In Brief
Register Now for the 2024 Rally for Medical Research
Join the Biophysical Society (BPS) and your STEM colleagues at the 2024 Rally for Medical Research in Washington, DC. The Rally, scheduled for September 18-19, is your chance to urge Congress to preserve its long-standing support of scientific research through significant, long-term, sustainable funding increases for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Now more than ever, Congress needs to hear from you – the researchers – on the impact a cut or freeze to federal research funding will have on the United States’ ability to remain on the cutting edge of scientific and medical research. Register now to join us on September 19 to protect decades of investment into the NIH and essential basic and biomedical research. Register Now!
Applications Are Open for the Biophysical Society 2025–2026 Congressional Fellowship
Interested in using your science skills to inform science policy? Does spending a year working on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, helping develop policy sound exciting? The Biophysical Society’s Congressional Fellowship program is your opportunity to participate directly in the process of law-making that impacts how research is funded and regulated. This year-long opportunity provides fellows a chance to utilize their science knowledge to inform the public policy process. Fellows will gain firsthand knowledge and experience on how Congress works and participate in the esteemed AAAS Science and Technology Fellows program that provides ongoing training and networking opportunities during the fellowship year and beyond. Visit https://www.biophysics.org/policy-advocacy/congressional-fellowship for more details about the program or contact Leann Fox at [email protected] or (240) 290-5606. The application deadline is December 13, 2024.
Senate to Release First Science Budgets, Challenge FY25 Caps
Prior to leaving for the August in-district work period, Senate appropriators under the leadership of Chair Patty Murray (D-WA) began advancing their budget proposals for fiscal year (FY) 2025. The committee reached a bipartisan agreement to use emergency funding to circumvent the caps set by the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA), which permits only a 1% increase to both defense and nondefense spending. Murray has been vocal about the damage these caps would have to innovation and research should they remain in place, compromising the United State’s ability to remain competitive with China.
The Republican-led House is unlikely to support this use of emergency funds, as it successfully opposed a similar bid by the Senate in the previous budget cycle. This year, House appropriators have proposed budget increases for a few science agencies without resorting to emergency funds, such as a 1.8% increase for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, but others would see flat or decreased budgets.
House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole Outlines View for Fall FY25 Efforts
Congress has adjourned for a summer of in-district work periods and campaigning in the lead-up to November, but before they left Washington, DC House Appropriations Committee Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) outlined how he anticipates the appropriations process will play out in an election year and how he is working with his Senate counterpart, Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murry (D-WA) in negotiations.
Cole firmly believes that Congress will pass a continuing resolution (CR) at the end of September, kicking the spending bills past the election and ultimately allowing the winner of the presidential election to decide how spending will proceed for FY25. Regarding his Senate appropriations colleagues, Cole is proposing spending totals well below what Murray is advancing and setting up for extended negotiations between the Chambers.