New Advocacy Tools Available From FASEB

By: Jennifer Zeitzer
Wednesday, February 26, 2025
Collaborative advocacy and service to member societies is a core part of FASEB’s mission. Amid ongoing disruptions in biological and biomedical research related to actions of the new Administration, FASEB is offering an expanded array of advocacy tools and training to help scientists make their voices heard on Capitol Hill. It is more important than ever for the scientific community to speak up and remind their elected officials how federally-funded research drives economic activity in their states and improves human health.

On January 22, FASEB hosted a virtual town hall meeting to provide an overview of the 119th Congress and share updates on the status of the presidential transition. A recording of the meeting can be viewed here. At the end of the month, FASEB hosted an Advocacy 101 training, offering background information about how to be an effective advocate and tips for engaging with members of Congress and their staff both in-person and online. An archived version of the training is available online. 

In mid-February, FASEB offered a second online training to provide instructions related to the submission of fiscal year (FY) 2026 Appropriations Programmatic Request Forms. The FY 2026 federal budget process will begin later this spring, providing members of Congress the opportunity to share their thoughts with the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on how discretionary federal funding should be prioritized and allocated across the federal government, including for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science (NSF) Foundation, and other agencies. These are called “programmatic” requests. Most House and Senate offices have a process to solicit input from their constituents to help inform their “programmatic requests.” FY 2026 will be an extremely difficult year to obtain adequate funding for NIH and NSF due to the new administration’s budget priorities, which include making significant cuts in federal spending. FASEB wants congressional offices to see the support NIH and NSF have by increasing the volume of programmatic requests being submitted, which could make a critical difference when Senators and Representatives prioritize their funding requests and submit them to the Senate and House Appropriations committees. This training was recorded, and an archived video can be viewed here.

FASEB also sent a letter to House and Senate leadership highlighting the impact of recent administration actions that have been detrimental to biomedical research. Advocates are encouraged to share the FASEB letter with their members of Congress as it urges legislators to engage in a bipartisan effort to ensure NIH can disburse already appropriated funds and reject efforts to implement a 15 percent cap on Facilities and Administration (F&A) costs related to conducting research. The letter followed the release of FASEB statements on the pause in grant funds and the administrative costs cap. In addition, FASEB issued an e-action alert allowing the research community to contact their Senators and Representatives to express concern about the F&A costs proposal. The alert will remain active until March 1. 

A new Threats to Federal Research Funding Resource Center that includes a curated list of resources related to the new administration’s policies and actions, including the recent terminations of federal agency employees is now available on the FASEB website. The Resource Center includes links to FASEB and FASEB member society statements, as well as pending legal cases and decisions. Advocates are encouraged to bookmark and share the FASEB Resource Center with their colleagues and others interested in keeping track of key developments in Washington, D.C.