10 January 2017
Washington, D.C.—The following statement is attributable to American Geophysical Union (AGU) Executive Director/CEO Christine McEntee. AGU represents more than 60,000 Earth and space scientists worldwide. The American Innovation and Competitiveness Act was signed into law by President Obama on 6 January 2017.
The passage of American Innovation and Competitiveness Act (S.3084) is a perfect example of what can be achieved through bi-partisan collaboration. Science plays a vital role in our nation’s economic leadership, national security, and technological advancement, and we are pleased to see such a level of commitment from Congress to promoting science and discovery.
The bill strengthens NSF’s ability to continue its important work in driving discovery and innovation and supports collaboration, an essential part of the scientific process. It reaffirms NSF’s long-standing gold standard peer review process, strengthens our nation’s STEM pipeline, and sets a foundation for strong science funding.
AGU is particularly pleased to see language encouraging citizen science and promoting increased participation of women and underrepresented minorities within the STEM fields. Increasing the quality of STEM education and increasing the inclusivity of science not only provides a future workforce that will fuel scientific and economic success in America, but improves science literacy nationwide.
Because the bill fails to authorize funding, moving forward we encourage the new Congress to provide a strong and sustained investment to carry out these programs and policies.
The American Geophysical Union is dedicated to advancing the Earth and space sciences for the benefit of humanity through its scholarly publications, conferences, and outreach programs. AGU is a not-for-profit, professional, scientific organization representing more than 60,000 members in 139 countries. Join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and our other social media channels.
###
Caitlyn Camacho
[email protected]
202-777-7423