AAAS Urges Senate to Fund Broad Research Portfolio

As Senate appropriators began final work on a funding bill for science agencies, the AAAS urged the lawmakers to support a broad, balanced portfolio of investments in research and development.

In a letter sent 11 July to leaders of the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations and the panel’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies, AAAS CEO Alan I. Leshner noted that the science society “fully supports efforts to provide substantial increases” to the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology as part of President Bush’s American Competitiveness Initiative.

Leshner also encouraged the lawmakers to resist efforts to cut funding in other critical fields such as space science, aeronautics, and atmospheric and ocean sciences. Research in such areas, he said, contributes greatly to the understanding of the planet on which we live and also yields “insights with great relevance to other fields and broader scientific and societal questions.” For the text of Leshner’s letter, click here.

11 July 2006