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January 26, 2022

Signals from the Scientific Community: Support for NSF, DOE, and NIST Provisions in the America COMPETES Act of 2022

(Dallas, TX) – Yesterday, the House posted text of the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology and Economic Strength Act of 2022. The America COMPETES Act of 2022 includes a historic investment to surge production of American-made semiconductors, tackles supply chain vulnerabilities to make more goods in America, bolsters America’s scientific research and technological leadership, and strengthens America’s economic and national security at home and abroad. The America COMPETES Act of 2022 includes transformative and bipartisan legislation from the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Here are some of the endorsements in support of legislation from the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology included in the America COMPETES Act of 2022.

Find our full lists of endorsements here.

Scientific community support for H.R. 3593, the DOE Science for the Future Act

“This bipartisan legislation would provide the first ever comprehensive authorization for the Office of Science. This would set a path for steadily increasing federal investments in basic scientific research over the next five years. The Chamber commends the Committee for its important collaborative work on this issue. We urge your committee to favorably report H.R. 3593 to the full House.” U.S. Chamber of Commerce

“ACS enthusiastically supports the efforts to broaden participation of teachers and scientists. We welcome the integrated approach that the committee has taken on improving diversity, equity, and inclusion in STEM fields. Increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM fields is vital to maintain the United States’ leadership role in innovation. Integrating DOE activities in this area with other research agencies will improve the reach and effectiveness of these efforts.” American Chemical Society

“This bill makes bold new investments in fundamental research, world-class science facilities, and workforce development efforts supported by the DOE Office of Science. In particular, new investments and science initiatives in the bill are needed to stay ahead of international competition, maintain U.S. competitiveness, support a highly skilled and diverse science and technology workforce, and create American jobs of the future in key energy sectors as well as new technology areas such as high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and quantum information science.” Over 100 organizations involved in the Energy Sciences Coalition

APLU appreciates the efforts you and your staff took in consulting with our community as you developed these bills. We thank you for the opportunity to submit written comments. Your staff has been generous in meeting with APLU and many member institutions. H.R. 3593, the Department of Energy Science for the Future Act, is the first ever comprehensive reauthorization bill for the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Science. The DOE Office of Science is the leading federal agency to fund research in the physical sciences and an integral sponsor of critical U.S. scientific infrastructure. We appreciate the Committee’s well-defined, well-vetted, and bipartisan roadmap for the Office in the bill.” Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities

Scientific community support for H.R. 2225, the NSF for the Future Act

“We applaud the committee’s creation of the Science and Engineering Solutions Directorate and its design to complement NSF’s curiosity driven directorates. Science is integral to solving most of society’s grand challenges, but so often the best available science fails to reach decision makers or is not actionable. We support the creation of an NSF directorate that will fund use- inspired research and translation to decision-makers as well as new systems of science, including the Convergence Accelerator, that accelerate the loop between research and operations.” American Geophysical Union

“The establishment of the Directorate for Science and Engineering Solutions represents an opportunity to capitalize on NSF’s unique ability to foster innovative research, while not diverting resources or focus from the core mission of the agency. The societal challenges outlined in H.R. 2225 require new approaches, and APS looks forward to working with the agency to advance progress in these important areas. APS would like to thank the committee leadership and staff for engaging with the scientific community over the past year as you developed the NSF for the Future Act. The result is legislation that promises to benefit the agency, the scientific community, and the American people.” American Physiological Society

“At its core, the National Science Foundation (NSF) exists to “promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense.” But for too long, the NSF has had an exclusive group of stakeholders. H.R. 2225 makes significant strides to “address major societal challenges and sustain United States leadership in innovation” by seeking to broaden and diversify participation in NSF at the Directorate level and in a variety of NSF funded projects.” AFL-CIO

“I am very grateful that, throughout the process, you and your staff have remained open to input and feedback from AAU and the broad NSF stakeholder community. Draft legislation was circulated almost a year ago and comments were not only solicited but incorporated into the bill as introduced in March of this year. From the start, the Committee has worked on a bipartisan basis, and the product reflects the support of a diverse group of Members of Congress and stakeholders.” Association of American Universities

“We are especially appreciative of the open and consultative process used to develop this important legislation and attention paid to the utility of the social and behavioral sciences in bringing scientific findings to bear on solving critical societal challenges. Further, the NSF for the Future Act takes a holistic approach to NSF reauthorization, recognizing that U.S. scientific leadership and competitiveness hinge not only on technological advancement, but on support for research starting at the most fundamental level and across all domains of science.” Consortium of Social Science Associations

Scientific community support for H.R. 4609, the National Institute of Standards and Technology for the Future Act of 2021

“We appreciate the added authorities provided under this authorization bill. In particular, provisions that encourage inter-governmental collaboration are important to ensure the U.S. is fully taking advantage of the resources we have available in this great agency. Additionally, we appreciate the inclusion of critical pay authority to recruit and retain the world-class scientific and technical talent needed for NIST to carry out its mission in areas of national research priorities such as cybersecurity and quantum information science and technology. Securing exceptionally well-qualified talent is instrumental to the successful accomplishment of the Institute's critical missions, as well as to its overall strategic planning.” NIST Coalition

“The U.S. Chamber of Commerce supports H.R. 4609, the “National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) for the Future Act.”… The Chamber appreciates the Committee’s continued bipartisan efforts to bolster our national research enterprise, including the effort to reauthorize NIST. The NIST for the Future Act would establish innovative programs to support U.S. global competitiveness and makes crucial investments in our future.” U.S. Chamber of Commerce

“The bipartisan NIST for the Future Act will help sharpen America’s edge in research and innovation. The U.S. semiconductor industry relies on foundational research at NIST and other federal research agencies to help create the technologies of the future. We thank the bill’s sponsors for their bipartisanship and leadership in promoting American innovation, and we call on all House members to approve this important legislation. As the legislation advances, we urge Congress to include $52 billion to fund the critical semiconductor research, design, and manufacturing initiatives in the CHIPS for America Act. Investing in domestic chip technology and innovation will help reinforce America’s economy, national security, and global competitiveness.” Semiconductor Industry Association

“Given the changes to the economy over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges impacting organizations across the United States, we see especially excited to see the opportunity the NIST for the Future Act will have to build the skills of underrepresented communities in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professions. We believe building these skills is very timely as these same organizations are struggling to fill the millions of STEM jobs that will be created over the next decade. Without an ample supply of skilled talent, technology organizations will not be able to keep pace with change, let alone drive it.” ISACA

Learn more here.

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