Policy Letters

ASPB Signs Letter Urging Support of the AFRI Coalition’s Letter supporting at least $600 million for the USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative

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FY 2022 AFRI Coalition Letter: ASPB is pleased to be a signee in support of the AFRI Coalition’s letter supporting at least $600 million for the USDA Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFR). The AFRI Coalition remains committed to our longstanding goal of achieving the $700 million authorized funding level for AFRI, while still investing … Read more

ASPB Signs Letter Encouraging Full Funding of the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AgARDA), Authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill.

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ASPB is pleased to be a signee in support of fully funding the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority (AgARDA), authorized in the 2018 Farm Bill. AgARDA’s authorizing legislation aims to quickly and definitively tackle some of the biggest challenges in food and agriculture, from climate change, to production mechanization, to zoonotic diseases. AgARDA’s specialized … Read more

ASPB Signs Letter to Coalition for National Science Funding’s (CNSF) letter encouraging emergency relief funding for the National Science Foundation

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CNSF COVID January 2021 Letter: ASPB is pleased to be a signee on the Coalition for National Science Funding’s (CNSF) letter encouraging emergency relief funding for the National Science Foundation. Though our nation’s scientists and research institutions have risen to the challenge of the pandemic, they are facing enormous strains on their operations and infrastructure. … Read more

Letter Urging Continued Support for AFRI (FY21)

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The AFRI Coalition sends letter to Chairman Hoeven, Ranking Member Merkley, Chairman Bishop, and Ranking Member Fortenberry (members of the U.S. Senate and House Agriculture Appropriations Subcommittees) regarding fiscal year 2021 spending proposals. The AFRI Coalition commends you for your support of USDA’s Agriculture & Food Research Initiative (AFRI) and urges $435 million for AFRI … Read more

ASPB Joins CNSF in Support for NSF Funding (FY21)

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ASPB signs on to coalition letter in support of the NSF for fiscal year 2021 appropriations legislation. The letter was sent on November 20, 2020 to the U.S. Senate and House Committee on Appropriations members:  Chairman Shelby, Vice Chairman Leahy, Chairwoman Lowey, and Ranking Member Granger. As Congress seeks to finalize fiscal year 2021 (FY21) … Read more

ASPB’s Response to Proposed DHS Rulemaking on Student Visas

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On behalf of the thousands of members of the American Society of Plant Biologists (ASPB), we write to express our opposition to the proposal titled “Establishing a Fixed Time Period of Admission and an Extension of Stay Procedure for Nonimmigrant Academic Students, Exchange Visitors, and Representatives of Foreign Information Media.” (DHS Docket No. ICEB2019-0006). This … Read more

Multisociety Letter on Executive Actions Impacting Diversity Training

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ASPB signs on to two letters urging the Office of Management and Budget and the Office of Science and Technology Policy to rescind the September 4th memorandum and September 22nd Executive Order (EO) to eliminate federal employee training programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion. “Such constraints are antithetical to the progress we seek to … Read more

Multisociety Letter Addressing the Impacts of Persistent, Systemic Racism

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On September 1, ASPB joined more than 70 scientific organizations to support the call of House Science Chairwoman Eddie Bernice Johnson for a National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) study to “identify policies, strategies, and practices that have been the most successful in preventing and addressing systemic racism” in academia. Read the Letter … Read more

Letter urging immediate withdraw of modifications to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program

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ASPB joins broad coalition of societies insisting that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement immediately withdraw modifications to the Student and Exchange Visitor Program that would severely impact international students attending US universities. On behalf of the educational and scientific societies listed below, representing STEM professionals in all fields, both in the US and internationally, we … Read more

Multisociety Letter on the Immigration Executive Proclamation

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On May 20, ASPB and other societies sent a letter to President Trump to address the Immigration Executive Proclamation. The letter writes, “we urge you to prioritize the immigration of science and technology talent that will spur the scientific breakthroughs and economic growth of the United States that is needed for rapid recovery from the … Read more

ASPB urges Congress to support NIFA and the Cooperative Extension System

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On April 30, ASPB joined other supporters of US agriculture in a letter to congressional leaders. “As Congress considers the next supplemental appropriations package, we urge you to provide the necessary resources to our agricultural research, education, and extension system,” the letter writes. Specific asks to Congress include: $380 million for the USDA National Institute … Read more

Scientific Community Responds to President Trump’s Executive Order on Immigration

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Central to the global scientific and innovation enterprise is the principle of free and open scientific exchange.  Researchers need to be able to attend meetings, host international collaborators and educators, and attract the best graduate and postdoctoral trainees and job candidates.  On January 27, 2017, the Trump Administration issued an executive order entitled “Protecting the … Read more

ASPB and Other Leading Scientific Organizations Reach Out to Trump

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Recently, ASPB and AAAS and 27 other leading U.S. scientific organizations and professional societies sent a letter to President-Elect Donald Trump.  The letter urges Trump to “quickly appoint a science advisor with the title of Assistant to the President for Science and Technology who is a national respected leader with the appropriate engineering, scientific, management … Read more

ASPB joins ESC in support of FY17 DOE Office of Science appropriation

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ASPB joins Energy Science Coalition Fiscal Year 2017 Funding Statement for the Department of Energy Office of Science. Recognizing the importance of basic research to the DOE’s energy mission, the Department has dedicated $1.8 billion within the DOE Office of Science budget as that office’s contribution to the Mission Innovation initiative, a worldwide effort to … Read more

ASPB responds to FDA RFI on the Coordinated Framework

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ASPB responds to Response to FDA-2015-N-3403: Clarifying Current Roles and Responsibilities Described in the Coordinated Framework for the Regulation of Biotechnology and Developing a Long-Term Strategy for the Regulation of the Products of Biotechnology; Request for Information. Since the first introduction of biotechnology-derived plant products, not a single documented issue with regard to human safety has … Read more

NYT Publishes ASPB Response to 10/24 Article on European GMO Policies

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The New York Times published the following letter to the editor from ASPB on October 30, 2015.  ASPB’s letter was in response to the October 24th article by Mark Lynas, the political director for the Cornell Alliance for Science.  In his piece, Lynas laments that due to “Europe’s Coalition of the Ignorant, we are witnessing … Read more

ASPB joins AIBS letter to Senate Commerce on reauthorization of COMPETES

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ASPB joins AIBS letter to Senate Commerce on reauthorization of the America COMPETES Act. Through competitive, peer-reviewed research grants, the NSF funds discoveries that will help to solve the most challenging problems facing society. NSF research, education, and training programs lead to new patents, prepare a highly skilled workforce, and stimulate the creation of new … Read more