemental Funding Needs, Part 1 : President-elect Biden has indicated he will seek bipartisan support for a supplemental funding measure to address the urgent and ever-evolving needs created by this vicious and ongoing pandemic. Research!America has sent a letter to the President-elect with several supplemental funding requests, and we will follow up with a letter to Congressional leadership. Earlier this week we held an alliance member meeting with NIH Principal Deputy Director Dr. Larry Tabak and Deputy Director for Extramural Research Dr. Michael Lauer ( recording here ). Every minute of this meeting provided vital information on how the agency is struggling to...

Dear Research Advocate, Earlier this week, Congress passed a long-awaited legislative package containing FY21 funding and COVID-19 emergency dollars. However, President Trump has publicly criticized the bill and of this writing, it’s unclear whether he will sign it or seek changes. The current Continuing Resolution keeping the federal government open expires on December 28, 2020. Needless to say, we are closely monitoring the situation. Let’s look at the bill Congress approved: For FY21, it contains increases over the prior year of over $1 billion for NIH, $200 million for NSF, $125 million for the CDC, and $42 million for the FDA. Unfortunately, the Agency for Healthcare Research and...