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 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.

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

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.

The undersigned organizations and institutions, representing hundreds of thousands of individuals and entities working in science, technology, engineering, medicine and mathematics, urge you to complete work on the fiscal year (FY) 2021 appropriations bills without delay. The disruption created by short and long-term continuing resolutions (CRs) has severe consequences for science and research. The public health and economic crises caused by COVID-19 further compound the negative effects of unpredictable funding; as such, in addition to finalizing the annual funding levels for science agencies and programs, we urge enactment of emergency research relief funding to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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

House and Senate Appropriators have reached an agreement on top-line allocations for the twelve appropriations bills to divide the $1.4 trillion in discretionary spending for fiscal year (FY) 2021, but disagreements remain over the exact provisions. Both chambers need to pass and the President needs to sign the spending package before the current stopgap measure expires to avert a government shutdown.

President-Elect Joe Biden has announced that former Secretary of State John Kerry will serve as the Special Presidential Envoy for Climate Change. In this newly created position on the National Security Council, Kerry would become the highest-ranking U.S. official ever to have a portfolio dedicated to climate change.