The Science Coalition Honors MVP Members of Congress

WASHINGTON – The Science Coalition (TSC) presented its Champion of Science Award to Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Congressman Bill Foster (D-IL), and Congressman Kevin Yoder (R-KS) last week at the Reserve Officers Association. The Champion of Science Award recognizes Members of Congress whose actions and votes consistently reflect their belief that basic scientific research, conducted at universities and national labs across the country, is essential to the nation’s ability to address pressing issues in health, security, energy and the environment.

The reception, moderated by Grant Paulsen of 106.7 The Fan, recognized all past recipients of the Champion of Science Award still serving in Congress in addition to honoring the three most recent recipients. Centered around the Major League Baseball All-Star game, TSC celebrated its own MVP’s of science – including Representatives Jim Cooper (D-TN) and John Culberson (R-TX) who both attended – with representatives from the higher education community.

Also in attendance were Congressman Jerry McNerney (D-CA), Dr. Fleming Crim, Chief Operating Officer of the National Science Foundation, and Undersecretary Paul Dabbar, Undersecretary for Science at the Department of Energy.

Anna Quider, President of The Science Coalition, began the award portion of the reception by welcoming the attendees and praising the newest Champions of Science:

“Federal support for research is key for all of our member universities in continuing to create new knowledge, educating the next generation of researchers and fostering the nation’s innovation ecosystem. Tonight, we are celebrating our own MVPs in Congress who have championed science and scientific funding.”

Upon receiving the award, Senator Peters applauded the work of America’s research universities:

“Thank you for the honor…thank you to all the universities for all the work that you do each and every day to make sure the United States is on the cutting edge when it comes to the next big thing. We’ve always known throughout human history it has been that discovery, or journey of discovery, that has led to the changes that have made this world better for people, and we can’t give up on that focus.”

Representative Foster highlighted how important federally funded research is to our nation’s economic development:

“We cannot lose support of research. More than half of all economic growth is attributable to federally funded research. When you say we can’t afford [fundamental research] you’re making a mistake. That’s one of the reasons why I’m proud to fight for [science] with a bipartisan set of collaborators.”

Representative Yoder reminded the audience that federal funding for fundamental research is a unifying issue with broad, bipartisan support:

“I am incredibly honored and humbled to receive this award tonight. This is truly a bipartisan, bicameral effort on so many fronts to promote science…I’ll keep fighting right alongside with all of you making this the number one issue for Congress to face, and I look forward to joining other Champions. I want you to have so many Champions in this hall you don’t have enough space for all of them.”

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About The Science Coalition

Established in 1994, The Science Coalition is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization of more than 50 of the nation’s leading public and private research universities. It is dedicated to sustaining the federal government’s investment in basic scientific research as a means to stimulate the economy, spur innovation, and drive America’s global competitiveness.

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