WASHINGTON – The Science Coalition (TSC) today issued the following statement commending members of the House Committee on Appropriations for approving an overall $90 million increase in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021 for agricultural research, including a $10 million increase for the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI):
“As our economy recovers, a commitment to research and strong federal support for the agricultural sciences will provide predictability to the nation’s food security and rural economies, as well as our researchers and both the future of their work and the projects that were in progress but put on pause because of COVID-19. We are especially encouraged to see increases in funding year-over-year for programs like AFRI, which is particularly critical for workforce development and the next generation of agricultural innovation.
“We urge members of the House of Representatives, including our Champions of Science, to approve these appropriations without delay and reaffirm their commitment to our research workforce, our economy, and future innovation. We hope the Senate will do the same.”
The Science Coalition has also endorsed the “Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act,” which would authorize approximately $26 billion in federal funds to support America’s 560,000-strong research workforce in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and protect past investment in the research projects the pandemic interrupted. As the House continues to move ahead with the FY21 appropriations process, TSC also encourages House leadership to take the necessary steps to bring this bill to the floor – our nation’s research enterprise and our country’s economic recovery demand these critical investments.
###
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.