[PEN-L:5110] cutting NSF research budget

[dhenwood@xxxxxxxxx (Doug Henwood)]

Comrades - from another mailing list - Doug Henwood

>EMERGENCY ACTION ALERT
>     From the Federation of Behavioral, Psychological and Cognitive
>Sciences
>The House Budget Committee has recommended the complete elimination of
>NSF research funding for Psychology, Anthropology, Sociology,
>Linguistics, Political Science, Economics, Geography, Cognitive Science,
>Decision, Risk and Management Sciences, History of Science, and
>Statistical Research for the Behavioral and Social Sciences-- as NSF's
>contribution to balancing the Federal budget.
>
>There is no doubt that NSF funding will be cut in the effort to balance
>the budget.  But to selectively wipe out the behavioral and social
>sciences goes far beyond simply saving money.  This is the most important
>crisis these sciences have faced since Ronald Reagan attempted to
>eliminate the same sciences in the early 1980s.  Action on this will
>happen very quickly.  The Budget Committee approved the budget package on
>May 11.  The vote on the package by the full House will happen sometime
>between the 15th and 18th of May.  In all likelihood, the budget
>resolution will pass the House unaltered.  The Appropriations Committee
>will be bound by the spending limits imposed by the Budget Committee.
>But it need not be bound by the particular cuts recommended by the Budget
>Committee!  Unfortunately, the House leadership has also made it known
>that no program that lacks a current authorization will be funded.  The
>National Science Foundation is not currently authorized.  Efforts to pass
>its authorization failed last year in the Senate.  The House Science
>Committee Chair, Robert Walker (R-PA) has said that as soon as the budget
>is passed, the Science Committee will proceed to report its
>authorizations which include, among other things, NSF, NASA, and the
>research programs of the Department of Energy.  Robert Walker is also the
>Vice-Chair of the Budget Committee, and he played a key role in
>determining the selective cuts at NSF.  In a news conference on May 12,
>Walker said that the Directorate containing the research programs
>mentioned above was created simply because it was "politically correct"
>and that it is now time to make a correction.  This means that there is
>little chance the NSF authorization from his Committee will contain an
>authorization for the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences
>Directorate.  If the Committee does not authorize the Directorate, the
>Appropriations Committee cannot fund the research programs it contains.
>So scientists must pay close attention to actions of the Budget,
>Appropriations, and the authorizing committee.
>
>The only way the course of events can be changed is for concerned
>citizens to let their elected representatives know that they as voters do
>not approve of these ideological cuts masquerading as budget balancing
>measures.  You must take it on yourself immediately to
>
>1)  write or call your own representative and senator's office to express
>your disapproval
>
>2)  send a copy of your letter to: Robert Walker, George Brown (ranking
>minority member of the Science Committee and a likely ally of behavioral
>and social scientists), Jerry Lewis (Chairman of the House Appropriations
>Subcommittee that appropriates money for the National Science
>Foundation).  And this next thing is equally important:  SEND, FAX OR
>EMAIL A COPY OF YOUR CORRESPONDENCE TO THE FEDERATION OF BEHAVIORAL,
>PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES.  We have to be able to monitor how
>great an impact behavioral and social scientists are having, and the only
>way we can do that is by keeping track of how many contacts from
>scientists congressional offices have received.  Any letter to Congress
>may be addressed as follows:  Representative's name, U.S. House of
>Representatives (or U.S. Senate) Washington, D.C. 20515 (House) or 20510
>(Senate).  The Federation email is federation@xxxxxxxx  Federation fax is
>(202) 336-6158.  If you need more information, our telephone number is
>(202) 336-5920.
>
>3)  Help us get the word out.  Please see that the anthropology,
>sociology, linguistics, economics, political science, cognitive science,
>and geography departments on your campus receive this action alert as
>well.
>
>4)  It is very important that elected representatives do not hear only
>from the scientists affected.  If you have acquaintances in the physical
>or biological sciences or the university administration who would write a
>letter or make a phone call to an elected representative, do everything
>you can to get such a communication sent.
>
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