Biophysical Society Bulletin | September 2020

Public Affairs

MakePolicyWork for Science: Apply for the2021–2022BPSCongressional Fellowship  The BPS Congressional Fellowship is an opportunity to embed science into the daily work of House and Senate offices. Members of Congress rely on their staff to bring expertise and knowledge to all aspects of the work they are tasked with. Working in public policy may not be the obvious next step to a career focused on scientific research, but it can be invaluable, not only to policy, but also to how you approach your research and funding in the future. This year-long fellowship provides a unique opportunity to work with a member of Congress or committee and bring first-hand knowledge of science and scientific research to the public policy process. BPS is now accepting applications for its Congressional Fellow for the 2021–2022 fellowship year. The BPS Congressional Fellowship is part of the esteemed AAAS Science and Technology Fellows program and is open to regular and early career members who are either US citizens or hold a visa allowing them the right to work in the United States. Visit the BPS website for more details about the program or contact Leann Fox at fellowship@biophysics.org or (240) 290-5606. The application deadline is December 18, 2020.

Fiscal Year 2021 Appropriations On July 31, the House of Representatives voted 217–197 in favor of the six-bill fiscal year (FY)2021 spending package that includes the Labor-HHS, Defense, Commerce-Justice-Science, Energy-Water, Financial Services, and Transportation-HUD appropriations bills. The House made significant increases in rec- ommended appropriations for federal research funding through the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Department of Energy. Approved funding for FY2021 is $ 46,959,000,000 for NIH; $5,275,000,000 above FY2020 and $8,587,509,000 above the budget request. Approved funding is $40,865,178,000 for the Department of Energy, $2,278,862,000 above FY2020 and $5,136,109,000 above the budget request. The Senate began work on the six-bill minibus when they returned toWashington, DC, after Labor Day. Senators Introduce RISE Act for Research Relief Senators Ed Markey (D-MA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Cory Gardner (R-CO), and Gary Peters (D-MI) on July 23 introduced the Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act (S. 4286), the com- panion to HR 7308 introduced on June 24. The RISE Act authoriz- es approximately $26 billion in supplemental funding for federal research agencies, including NIH, to ameliorate the tremendous

disruption to federally funded research fromCOVID-19. The bill also provides for temporary regulatory relief due to the pandemic. The funds are directed at federal scientific agencies with at least $50million in basic and applied research obligations in FY2020. Some of the specific agencies funded by the RISE Act include: • $3,000,000,000 for the Office of Science, Department of Energy • $350,000,000 for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration • $10,000,000,000 for the National Institutes of Health • $2,000,000,000 for National Aeronautics and Space Admin- istration • $3,000,000,000 for the National Science Foundation • $200,000,000 for the Environmental Protection Agency. The appropriated funds may be used to: • provide supplemental funding to extend the duration of a grant to a research institution or national laboratory that was awarded prior to the enactment of this bill, or to expand the purposes of such a grant as specified;

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