WASHINGTON – The Science Coalition (TSC) released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of the first appropriations package for Fiscal Year (FY) 2021, which includes funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA): 

We are pleased the House of Representatives has committed to the critical research supported by USDA’s Agricultural Research Service and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. This funding is critical to prevent food insecurityadvance American agriculture, and more. The passage of the first FY21 appropriations package is a step in a positive direction toward providing predictability to our researchers, and we urge the Senate to begin its appropriations process without delay. 

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 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.   

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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.