On December 21, 2020, both chambers of Congress passed a $900 billion coronavirus stimulus package along with the fiscal year (FY) 2021 omnibus spending legislation. After demanding changes to relief provisions in the congressionally approved legislation for a week, President Trump capitulated and signed the stimulus-spending bill into law on December 27, 2020, just prior to the expiration of the most recent stopgap funding resolution.

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has released proceedings from a February 2020 symposium that summarizes discussions among leading business, academic, and government professionals on the future of science policy in the U.S. and whether the modern research architecture needs to be reconfigured to meet 21st century challenges.

A new advisory report, entitled, “Economic Analyses of Federal Scientific Collections,” explores the economic benefits of Federal scientific collections. The report provides a framework for economic analyses, including methods for documenting long-term operating costs and benefits of collections.

The December 2020 issue of BioScience is now available on the Oxford University Press website.

The Public Policy Report has been released. The report provides analysis and communication on important issues in the scientific community.

After months of unfruitful negotiations, congressional leaders reached an agreement on a $900 billion coronavirus stimulus package over the weekend.

This episode is the next in our oral history series, In Their Own Words. These pieces chronicle the stories of scientists who have made great contributions to their fields, particularly within the biological sciences. Each month, we will publish in the pages of BioScience, and on this podcast, the results of these conversations. Today, we are joined by Alan Covich, Professor of Ecology at the Odum School of Ecology, at the University of Georgia. He is also a past president of AIBS.

Over the past two weeks, President-Elect Joe Biden announced several nominations and appointments for key health and climate related positions in his Administration.

We invite the Biological Collections community at-large to join the American Institute of Biological Sciences, Natural Science Collections Alliance, and Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections for a joint discussion with the Biodiversity Collections Network and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine on the future of biological collections.

The Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF)—an alliance of more than 130 professional organizations, scientific societies, universities, and businesses that advocate for the National Science Foundation (NSF)—has submitted a number of science policy priorities and key personnel recommendations to President-elect Joe Biden and his transition team.