The Bridge: Connecting Science and Policy

November 28, 2022

CSLDF at the 2022 AGU Fall Meeting

The Climate Science Legal Defense Fund (CSLDF) and AGU work together to help geoscientists understand their legal rights and responsibilities—knowledge that’s an essential part of every researcher’s professional development. This year, we’re offering a range of events at AGU’s 2022 Fall Meeting. Whether you’re actively involved in scientific and political activism or curious about how scientists can be involved in government rulemaking, we encourage you to participate in these events …

July 27, 2022

AGU sends letter of Support for CHIPS innovation package to Congress

On 27 July 2022, AGU sent a letter to leadership in the House of Representatives supporting the CHIPS+ innovation package and highlighting AGU priorities included in the bill. As Congress prepares to vote on the CHIPS + Act, we want to thank Congress for including several critical pieces of bipartisan legislation of priority to the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and our community of 130,000 in the Earth and space …

July 7, 2022

AGU joins letter asking Congress to pass COMPETES/USICA bills

On 30 June 2022, AGU and other scientific organizations sent a letter to Congressional leadership urging them to reach a final enactment by the end of July on H.R. 4521, the America Creating Opportunities for Manufacturing, Pre-Eminence in Technology, and Economic Strength (COMPETES) Act, and S.1260, the U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA). Congress is poised to significantly strengthen our nation’s competitive advantage in science and innovation to the benefit of …

April 5, 2022

Fiscal Year 2023 Presidents Budget Request Science Overview

Joe Biden’s second presidential budget request came out on Monday, 28 March 2022. The president’s budget request officially starts the appropriations process – the process by which Congress decides how to fund most of the federal government, including most federal science funding. The president’s budget request is truly a request because Congress under their power of the purse has the final say on federal spending. $ in Millions FY21 …

March 30, 2022

Track your engagement with AGU Science Policy

AGU Science Policy wants to know how you are engaging with Congress and our programs! Each month, when you self-report your engagement – including emailing your legislator, attending a webinar, participating in a Congressional Visit days and more – you will earn a raffle entry for a $50 gift card to the AGU store at our conferences. The more involved the action, the higher the raffle entry value. Email a …

January 31, 2022

Science Policy Events at Ocean Sciences Meeting 2022

Ocean Sciences Meeting 2022 is fast approaching! The meeting this year will be taking place entirely online, which means you can attend and meet members of the ocean science community from the comfort of your own home. AGU’s Science Policy & Government Relations team has been busy preparing a robust schedule of science policy events for you to attend – so look forward to bolstering your political savvy as you bask in the …

December 10, 2021

AGU welcomes first cohort of Local Science Partners

Congratulations and welcome to the fifty-five AGU members who will be the inaugural cohort of Local Science Partners, a new program empowering scientists to build sustainable partnerships with their policymakers. As ambassadors, the first class of member partners brings scientific expertise, passion, and a diverse range of interests to their work integrating the sciences with decision-making. The cohort ranges from early-career scientists to distinguished professors’ emeriti; from biologists to geologists to oceanographers; and from those working in academia to nonprofits to the private sector. …

November 9, 2021

Senate Appropriations Committee releases their FY22 appropriations bills: read the Earth and space science high points

In October 2021, the Senate Appropriations Committee released their 12 Fiscal Year 2022 (FY22) appropriations bills. Currently, we are more than a month into the new fiscal year, and the government is being funded by a Continuing Resolution. The Senate still needs to vote on and pass these bills, send the bills to the House for a vote, and eventually make their way to the president’s desk. In this post, we’ll detail the House’s proposed spending and programmatic highlights for those science agencies. Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) …

October 13, 2021

AGU endorses the Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act

On 13 October 2021, AGU sent a letter to Representatives Matt Cartwright, Bryan Fitzpatrick, Brian Mast, and Eleanor Holmes Norton endorsing the Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act (H.R. 2761). On behalf of the American Geophysical Union (AGU) and our community of 130,000 worldwide in the Earth and space sciences, I am writing to thank you for reintroducing the Comprehensive National Mercury Monitoring Act (H.R.2761) and to offer AGU’s official endorsement for this important …

September 29, 2021

Welcome our 2021-2022 Congressional Science Fellow Sarah Alexander

The American Geophysical Union (AGU) is pleased to announce its newest Congressional Science Fellow, Dr. Sarah Alexander. Now in its 44th year, AGU’s Congressional Science Fellow program places highly qualified and accomplished scientists, engineers, and other professionals in the office of an individual member of Congress or on a committee for a one-year assignment. Dr. Alexander, who started her fellowship in September, has been placed within the office of Sen. Tina Smith …