AAS President Presents Oral Testimony to House Appropriations Committee
President Debra Elmegreen presented oral testimony on behalf of all AAS members at a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on March 22, 2012.
Public Policy Tag Definition: Relates to Public Policy, agencies, budgets, Congress, etc.
President Debra Elmegreen presented oral testimony on behalf of all AAS members at a House Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on March 22, 2012.
The American Astronomical Society (AAS) today issued a statement thanking President Obama for his strong support of science as embodied in his proposed budget for fiscal year (FY) 2013 but asking him and the Congress to strive harder to maintain a balance of small, medium, and large space missions in astronomy and astrophysics, planetary science, and solar physics. Some provisions of the President’s FY 2013 budget, especially a 20 percent cut in NASA’s planetary science funding, threaten to undermine the recommendations of recent decadal surveys of these fields by the National Academy of Sciences.
Informational Email 2012-03
Bethany Johns
John Bahcall Public Policy Fellow
Astronomy in the President's FY 2013 Budget Request
The President released the FY 2013 Budget Request on February 13, 2012. Federal funding for astronomy is mainly from NASA and NSF. Below is a quick analysis of the proposed budget compared to FY 2012 estimated actual dollars for both agencies.
Endorsed on: January 30, 2012
The Coalition for National Science Funding writes in opposition to the Grant Reform and New Transparency (GRANT) Act of 2011 (H.R. 3433) because as written this bill could have unintended adverse effects on the continued development of the scientific and engineering research enterprise and compromise the U.S. innovation system.
IMPORTANT MESSAGE FROM NSF DIVISION of ASTRONOMICAL SCIENCES
[forwarded by the Society on behalf of NSF]
The last day for community input to the AST Division's Portfolio Review is Tuesday, 31 January 2012. We strongly encourage all interested members of the community to become informed about the review process, by making use of the materials posted on the Portfolio Review web page, http://www.nsf.gov/mps/ast/ast_portfolio_review.jsp.
Kevin B. Marvel, Executive Officer
The AAS has issued a resolution relating to the ongoing NSF-AST Portfolio Review.
Approved by the AAS Executive Committee on 2 January 2012, the statement supports the concept of the NSF-AST Portfolio Review and highlights its importance for enabling the Decadal Survey priorities.
The full statement is available on the AAS Resolutions page: http://aas.org/governance/resolutions.php#NSFPort
Mailed 5 January 2012
AAS Action Alert 2011-02
[Corrected version 7 December 2011]
Restart Domestic Production of Plutonium-238 For Planetary Science
Bethany Johns
John Bahcall Public Policy Fellow
bjohns@aas.org
SUMMARY
Local visits with your member of Congress can have a more profound impact then visiting them at Capitol Hill. A local visit with your member of Congress is when you schedule an appointment with him or her during Congressional recess when they are back in their state. Please consider scheduling a meeting with your member of Congress.
AAS Informational Email 2011-17
Bethany Johns, John Bahcall Public Policy Fellow
AAS Announces New Communicating With Washington Program
Subject: NOW is the time to contact Congress to support the astronomical sciences.
Debra Elmegreen, President, Kevin B. Marvel, Executive Officer, Jack Burns, AAS-CAPP Chair and Bethany Johns, John Bahcall Public Policy Fellow
Support NASA and NSF FY2012 Federal Budget, Call Your Legislator
Action Requested
Instructions for participating in the Communicating With Washington program.
Subject: NSF Portfolio Review
The following message is being sent to all AAS members, Division Members and Division Affiliates as a service to the NSF Astronomical Sciences Division.
Kevin B. Marvel, Executive Officer
Informational Email 2011-15
The following is a message from Jim Ulvestad, Director of the NSF's Division of Astronomical Sciences. We are forwarding it to our membership as a service to the NSF.
________________________________
Dear Colleagues,
Subject: President Elmegreen Testifies Before the House Appropriations Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies
Kevin B. Marvel, Executive Officer & Bethany Johns, John Bahcall Public Policy Fellow
The AAS regularly provides testimony to Congressional committees that have direct impact on astronomy and astrophysics. Typically, this testimony takes the form of submitted written remarks, which are considered by the committees as they pursue their legislative activities.
AAS Informational Email 2011-13
Bethany Johns, John Bahcall Public Policy Fellow
Kevin B. Marvel, Executive Officer
FY2012 Appropriations for Astronomy
Staff on Capitol Hill, the White House, and Congress often lament that they do not hear enough from scientists and researchers who depend on federally funded research on the importance of science and their research to the Nation. The challenge is to make communicating with Washington a part of every scientist’s professional and academic career. The American Astronomical Society rises to the challenge by starting a new initiative called Communicating With Washington.
Informational Email 2011-11
Decadal Priorities and Fiscal Realities
Debra Elmegreen, AAS President
Kevin Marvel, AAS Executive Officer
Informational Email 2011-10
JWST: What Can We Do Now?
Debra Elmegreen, AAS President
Jack Burns, Chair of the Committee on Astronomy & Public Policy
Subject: Recent Policy Activity on James Webb Space Telescope and Pu-238
Bethany Johns, John Bahcall Public Policy Fellow and Kevin B. Marvel, Executive Officer
Summary
Two important FY 2012 appropriations bills for astronomy and astrophysics have been working their way through the House of Representatives on Capitol Hill:
House Approved Energy and Water Funding Bill for Fiscal Year 2012 (H.R. 2354) on July 15, 2011, which provides annual funding for Dept. of Energy Office of Science and Nuclear Energy.
AAS Informational Email 2011-08
Subject: AAS Releases Statement on Proposed Cancellation of the James Webb Space Telescope
Kevin B. Marvel, Executive Officer
The AAS Executive Committee has released the following statement related to the proposed cancellation of the James Web Space Telescope.
American Astronomical Society Statement on the James Webb Space Telescope
Adopted 7 July 2011