On March 1, 2021, the American Institute of Biological Sciences joined forces with the Natural Science Collections Alliance and Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC) in highlighting to lawmakers the value of mobilizing biodiversity specimens and data in spurring new scientific discoveries.

On February 27, 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, largely along party lines, with two Democrats voting against the measure.

The U.S. Senate has confirmed President Biden’s nominees for Agriculture and Energy Secretary.

Committees in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate with jurisdiction over science have announced the leadership for their subcommittees.

AIBS is pleased to announce that Shyla Cooks and Karl Palmquist have been selected as the 2021 AIBS Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award (EPPLA) recipients. The EPPLA recognizes graduate students in the biological sciences who are demonstrating an interest and aptitude for working at the intersection of science and policy.

Lawmakers are now working to craft a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 pandemic relief package—the blueprint for which was adopted by both chambers of Congress on February 5, 2021 in the form of a budget resolution.

AIBS has endorsed an action plan developed by the Science and Technology Action Committee calling for doubling the federal expenditure for research and development and STEM education relative to GDP over the next five years.

AIBS has endorsed a petition expressing support for scientific research stations and their educational programming that have been adversely impacted by financial concerns as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A group of more than 90 scientific and medical stakeholder organizations, including AIBS, have called on President Joe Biden to withdraw a January 13, 2021 proposed rule on extramural research involving human fetal tissue (HFT).

The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) joined 45 scientific, academic, and medical stakeholder groups in expressing support for legislation aimed at scaling up efforts to track and respond to coronavirus variants in the United States.