Keep US Congress From Cutting Funds for NSF and Census

The US House of Representatives is at it again, trying to cut funding from NSF’s Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic (SBE) Sciences (not just NSF generally, but more specifically social science programs!), and once again the Census Bureau is being targeted. Here is the content of an email that I just received from the Population Association of America about this. We need to act immediately:

The U.S. House of Representatives is moving quickly to consider a bill, H.R. 4435, the Fiscal Year 2015 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill. This bill could be heard as early as this week and is important to PAA members because it funds the U.S. Census Bureau and National Science Foundation. 

During the upcoming debate on the House floor, it is very likely that some members will offer amendments to the bill that could adversely affect these agencies as well as the grant programs and surveys that they support. 

THEREFORE, WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO CONTACT YOUR U.S. REPRESENTATIVE WITH THIS SIMPLE MESSAGE: 

I am a constituent and a (insert your discipline (i.e. demographer, sociologist, economist) in your district who works at the (insert your institution). I depend on data that the U.S. Census Bureau produces to analyze demographic and socioeconomic trends in the U.S. I also compete for funds awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to conduct research, produce data and important scientific findings, and train the next generation of population scientists. 

During consideration of H.R. 4435, the Fiscal Year 2015 Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations bill, I urge you to vote NO on any amendments that may be offered during floor debate that would do any of the following: 

Use the Census Bureau or NSF as an offset to fund other programs in the bill.
Propose cuts to specific disciplines, especially social and behavioral sciences.
Alter the mandatory response status of the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. 

Thank you for your attention to my concerns.
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