Hi everyone, I'm forwarding an email sent on behalf of the National Communication Association about the U.S. Congress's efforts to make draconian cuts to funding basic research in human and social research. If you live in the U.S., please write your member of the House of Representatives and urge them to vote no on H.R. 1806. It helps if you can indicate to your Representative what your stake or interest is in this issue to personalize it. As well, feel free to borrow from any of the verbiage I used to write my Representative: This letter comes to encourage you to stand for science and innovation and to vote against anything that will curtailfunding for the National Science Foundation in general. In specific, I am writing to highlight that if H.R. 1806 were passed, it would gut social and behavioral science research and stifle scientific progress. The bill cuts funding for NSF's Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate nearly in half. The bill also contains language putting in place arbitrary funding caps on scientific fields, allowing non-scientists to pick "winners and losers" based on purely political interests, and discouraging inter-disciplinary science. Thanks, ~Jenny From: National Communication Association [mailto:inbox@natcom.mmsend.com] On Behalf Of National Communication Association Sent: Thursday, May 14, 2015 12:23 PM To: Jennifer Stromer-Galley Subject: NCA Action Alert View this email as a webpage<http://www.mmsend63.com/link.cfm?r=1839309691&sid=74926395&m=10107710&u=NCA_&j=27687632&s=https://www.magnetmail.net/actions/email_web_version.cfm?recipient_id=1839309691&message_id=10107710&user_id=NCA_&group_id=1310261&jobid=27687632> [NCA Take Action]<http://www.mmsend63.com/link.cfm?r=1839309691&sid=74926396&m=10107710&u=NCA_&j=27687632&s=http://www.natcom.org> Dear NCA Member: Last month the House Science, Space and Technology Committee passed the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2015 (H.R. 1806), a bill to reauthorize the National Science Foundation (NSF), federal STEM education programs, and other federal agencies. The bill advanced through the committee along party lines and now heads to the House floor. There are several troubling aspects to this proposed reauthorization. H.R. 1806 dramatically changes how NSF is funded. Historically, NSF has received a bulk appropriation from the federal government; it has been NSF's responsibility to determine how that appropriation is spent among its myriad programs and directorates. H.R. 1806 takes that responsibility away from NSF and transfers it to Congress-the bill actually specifies directorate-by-directorate funding levels for NSF. Within this structure, the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate faces a budget cut of over 45%. The COMPETES bill is scheduled to be on the House floor the week of May 18. Contact your Member of Congress today to urge him or her to oppose this bill. Use the button below from the Consortium of Social Science Associations (COSSA) to take action. For additional information on H.R. 1806, please visit the COSSA website<http://www.mmsend63.com/link.cfm?r=1839309691&sid=74926397&m=10107710&u=NCA_&j=27687632&s=http://www.cossa.org/>. Thank you for taking action on this important effort. Please feel free to share this with your colleagues and others who care about protecting social and behavioral science at NSF. [TakeAction2.gif]<http://www.mmsend63.com/link.cfm?r=1839309691&sid=74926398&m=10107710&u=NCA_&j=27687632&s=http://www.cossa.org/advocacy/take-action/> Best, Nancy Kidd Executive Director National Communication Association 1765 N Street NW Washington, DC 20036 202-464-4622 inbox@natcom.org<mailto:inbox@natcom.org> Unsubscribe from NCA Action Alerts<http://www.mmsend63.com/link.cfm?r=1839309691&sid=74926399&m=10107710&u=NCA_&j=27687632&s=http://www.magnetmail.net/actions/subscription_manage_nca.cfm?message_id=10107710&user_id=NCA_&recipient_id=1839309691&email=jstromer@syr.edu&group_id=1310261&subgroups=1310261> [http://www.mmsend63.com/spacer.cfm?tracking_id=25972529241&jid=27687632]