NEWS RELEASE
Jennifer Tavares
President and CEO
(607) 273-7080
jtavares@tompkinschamber.org
TOMPKINS COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOINS NATIONAL BUSINESS COALITION ON FEDERAL RESEARCH FUNDING
Ithaca, NY (July 28, 2017) – Recognizing that cuts to federal research budgets threaten innovation and economic growth, the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce today announced that it has joined with 70 other Chambers of Commerce to date from across the country in “Business for Federal Research Funding,” a coalition advocating for strong research funding growth in the federal budget.
“Federal investment in research is fueling the creation of jobs for millions of Americans and spurring key innovation and technological advances,” said Jennifer Tavares, President and CEO. “We and other Chambers across the country believe that failure to invest federal resources in research will harm economic growth and diminish innovation in the U.S., allowing us to fall behind our highly-skilled competitors overseas.”
The FY’18 budget appropriations process is now underway, and the coalition is making the case that the federal accounts which are responsible for dispersing research funds should receive funding increases, and at a steady rate above inflation each year. The coalition focuses these increases on key agencies such as the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Departments of Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and Homeland Security.
The federal government has played a major role in funding research efforts that have led to significant scientific breakthroughs and new technologies, from the Internet to communications satellites and defenses against disease. Nearly 60 percent of funding for basic scientific research in the United States is provided by the federal government. Innovations that flow from university-based basic research are at the root of countless companies, products, technologies, innovations and jobs.
Business for Federal Research Funding represents a strong cross-section of the nation’s business community, with broad geographic diversity among its members. Coalition members seek to bring increased focus on the critical impact that federal research dollars have on the long-term growth prospects of the nation’s economy.
The Chambers who make up Business for Federal Research Funding engage in lobbying and advocacy efforts with members of Congress and the Administration; use communications activities to raise awareness among key business and government stakeholders, and the general public; and coordinate strategy to maximize the collective impact of efforts to increase federal research funding.
A full list of coalition members is available here, along with additional information about Business for Federal Research Funding.