Arlington Va. - Nov. 14, 2017 - Research!America, along with other research and scientific alliances and organizations, is leading a "Raise the Caps" print and digital ad, social media and grassroots campaign the week of November 13-17, 2017. The campaign is intended to convince Congress to negotiate a bipartisan budget deal that raises spending caps before end of year to provide flexibility for increased federal funding for science.
The 2011 Budget Control Act placed a cap on federal spending, known as sequestration, for each fiscal year through 2021 for defense and non-defense programs. The Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015 provided sequestration relief for two years, but since another budget deal has not been reached, the caps are back in place for FY18. Mary Woolley, president and CEO of Research!America, and heads of two dozen other science groups sent a sign-on letter to congressional leaders today urging them to negotiate a budget deal that ends sequestration.
"When science is short-changed it has ripple effects on every aspect of our lives, from health, to food, energy, and technology, and the list goes on," said Mary Woolley. "The scientific community has come together to speak out against arbitrary budget caps that jeopardize our nation's health, safety, and global competitiveness."
The campaign, which calls attention to federally-funded research that has strengthened our nation's leadership in science and technology, includes print advertisements in The Wall Street Journal, POLITICO, Washington Examiner, Weekly Standard, digital ads in The Hill, CQ Roll Call, washingtonexaminer.com, weeklystandard.com and Daily Caller, and social media and grassroots activities. More information can be found at http://www.researchamerica.org/raisethecaps.
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Campaign partners include: American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Educational Research Association, American Geophysical Union, American Physical Society, Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, March for Science, National Association for Biomedical Research, OSA-The Optical Society, Society for Neuroscience, and Supporters of Agriculture Research.
About Research!America
Research!America is the nation's largest nonprofit public education and advocacy alliance working to make research to improve health a higher national priority. Founded in 1989, Research!America is supported by member organizations that represent the voices of 125 million Americans. Visit http://www.researchamerica.org.