During the 50 congressional office visits, participants argued for a 15% increase in budget for NSF in fiscal 2003 and a 10% increase for DOE's Office of Science. During the visits, the participants provided a constituent perspective on the importance of NSF and DOE's Office of Science, and they emphasized that publicly funded R&D is vital for today's scientific and technological progress.

At the Legislative Summit, participants heard presentations from Ray Orbach, DOE Office of Science director, and Joseph Bordogna, NSF deputy director; participated in seminars on communicating effectively with Congress; and were briefed on the current Capitol Hill climate by Bob Simon, staff director of the Senate Committee on Energy & Natural Resources, and Scott Giles, deputy staff director of the House Committee on Science.

Welcoming delegates to the program, ACS President Eli M Pearce said, "The best way to share our concerns and elevate R&D on the congressional radar is to communicate with our legislators through the Legislative Action Network and through meetings in Washington and in the districts." Having communicated with his legislators in New York many times, Pearce is convinced that lawmakers listen to constituents and value nonpartisan input from scientists and engineers. "However, against the backdrop of the current war on terrorism, the return of budget deficits, and the upcoming election, our collective voices will need to be especially loud and clear this year," he said.

Specifically, the message delivered by ACS members to Congress boiled down to the following:

• No area of federal spending has generated a larger long-term return on investment than basic research has.
• While ACS is pleased with the National Institutes of Health budget, stagnant funding for physical sciences will hamper innovation, the U.S.'s future technical workforce, and the economy--not now, but 10 years from now.
• DOE's Office of Science is the largest provider of federal support in the physical sciences. Its fundamental research and facilities advance DOE's energy security and other missions and scientific progress overall. Vast opportunities in this office warrant a 10% increase in fiscal 2003.
• As the only agency that ensures a broad and deep knowledge base across disciplines, NSF is the cornerstone of federal support for R&D. NSF warrants a 15% increase to help fund more first-rate disciplinary and multidisciplinary research proposals that are being turned back, as well as larger and longer grants and new efforts to improve K–12 math and science education.

These are core policy issues for ACS, ACS Board Chair Nina I. McClelland said. "If we don't articulate our views in a thoughtful, nonpartisan way, who will?" She recalled that the late Rep. George E. Brown Jr. (D-Calif.) used to say, "What you don't say to your elected official can hurt you." He persistently reminded scientists that they must become more adept as constituents in sharing their personal views about policies that will affect us, McClelland said.

SUMMIT Rep. Sherwood L. Boehlert (R-N.Y.) (left) meets with McClelland (center) and Pearce.

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