Oppose H.R. 4186 and protect the NSF\'s support for social science research
The FIRST Bill (H.R. 4186) will damage peer review at the National Science Foundation (NSF), create additional regulations, and dramatically reduce funding for social science research in America.
H.R. 4186 or the Frontiers in Research, Science, and Technology (FIRST) bill dramatically alters the high quality peer review process at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and substantially reduces the authorized funding levels for the Directorate for Social, Behavioral & Economic Sciences (SBE).
As a concerned constituent, I urge you to fully fund the NSF and the SBE Science Directorate at previous levels, and oppose any effort to place new restrictions on NSF research funding. Please oppose H.R. 4186 because it has critical problems as it is currently written.
First, the bill places additional burdens on the NSF regarding its already gold-standard merit review process and requires additional, potentially duplicative, public disclosure of research grants. Second, the bill seeks to micromanage the grant application process and limits the number of awards that can be made to principal investigators, thereby undermining the merit review process that successfully determines the very best science worthy of taxpayer support. Third, the proposed authorization of appropriations for the SBE directorate is significantly below the recommended level.
Previous research funded by the SBE directorate includes the works of Nobel Prize winning researchers (the late Elinor Ostrom of Indiana University as well as Daniel Kahneman of Princeton) that examines individual and group decision making. Other work includes research on cyber-security, disasters, solving border disputes between countries, and studies on how foreign aid shocks can result in violent conflict. Research like this is of significant importance at this time.
We need to preserve our system of support for research based on scientific merit and objective peer review, without additional restriction and regulation. The United States should remain the global leader in scientific research.
As a concerned constituent, I urge you to fully fund the NSF and the SBE Science Directorate at previous levels, and oppose any effort to place new restrictions on NSF research funding. Please oppose H.R. 4186 because it has critical problems as it is currently written.
First, the bill places additional burdens on the NSF regarding its already gold-standard merit review process and requires additional, potentially duplicative, public disclosure of research grants. Second, the bill seeks to micromanage the grant application process and limits the number of awards that can be made to principal investigators, thereby undermining the merit review process that successfully determines the very best science worthy of taxpayer support. Third, the proposed authorization of appropriations for the SBE directorate is significantly below the recommended level.
Previous research funded by the SBE directorate includes the works of Nobel Prize winning researchers (the late Elinor Ostrom of Indiana University as well as Daniel Kahneman of Princeton) that examines individual and group decision making. Other work includes research on cyber-security, disasters, solving border disputes between countries, and studies on how foreign aid shocks can result in violent conflict. Research like this is of significant importance at this time.
We need to preserve our system of support for research based on scientific merit and objective peer review, without additional restriction and regulation. The United States should remain the global leader in scientific research.
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