APS Submits Testimony on NSF

APS Submits Testimony on NSF, VA and NASA Funding

On May 5, 2004, the American Physiological Society (APS) submitted testimony calling on Congressional Appropriators to increase funding for the National Science Foundation (NSF), the VA Medical and Prosthetics Research Program (VA), and NASA’s Office of Biological and Physical Research (OBPR). The testimony can be found online here.

With a war raging in Iraq and fiscal conservatives in Congress fighting to hold the line on federal spending, many groups are competing for a smaller portion of the funding pie in fiscal year 2005. In its testimony the APS highlighted how increased funding for NSF, VA and OBPR can contribute to the overall health and safety of our country. “We are living in challenging times and our national priorities must reflect these challenges,” APS President D. Neil Granger wrote. “A strong commitment to science can help keep our nation safe and strong and help us meet future challenges.”

For FY 2005, the APS made the following recommendations:

For the National Science Foundation:

The APS joins with the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) and the Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF) in calling for a renewed commitment to the NSF and respectfully asks Congress to increase the FY 2005 funding level for this agency by 15% over the FY 2004 enacted level, and

For the VA Medical and Prosthetics Research Program:

The APS supports FASEB and the Friends of VA Medical Care and Health Research (FOVA) recommendation that Congress appropriate $460 million for VA research in FY 2005. This represents a $54.4 million or 13% increase over current year funding

For NASA’s Office of Biological and Physical Research:

For FY 2005 APS recommends that competitive peer-reviewed research and training be supported through increased funding to OBPR. To enhance the overall strength of NASA's research program, APS calls on Congress to appropriate the President's requested level of $1.049 billion. This is a 6.4% increase over FY 2004 levels.