July 17, 2017

For Immediate Release

Media Contact:
Jamie Vernon
Executive Director and CEO
Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society
jvernon@sigmaxi.org or 800-243-6534 ext. 223

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. ― Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Honor Society and 200 organizations joined with Research!America to call on Congress to raise the spending caps for research in the fiscal year 2018 federal budget. 

Caps on non-defense and defense spending established under the 2011 Budget Control Act will return in FY2018. In a letter sent on July 11, the group urged Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, and Democratic Leader of the House Nancy Pelosi to work together to raise the caps. 

The letter warns that allowing the caps to return in full force would lead to underinvestment in research, even though the National Institutes of Health “catalyzes private sector innovation and creates jobs” while tackling health threats such as cancer that “jeopardize our nation’s long-term fiscal security.”

“Sigma Xi supports raising the caps that would limit the budget for research funding,” said Jamie Vernon, executive director and CEO. “We need to strategically invest in research to be prepared to handle threats to our nation’s health and security and to continue to drive the economic recovery.”

Read the full letter here.