Action Alert: Ask Your U.S. Representative to Support Investment in NSF

Congress has started debate on funding levels for federal programs for fiscal year (FY) 2025.  Please show your support for the National Science Foundation (NSF) by asking your Representative to sign a Dear Colleague Letter in support of $10.2 billion in funding for the agency in 2025, the same level requested by President Biden.

NSF is the primary federal funding source for fundamental biological research at our nation's universities and colleges.  The agency provides approximately 66% of extramural federal support for non-medical, fundamental biological and environmental research at academic institutions.

In FY 2024, NSF's budget was cut by more than 8% compared to FY 2023. This is the first time that funding for NSF has decreased in a decade. The FY 2024 allocation hurts research and undermines the nation's ability to address societal challenges at a time when our nation is facing critical emerging technology and competitiveness threats. Further, this cut ignores the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act, which provided an exciting framework for growing federal investments in scientific research. Continued failure to meet the funding levels authorized for NSF in this bipartisan law will lead to billions of dollars in lost opportunities to strengthen our nation's science, technology, innovation, and the STEM workforce.

If provided with at least $10.2 billion in FY 2025, NSF can make progress on scientific priorities articulated in the CHIPS and Science Act, expand support for early career researchers, invest in translational research and emerging industries, and create new interdisciplinary research programs, such as the Integrative Research in Biology program.  This investment will sustain core research and education programs that are vital to U.S. competitiveness, economic growth, and national security.

An effort is now underway in the House of Representatives to build support for increased FY 2025 funding for NSF. Representatives Joe Neguse (D-CO) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) are circulating a Dear Colleague Letter calling on Congress to provide $10.2 billion in funding to NSF in FY 2025.

Please take a few moments to ask your Representative to sign the bipartisan Neguse-Fitzpatrick Dear Colleague Letter. The deadline for Representatives to be added to the letter is COB on Friday, April 19, 2024.