[SPA] SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER, Volume XXIX, Issue 31

[Newsletter Editor]

AMERICAN GEOPHYSICAL UNION
SPA SECTION NEWSLETTER
Volume XXIX, Issue 31
May.28,2022

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Table of Contents

1. Heliophysics Advocacy Update & Call for Action

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Announcement Submission Website: http://goo.gl/forms/qjcm4dDr4g


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Heliophysics Advocacy Update & Call for Action

From: Ian Cohen (ian.cohen at jhuapl.edu)

[Note: the essential “action item” in this message is in paragraph 4, if you want to just skip to there!]
The SPA Advocacy Committee recently joined the AAS/SPD Public Policy Committee for its annual (after a two-year COVID hiatus) visit to Capitol Hill, to advocate for robust funding for NASA Heliophysics and for other agencies (such as NSF) that support Heliophysics research. We visited with staff in several House and Senate offices, with a focus on members of congress with a direct role in the Federal Appropriations process, both at the full Chamber level and on the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) subcommittees that recommend appropriations of funds to their respective Chambers.

At the Congressional level, Heliophysics Research has a dedicated line item only within NASA; in other agencies, the Federal Appropriation is to the entire agency. Thus, to maintain a concentration on Heliophysics, a principal focus of our meetings dealt with increasing the NASA Heliophysics line in the FY 2023 budget to a number that is substantially higher than the President’s Budget Request (PBR), which over the past few years has, unfortunately, consistently retreated from the previous year’s enacted budget. To illustrate, the enacted budget for NASA Heliophysics in FY 2022 is $778M while the FY 23 PBR is $760M. Further, given the growth in funding needed to support mission development for IMAP, GDC, and DYNAMIC, while maintaining robust support for other core areas in the Heliophysics Division’s portfolio, it is estimated that a $935M budget would be more appropriate. This $935M NASA Heliophysics budget request, which has been endorsed by both AAS and AGU, supports programs including Research and Analysis (~30%), Solar-Terrestrial Probes (~30%), Explorers (~20%), Living With a Star (~15%), Technology Development (~4%), and Space Weather research/operations (~3%).

One recurring message that our team heard from staffers during our meetings was that the members of the Appropriations Committees and Subcommittees are cognizant of what they hear from their colleagues in the House and Senate, including those members who are not directly involved in the Appropriations process. It would therefore considerably help if the members of the Appropriations Committees and CJS Appropriations Subcommittee were to hear (even informally) about the importance of Heliophysics from other members of Congress.

This is where you come in! Please consider taking ten minutes to write a brief email to your members of Congress, both the Representative(s) from the district in which you live or work (or both!) and the Senators from your State, regardless of their political party.  The following link (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Glfq48nk8dPUWYUn1-QkT6SGde_tcxIoEQ40BZSB1ys/edit?usp=sharing)
will show you how to find contact information for your Representative and Senators, and also provides a rough outline of the format for the content of your message. Note that if you are a Civil Servant, you should make it clear that you are speaking as a private citizen – if you have questions on this matter, contact your immediate supervisor.

To be effective in this federal funding cycle, you should plan on sending your e-mail SOON (within the next few days)!  We strongly encourage you to participate in this effort – please make your voice heard and let us know if/when you do!

Ian Cohen (AGU/SPA Advocacy Committee Chair) and Gordon Emslie (AAS/SPD Public Policy Committee Chair)


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SPA Newsletter Editorial Team: Peter Chi (Editor), Guan Le (Co-Editor), Sharon Uy, Marjorie Sowmendran, and Kevin Addison

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