Biophysical Society Newsletter | September 2017

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BIOPHYSICAL SOCIETY NEWSLETTER

2017

SEPTEMBER

Public Affairs Join the Rally for Medical Research on September 14

keep the government running after October 1. Congress is currently limited in how much it can spend by the Budget Control Act of 2011. Unless there is an agreement to raise the caps imposed by the act, which the Society has advocated for, it will be difficult for the House and Senate to come to an agreement and fund the priorities of the appro- priations committees. The chart below shows the funding proposals for science as of August 2017. Energy Bill Introduced in Senate Senate Energy and Natural Resources Commit- tee Chair Lisa Murkowski (R-AL) and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA) introduced the Energy and Natural Resources Act of 2017 in late June. This bill, S. 1460, would authorize pro- grams at the Department of Energy, including the Office of Science, and allow for annual 7 percent increases in the Office’s budget over the next 5 years. The Energy Sciences Coalition, of which the Biophysical Society is a member, released a statement thanking Murkowski and Cantwell for introducing the legislation and applauding the authorized increases included in the bill. The bill also continues the Energy Frontier Research Centers and Energy Innovation Hubs. The same legislation was passed by the Senate in the last Congress, but was not considered by the House. At this time, the House has again not shown an interest in considering S. 1460.

On September 14, Biophysical Society members will join individuals from doz- ens of other research, health, and patient

advocacy organizations on Capitol Hill to advo- cate for sustained, predictable, and robust federal funding for medical research. Over 300 people are expected to participate in Washington. To make sure the message is received loud and clear by all Senate and House members, Society members are encouraged to participate in the advocacy efforts on September 14 by calling, tweeting, or writing to their congressional representatives and asking them to support funding for the National Insti- tutes of Health. Follow along online using the hashtag #RallyMedRes. Information on how you can participate from home will be available on the front page of the Biophysical Society website. US FY 2018 Science Funding: Where We Stand With the US fiscal year (FY) 2018 starting in less than a month on October 1, 2017, Congress has the month of September to complete appropria- tions bills and get them signed by the President or pass a bill providing temporary funding to

Federal Funding for Science Agencies (in billions)

FY 2018 President's Request

FY 18 House Appropriations Bill

FY 18 Senate Appropriations Bill

FY 2017 Enacted $34.311 $7.472 $5.390 $5.765 $0.690 $2.276

Agency

$26.920 $6.650 $4.473 $5.712 $0.600 $2,229

$35.400 $7.340 $5.390 $5.859 $0.660 $2.294

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National Institutes of Health National Science Foundation

$7.310 $5.550 $5.572 $0.695

Department of Energy Office of Science

NASA Science

NIST Science and Tech Laboratories Department of Defense Basic Research

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