AIBS Expresses Concerns about COMPETES Reauthorization

The Honorable Lamar Smith, Chairman House Science, Space and Technology Committee 2321 Rayburn House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 The Honorable Eddie Bernice Johnson, Ranking Member House Science, Space and Technology Committee 394 Ford House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 Subject: HR 1806, The America COMPETES Reauthorization Act Dear Chairman Smith, Ranking Member Johnson, and Members of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee: On behalf of the American Institute of Biological Sciences, I would like to thank you for your continued efforts to reauthorize the America COMPETES Act. Thank you, too, for addressing several of the concerns the scientific community raised with prior versions of the legislation. The American Institute of Biological Sciences is a federation that includes more than 100 scientific societies and organizations spanning the breadth of the biological sciences. As such, we were pleased to see a proposed increase in the authorization level for the National Science Foundation (NSF) for fiscal year (FY) 2016. The community remains concerned, however, that HR 1806 specifies funding allocations for NSF's research directorates. NSF has a stellar track record of supporting innovative, interdisciplinary research that yields transformative results. These scientific advancements have been achieved in part because NSF has had the flexibility to support promising research at the interface of different disciplines. This flexibility is important,...
Source: ActionBioscience - Category: Science Authors: Source Type: news