ACS Calls for CHIPS and Science Funding to be Prioritized

September 18, 2023

Dear Speaker McCarthy, Majority Leader Schumer, Minority Leader Jeffries and Minority Leader McConnell:

On behalf of the American Chemical Society (ACS), I write to request that funding the CHIPS and Science Act, passed just last year, be prioritized during the ongoing negotiations for FY24 appropriations. As one of the world’s largest scientific organizations, with over 185,000 members, ACS strongly supports federally funded research to improve people’s lives through the transforming power of chemistry and to advance the broader chemistry enterprise for the benefit of all people.

When the CHIPS and Science Act passed last year, the scientific community celebrated the visionary spending levels authorized for the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The investments in basic research and workforce development outlined in the Act are a necessity in a highly competitive global environment. Strong and consistent support for chemistry and other R&D efforts is vital to our nation's productivity, defense capabilities, public health, and energy and environmental security.

As you work to find a compromise on appropriations that will pass both chambers and be signed into law, I urge you to remember the spending levels of this year will set the trajectory for FY25 and beyond. Investments now will provide for years of innovations and training for the scientists and engineers of future decades. Congress should maintain the nation’s lead in scientific entrepreneurship by investing as close to possible to the authorized funding amounts as the long-term opportunity costs have long lead teams that cannot be instantly created when a new challenge arises. It is imperative for economic growth and prosperity in the United States that the promise of the CHIPS and Science Act be fulfilled.

Sincerely,

Anthony Pitagno
Senior Director, Government Affairs
American Chemical Society