Statement by Research!America President and CEO Mary Woolley on Senate Majority and White House Stimulus Package
Research!America is grateful for the determined efforts that have culminated in a proposed fifth pandemic supplemental bill in the Senate.
We applaud the inclusion of $15.5 billion to ensure NIH-funded research stalled by COVID-19 can move forward. Research champions such as Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO) have fought through their careers to propel life-saving medical progress, and that is exactly what this investment will do. We are confident bipartisan negotiations will bring this urgently needed funding to fruition.
As the House, Senate, and White House negotiate a final supplemental package, we urge them to ensure that, in addition to $15.5 billion for NIH, at least $16 billion is provided to address the corrosive effects of COVID-19 on research grant funding from NSF and other key science agencies.
Our nation’s public-private sector R&D ecosystem is an asset that factors crucially into the health, prosperity, and security of every American. Based on a national survey Research!America commissioned in January 2020, more than 85% of the public — across party lines — agree that investing in research is important to economic growth. We encourage Congress and the Administration to quickly agree on a supplemental package, equipping our nation’s research ecosystem to defeat COVID-19 and jumpstart medical and scientific progress.
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