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If you are not aware of this, here's a brief sypnosis.
The new US Congress has decided that, rather than try to rewrite the budget for Fiscal year 2007 that was approved by the previous House, they are just going to adopt the 2006 budget as the continuing resolution. This is disasterous for science funding, and physical science in particular that has suffered for the past 6 years with diminished budget. Due to the raise in cost, this continuation with the 2006 budget will effectively mean a 6 to 10% budget cut, and also delay or canceled projects that have been scheduled to begin in 2007. Major facilities such as RHIC, JLab, and even the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne are seriously considering layoffs, shutdowns, and even cancellation of all work due to this.
For more on this debacle, please read the following links:
1. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/314/5806/1666a
2. http://www.aps.org/policy/opa/funding.cfm
3. http://www.newsobserver.com/114/story/530006.html
If you are a US resident, especially if you are a US citizen and a registered voter, your action is truly needed to contact your representatives and urge them to restore fundings to the sciences that both parties in congress and the President have agreed to previously. The physical science especially have been bettered for the past 6 years with diminished fundings, and there is only so much we can take before severe long-term and short-term damage will occur (assuming it hasn't started already). Major high energy physics experiments, for instance, will be gone completely from US soil for the first time in the history of this field of study by end of 2009!
Quoted below is the letter from the American Physical Society (APS), urging its members to act now. I am urging you, even if you are not an APS member, to follow the links given and use the template to contact your representatives. Your involvement is severely needed here.
Thank you.
Zz.
The new US Congress has decided that, rather than try to rewrite the budget for Fiscal year 2007 that was approved by the previous House, they are just going to adopt the 2006 budget as the continuing resolution. This is disasterous for science funding, and physical science in particular that has suffered for the past 6 years with diminished budget. Due to the raise in cost, this continuation with the 2006 budget will effectively mean a 6 to 10% budget cut, and also delay or canceled projects that have been scheduled to begin in 2007. Major facilities such as RHIC, JLab, and even the Advanced Photon Source at Argonne are seriously considering layoffs, shutdowns, and even cancellation of all work due to this.
For more on this debacle, please read the following links:
1. http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/summary/314/5806/1666a
2. http://www.aps.org/policy/opa/funding.cfm
3. http://www.newsobserver.com/114/story/530006.html
If you are a US resident, especially if you are a US citizen and a registered voter, your action is truly needed to contact your representatives and urge them to restore fundings to the sciences that both parties in congress and the President have agreed to previously. The physical science especially have been bettered for the past 6 years with diminished fundings, and there is only so much we can take before severe long-term and short-term damage will occur (assuming it hasn't started already). Major high energy physics experiments, for instance, will be gone completely from US soil for the first time in the history of this field of study by end of 2009!
Quoted below is the letter from the American Physical Society (APS), urging its members to act now. I am urging you, even if you are not an APS member, to follow the links given and use the template to contact your representatives. Your involvement is severely needed here.
Thank you.
Zz.
From: Judy Franz, Executive Officer of APS
To: APS members
Re: Member Alert: http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=apspa&hotissue=65
I'm writing to ask your help in urging Congress to enact increases for the budgets of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) STRS account in the upcoming Continuing Resolution for FY07. These increases are critical for preserving the health of science and education programming at these three agencies.
Please go to this URL to quickly and easily send an email to your Member of Congress:
http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=apspa&hotissue=65. (See Pointers below.)
Background: Congress did not pass the Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 budget before the start of the fiscal year on October 1. Consequently, the NSF, the DOE Office of Science and NIST are currently operating at the FY06 levels, despite strong bipartisan support for significant increases that had been proposed in the FY07 budget. Before adjourning in December, the 109th Congress passed a Continuing Resolution (CR) that funds the federal government at FY06 levels through Feb 17th. The leadership of both the House and the Senate has already announced their plan to pass a yearlong spending resolution in lieu of the outstanding appropriations bills when the 110th Congress convenes. The spending resolution, if left unchanged, will extend FY06 funding levels for the entirety of FY07.
The year-long extension of the FY06 funding levels could have severe effects on the science and education programs in the US:
* There will be a significant reduction in operations or a complete shutdown at some key national user facilities that academic and industrial researchers from around the country rely on. (See http://www.aps.org/policy/issues/research-funding/doe-analysis.cfm for a more detailed discussion of the DOE situation.)
* Scientific and technical staffing at the national laboratories may suffer reductions in force, since the FY06 funding levels do not account for salary-adjusted inflation.
* University grants will be notably reduced
o At NSF, there will be a 10% reduction in the number of new research grants, a loss of 40 planned Graduate Fellowships and $439 million in missed opportunities for scientific discoveries. (See http://www.aps.org/policy/issues/research-funding/nsf.cfm for a more detailed list of the effects that will be felt by NSF)
o At DOE, university grants could be cut by 10% or more. Due to the significant cut in funding of the Office of Science in FY06, DOE has been operating below FY05 levels. The proposed Continuing Resolution would extend these difficult levels through October 2007.
It is possible that Congress will make some adjustments for select agencies when they pass the yearlong resolution. It is conceivable that funds will be added to the NSF budget. Congress is more likely to allow DOE and the Department of Commerce to reprogram their allocations to fund the DOE Office of Science and NIST at the proposed FY07 levels, since the overall increases in the proposed FY07 budgets over FY06 for those two agencies is very small and it is the reallocation within the agency that is critical for science. If either or both of these actions are to be taken, however, , it is vital that scientist constituents urge their Members of Congress to do so. Communications from constituents are a very effective tool in influencing Members of Congress and are an important source of leverage for the APS Washington Office.
Please take a moment to write your Member of Congress and strongly urge them to include the FY07 funding levels for these three agencies in the yearlong Continuing Resolution, by simply clicking this link: http://www.congressweb.com/cweb4/index.cfm?orgcode=apspa&hotissue=65.
POINTERS:
(1) Individualizing your letter is not essential. (2) If you are a government employee, please do not use government resources to send a communication. (3) Using the above link to send your messages is straightforward and fast; the system can be used with most web browsers, but works best with Windows and a recent version of Internet Explorer or Netscape. (4) Your browser will take you to a page where you will enter your name and address. (5) After entering your address, click the “Edit/Send Email button.” A window with an individual email message to the five offices will appear. Click “Send Emails” to transmit the communication. (6) Electronic submission is preferred. (7) For technical help, write to opa@aps.org.
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