Forty-five organizations, including AIBS, have sent a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) requesting a 5 percent funding increase for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area in fiscal year (FY) 2025. The REE mission area supports research, analysis, and education to advance scientific knowledge across the food and agricultural enterprise.
“This increase is consistent with the level of funding outlined in the bipartisan, bicameral America Grows Act (S. 1628, H.R. 5268) and will expand American competitiveness in foreign markets, improve sustainable production for a growing global population, increase nutrition access, address threats from extreme weather, pests, and diseases, and expand adoption of new technologies, advanced computing, and robotics,” reads the letter. “As USDA research funding for FY24 remains unresolved in Congress, we implore you to show your commitment to agricultural innovation by submitting a robust request for USDA REE for FY25. If the United States continues its trend of underinvestment in agricultural and food research, we leave our producers, consumers, and communities vulnerable to rising prices, limited access, poor health outcomes, and threats to national security.”
A group of 14 Democratic Senators, led by Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, have also sent a Dear Colleague letter to the OMB and USDA with a similar request for REE funding. “As the President’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 budget request is prepared, we request that an increase of at least five percent, plus inflation, above the FY 2024 funding levels proposed by the Senate, be provided across the board for all USDA research activities underway within the Agricultural Research Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, the Economic Research Service, and the National Agricultural Statistics Service,” wrote the Senators.
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