ACS Joins Coalition Supporting Robust NSF Funding

November 2, 2021

Dear Chairman Leahy, Vice Chairman Shelby, Chair DeLauro, and Ranking Member Granger:

On behalf of the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) – an alliance of 137 professional organizations, scientific societies, universities, and businesses united in our advocacy for the National Science Foundation (NSF) – we write in strong support of a robust FY 2022 funding level for the National Science Foundation. Thank you for your efforts to increase funding for NSF in FY 2022 appropriations. We are grateful to see that both the House and Senate bills would provide substantial support for NSF. NSF investments are key to bolstering U.S. innovation and competitiveness by funding highly meritorious curiosity-driven research; building and fostering U.S. STEM education and workforce programs; supporting cutting-edge facilities that enable the work of scientists and engineers; and addressing the most pressing issues of our time.

In April we asked Congress to provide at least $10 billion for NSF to set the agency on a course to advance domestic innovation and to keep pace with investments other countries are making in research and development. We are in a critical time, with myriad challenges that include the ongoing pandemic, climate change, supply chain disruptions, and an increased focus by competing nations on emerging technologies. NSF is a central part of the solution.

Given the need to sustain and increase funding for agency programs, we urge appropriators to approve at least $9.634 billion, as would be provided to NSF in the House FY 2022 Commerce, Justice, Science bill. Congress has significant interest in ensuring that NSF funds priority areas, including technologies that will be key to our national competitiveness. NSF needs enough funding to meet the massive scale of global challenges we face and fulfill Congress’s vision for U.S. leadership in science and technology.

To accomplish this, Congress must also ensure NSF protects core activities that form the foundation of our science and engineering ecosystem. The Coalition urges adequate funding in Research and Related Activities to enable the creation of the new Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships and Administration priority areas while balancing the needs of other critical activities. We also strongly encourage Congress to support the House-proposed funding level for Education and Human Resources, which will enable NSF to boost funding for broadening participation programs while also protecting the education research programs that are addressing the impact of lost instructional time from the pandemic, innovating to ensure our K-12 and undergraduate education systems can meet the needs of teachers and learners in a rapidly changing world. Even with the increases proposed in the House and Senate bills, NSF would face difficult trade-offs that could undercut critical agency programs. For example, despite appearing to increase, funding for existing education research programs may receive significantly less funding from FY 2021 in the proposed Senate legislation due to the agency’s plan to move the Graduate Research Fellowships Program into EHR in FY 2022.

We are thankful for the bipartisan support that members of Congress have shown NSF. We hope to see this support continue with strong funding for NSF in FY 2022 appropriations and through other legislation.

Sincerely,

The Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF)