Reps. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.) are circulating a “Dear Colleague” and Congressional sign-on letters, urging House leaders to include $26 billion in the next COVID-19 relief package for federal research agencies to support:
- Supplements for research grants and contracts (e.g., cost extensions);
- Emergency relief to sustain research support personnel and base operating costs for core research facilities; and
- Additional graduate student and postdoc fellowships, traineeships, and research assistantships.
The “Dear Colleague” letter is endorsed by the Association of American Medical Colleges, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, the Alzheimer’s Association, Autism Speaks, Research!America, the Society for Neuroscience, and many more. This funding would support research across several government agencies, including but not limited to, funding for NIH, NSF, the Department of Defense, and others.
ABC urges its members to contact their House representatives to ask them to sign on to the “Dear Colleague” letter.
To contact your representatives, please do the following:
- Personalize the message template (following link) by replacing all of the SECTIONS IN [CAPS] with information about you and your organization. Please adjust the message to make it personal, appropriate to your situation, and explain the impact that COVID-19 is having on your organization. PLEASE SEND YOUR EMAIL BY APRIL 23ND.
