CGS Submits Witness Testimony on FY 2024 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriation Bill
Earlier this week, CGS submitted written testimony to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies concerning graduate education programs funded by the Department of Education and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). In the written testimony, CGS highlighted Department of Education programs that promote access to graduate education and scholarship, strengthen diversity, equity, and inclusion at our nation’s universities, and create opportunities for international engagement and collaboration. For NIH, CGS expressed support for an appropriation of at least $50.924 billion for the agency’s foundational work for fiscal year 2024.
In addition to the abovementioned written testimony, CGS and other higher education associations and scientific societies have started our joint advocacy on fiscal year 2024 appropriations legislation. Specifically, we are advocating for robust funding for federal research agencies such as the Department of Energy’s Office of Science, the National Institutes of Health, and the National Science Foundation. On March 14, the Energy Sciences Coalition urged the 118th Congress to appropriate $9.5 billion in fiscal year 2024 for the Department of Energy’s Office of Science (DOE-OS). This level of funding is consistent with the CHIPS and Science Act which was enacted into law last year. For fiscal year 2024, the Biden Administration proposes funding the DOE-OS at $8.8 billion, which is an increase of $700.4 million or 8.6 percent above the FY 2023 enacted amount of $8.1 billion. In its budget justification, the Office of Science proposes increasing efforts to support underserved communities through the Reaching a New Energy Sciences Workforce (RENEW) initiative, which includes a graduate fellowship to increase participation of students in fields aligned with programs. The Office of Science also mentioned their commitment to ensuring that students, trainees, and postdoctoral fellows are paid a fair and equitable wage sufficient to allow a reasonable standard of living. For graduate students, they consider a reasonable living wage to be an annual income of $45,000, excluding benefits.
Also on March 14, the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research sent a letter to Congress requesting an appropriation of $50.9 billion in FY 2024 for NIH. The Biden Administration proposes $48.6 billion for the biomedical research agency for fiscal year 2024.
On March 15, the Coalition for National Science Funding sent a letter to Congress requesting at least $11.9 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF) in fiscal year 2024. The Biden Administration proposes $11.3 billion for NSF in 2024. This includes a $1.4 billion increase for Research and Related Activities and a nearly $300 million increase to the Directorate of STEM Education, which administers the Graduate Research Fellowship Program and the Research Traineeship Program.
For more information, please view CGS’s Budget and Appropriations page for more information, including FY24 Funding for CGS Programs of Interest.