Republican lawmakers in the House and the Senate have proposed 2018 spending bills that will underfund our nation’s scientific institutions. Many of these cuts specifically target climate change research: under the Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Act in the House (H.R.3267), funding for climate science at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) would drop by 19%, the Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency – Energy (ARPA-E) would disappear, and NASA’s earth science budget would shrink by 11%. In addition, the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST) funds would shrink by 4%, and the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) funds would be cut by over a hundred million dollars, with tight restrictions placed on the ability to redistribute funds towards novel research. The equivalent Senate appropriations bill (S.1662), though less extreme, also contains millions of dollars of cuts to programs at NASA, the NOAA, the NIST, and the NSF.
Scientific funding, which makes up less than 2% of the federal budget, is an essential investment in our country’s future: technological innovation, especially in the renewable energy sector, will create American jobs and improve lives, while climate change research must remain a high priority if we are to preserve our country – and our world – for future generations. Cutting funds for the NOAA, ARPA-E, NASA, the NIST, or the NSF is not the way to address the problem of federal debt. Both H.R. 3267 and S. 1662 have passed in committee and move next to floor votes in the House and Senate, respectively.
RESISTBOT: Text the word “resist” to 504-09. You will prompted through to your MoC. It is easy and your representative receives a fax.
FIND YOUR REPRESENTATIVE: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find/
NEFL MoC numbers:
Rep. Ted Yoho
DC:202-225-5744
Orange Park: 904-276-9626
Rep. John Rutherford
DC 202-225-2501
Jacksonville 904-831-5205
Rep. Ron DeSantis
DC 202-225-2706
Palm Coast 386-302-0471
Rep. Al Lawson
DC 202-225-0123
Jacksonville: 904-354-1652
Sen Marco Rubio
DC 202-224-3041
JAX – 904-354-4300
Sen Bill Nelson
DC – 202-224-5274
JAX – 904-346-4500
Your script:
Hi, my name is [NAME] and I’m a constituent from ___________.
I’m calling to urge __________ to fight for a 2018 appropriations bill that fully funds our nation’s scientific institutions, including NOAA and the National Science Foundation, because energy and climate change research is an investment in our nation’s future. I ask that ___________ oppose any appropriations bills which would reduce funding for crucial scientific programs.
Thank you for your time and attention.
[IF LEAVING A VOICEMAIL: please leIave your full street address to ensure your call is tallied]
