Dear Research Advocate, This letter is my 400th, having started this journey in July 2011. Over the years I have received a wealth of high-content feedback, including strong disagreement from time to time. Our exchanges have helped refine Research!America’s advocacy and heighten our impact. It has been, and continues to be, a true privilege to share and discuss advocacy and public engagement topics with you over the years. Thank you for the opportunity!! Ironically, my first weekly letter in July 2011 concerned the threat posed by the possible passage of the Budget Control Act (BCA), the same law that set in motion a dramatic across-the-board budget cut and set up nearly a decade’s worth of...

Dear Research Advocate: Speaking recently to the “New Voices” group at the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, as well as to young scientists during a visit to the University of Miami, I was energized by the passion, determination and commitment they all have for engaging the public. I discussed highlights of the survey findings we feature in Research!America’s new poll data summary A new survey question probes awareness and support for engagement of scientists in the policy making process. Other survey highlights include trend data that might surprise you — like the 10% increase since 2015 in those who say they would be willing to pay more in taxes if the money went to...

Designed to reduce the federal deficit, the Budget Control Act of 2011 placed strict, austerity-level “sequestration” caps on federal spending when Congress failed to develop a responsible plan for reducing the national budget. The caps are not a legitimate, thoughtfully designed policy suggestion, but rather a fallback budget mechanism—a blunt instrument that ignores current national threats and opportunities, and does not account for the strategic interests of our nation. Historically, Congress has been aware of this issue and responded accordingly, acting every two years to modify the Budget Control Act and increase the level of discretionary spending appropriated each year. More...

Dear Research Advocate: A Senate HELP Committee hearing this week examined what is driving preventable disease outbreaks. A key issue of discussion – as observed in our 2018 survey data – is growing public suspicion about the benefit of vaccines. The hearing also focused on the need for a robust public health infrastructure that can prevent public health threats. In a New York Times op-ed published yesterday, Admiral Brett Giroir, Assistant Secretary of HHS, Dr. Robert Redfield, Director of CDC, and Vice Admiral Jerome Adams, U.S. Surgeon General, noted that vaccines have proven so successful that many clinicians and parents may not realize the seriousness of diseases – such as measles –...