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29 August 2022
CHIPS and Science Act: AGU highlights and takeaways
On 9 August 2022 President Biden signed into law the Chips and Science Act. While it is largely talked about as an investment in our semiconductor industry and a national security win, this law is arguably more about advancing the U.S. scientific enterprise. At the heart of the science portion of the law is a compromise between the policies set forth in the Senate U.S. Innovation and Competition Act …
10 August 2022
Senate Appropriations Committee majority release their FY23 spending bills
Just before Congress’ August recess, Democrats on the Senate Appropriations Committee released all 12 of their Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) appropriations bills. In this post, we’ll detail the Committee majority’s spending and programmatic highlights for federal science agencies and offices. Department of Energy Budget (rounded to the nearest million) FY22 FY23 President’s Budget Request (PBR) FY23 Senate Appropriations Percent Change Senate FY23 vs FY22 Percent Change Senate FY23 …
18 July 2022
House Appropriations Committee releases their FY23 appropriations bills: read the Earth and space science highlights
In July 2022, the House Appropriations Committee released their 12 Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) appropriations bills. In this post, we’ll detail the House’s proposed spending and programmatic highlights for those science agencies. These spending numbers will set the groundwork for the Senate to start work on their FY23 spending. Department of Energy Budget (rounded to the nearest million) FY22 FY23 President’s Budget Request (PBR) FY23 House Appropriations Percent Change House FY23 vs FY22 Percent Change House FY23 vs …
15 October 2021
New science policy engagement program; applications open now!
AGU is piloting a new program, Local Science Partners, that will cement sciences’ place in decision-making by empowering AGU members to build trusting, sustainable partnerships with policymakers. AGU’s new program will pair AGU members with their legislators and provide AGU member partners the tools, resources and training to build sustainable relationships with their legislators. The goal of Local Science Partners is to advance AGU’s policy agenda and diversify sciences’ Congressional …
25 May 2021
AGU sends letter on Spectrum issues to Senate leadership
On 20 May 2021, AGU, The American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association sent a letter to Senator Maria Cantwell (WA), Chair of the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation calling for leadership on Spectrum issues, including the importance of spectrum assets to national security and weather and hazards safety. Thank you for your voice of leadership to preserve diverse spectrum resources to sustain and advance crucial environmental …
16 April 2021
Biden’s first budget request includes significant gains for science
Last week, President Biden released his first Presidential Budget Request (PBR) for Fiscal Year 2022, which asks for big spending boosts for several science agencies. President Biden’s budget mirrors the four priorities declared by his Administration previously – pandemic response, economic recovery, climate change, and equity. Notably to address these issues, Biden’s budget proposes an all of government approach, with large focuses on climate change and transformational research. While we wait for a more detailed budget with programmatic requests for …
25 March 2021
AGU Endorses the American Innovation Act
On 25 March 2021, AGU sent a letter of support to Senator Dick Durbin (IL) in support of the American Innovation Act. On behalf of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and our community of 130,000 worldwide in the Earth and space sciences, I am writing to thank you for crafting and offering AGU’s official endorsement for the American Innovation Act. The American Innovation Act provides stable and increasing funding for federal …
18 March 2021
AGU’s 2021 Policy Priorities
As a scientific society whose members’ research and interests span the universe, AGU’s science policy interests are just as vast – from scientific integrity to funding for science to building resilience to natural hazards. In 2019, AGU began developing annual policy priorities to help focus our advocacy work and speed the advancement of important science policy and legislation. For example, last Congress by focusing on our policy priorities AGU was able to secure passage of the Space Weather Research …
26 February 2021
Biden’s first 30 days in office: what it’s meant for science
President Biden campaigned on bringing science back to the center of policy. Knowing this, AGU shared a First 100 Days Memo with the Biden-Harris Transition team, laying out key priorities for climate change, the role of science, and a strong, diverse and inclusive scientific workforce. Now, a little more than a month into the Biden administration, we take a closer look at what progress has – and has not – …
18 February 2021
A new webinar & new opportunity to engage U.S. policymakers
2021 has brought with it a new Congress and a new U.S. administration, which means new opportunities to engage policymakers and share with them the value of the Earth and space sciences. Join our upcoming webinar Whether you are new to science policy and want to learn more about federal policy processes or are experienced but just want to improve the effectiveness of your engagements, AGU and its …
3 March 2020
The Future Needs Science. The U.S. Elections Need You.
AGU is launching the Science Votes the Future campaign to get candidates speaking about science and to get scientists to the polls. With the 2020 U.S. election season well underway—not just for the president but for many other national, state, and local elections—we haven’t heard enough about the essential role that science plays in our society. Scientific research is a critical part of understanding how climate change will affect …
13 February 2020
FY21 Presidential Budget Request Breakdown
The U.S. federal appropriations season is upon us once again. On 10 February 2020, President Donald J. Trump released his Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2021. This is the first step in the appropriations negotiation process that ideally concludes before current fiscal year ends on 30 September. While a few vital science programs were funded, overall the president’s proposed budget is a severe disappointment for science and ignores the many …
18 December 2019
A Focus on the Future: Educating for the Next 100 Years
Last week, nearly 28,000 scientists convened in San Francisco for AGU’s annual Fall Meeting. This year also marks AGU’s centennial, and it seemed one topic was on the minds of many: what will the next 100 years look like, and how do we prepare the next generation of scientists? During a plenary discussion with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former California Governor Jerry Brown, AGU’s CEO Chris …
6 December 2019
Global Science Policy at #AGU19
AGU’s science policy team is excited to host three international science policy initiatives at Fall Meeting this year. The first is a series of International Science Policy meetups. These meetups are a great opportunity to learn and hear from colleagues around the world engaging in science policy. Additionally, AGU’s science policy staff will be available to answer questions and provide resources. Tuesday, 10 December from 11 – 12 pm Moscone …
29 March 2019
Sequestration is back; and science funding is in jeopardy.
The Budget Control Act of 2011 (BCA) required Congress to find ways to cut the deficit by capping funding for non-defense, including science, and defense programs. Congress never came to an agreement on ways to cut the deficit and therefore automatic across the board cuts for government spending, or sequestration, were invoked. Sequestration was supposed to be so bad that Congress would be forced to reach an agreement. Under the BCA, FY2020 defense …
8 August 2018
Meet with Your Legislator This August Recess!
It’s that time of year again. Throughout next month (also known as “August Recess”), members of Congress will be home in their state and district offices to host events and meet with constituents to talk about their priorities. While the Senate has canceled part of their recess, your Representatives and (for part of the time) your Senators will be looking to hear from you as their constituent while they’re home. …
18 May 2018
Safeguard Our Infrastructure by Improving Space Weather Forecasts
Today’s post is written by Tai-Yin Huang, Professor of Physics, Penn State University Space weather has become increasingly important due to our heavy dependence on technological infrastructure. Space weather can cause disruptions to telecommunications and GPS navigation, failure or mis-operation of satellites, loss of electricity due to damage to power grids, and damage to pipelines, all of which compromise our personal and national security. Luckily, monitoring space weather conditions and …
17 May 2018
Streamgages: Infrastructure to Protect Infrastructure
Today’s post is written by Sandra M. Eberts, U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologist and Deputy Program Coordinator (Acting), Groundwater and Streamflow Information Program Everyone is talking about infrastructure, especially the high cost of deferred maintenance and reconstruction. If only it were possible to keep infrastructure from degrading in the first place. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamgages can help do just that. The USGS National Streamflow Network has more than 8,200 streamgages—operated …
16 May 2018
Infrastructure Week: NEHRP and the Threat from Below
Editor’s Note: During infrastructure week, AGU Public Affairs is highlighting how science helps to protect our infrastructure. Below is a re-post of a recent blog by leadership of AGU’s Seismology Section regarding current legislation to reauthorize the National Earthquake Hazards Reduction Program and improve our nation’s resiliency to seismological activity. This legislation has been introduced in the Senate by Senators Feinstein and Murkowski. AGU, in partnership with other societies like …
15 May 2018
Can Supercomputers Do More for Future Human Resilience Than the Abacus?
Today’s post is written by David Trossman, Research Associate, University of Texas-Austin’s Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences Scientists like Joseph Fourier, John Tyndall, and Eunice Foot made discoveries that led Svante Arrhenius to calculate how doubling the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would affect global temperatures. This was one of the first qualitatively accurate models of the Earth system. And this was in the 1800s. The additional …
