ASBMB urges the passage of the RISE Act

The following is a statement from Benjamin Corb, public affairs director for the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: 

“Last Friday, a bipartisan group of members of Congress reintroduced the Research Investment to Spark the Economy (RISE) Act. If passed, the RISE Act would authorize $25 billion in emergency relief for federal science agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy, to fund researchers whose work has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

As we said last year, this bill is necessary to sustain U.S. research, preserve our scientific infrastructure and protect the innovation pipeline. Many scientists, especially junior scientists, face financial and other hardships from the disruption of their research activities.  This bill would provide some financial relief to those who desperately need it.  

While the RISE Act is a critical first step, the ASBMB is particularly concerned about the pandemic’s impact on vulnerable groups within the scientific workforce, such as early-career researchers, underrepresented minority scientists, and women scientists. In addition to calling for the passage for the RISE Act, we are urging Congress to provide federal funds to ease the financial hardship of vulnerable early-career researchers specifically. Read more about our policy proposal here.”