Advocacy

Advocated for policy change to improve the future of research and ensure our nation’s competitiveness in science and technology across several sectors. This includes universities, non-profits and scientific societies by working with Capitol Hill, the administration, federal agencies, and the U.S. Congress.

CONGRESSIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS

U.S. House of Representatives: Worked to support federal scientific research & innovation with policy portfolio including research, science & technology, STEM education and immigration, and with the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, R&D Caucus and National Labs Caucus.

 

Legislation Introduction

Led on or contributed to legislation (re-)introduction for scientific research policy (*new/original bills). Selected bills and resolutions below.

 

Research Funding & Infrastructure

• American Innovation Act which would provide annual budget increases at a rate of five percent, indexed to inflation, for cutting-edge research at five federal agencies and position the U.S. as a leader in research and discovery. Bicameral introduction with Senate Democratic Whip.
• WISE Government Act which aims to better equip federal agencies with the scientific literature necessary to make well-informed policy decisions.
• NSF 75th Anniversary Resolution* (bipartisan) which commemorates NSF’s science and engineering accomplishments in the past 75 years (related press release). Introduced w/ Jay Obernolte (R-CA).
• Restore and Modernize Our National Laboratories Act* which would authorize funding for maintenance and infrastructure at DOE national laboratories (related press release).

 

STEM Pipeline & Workforce 

• Keep STEM Talent Act (bipartisan) which would make certain advanced STEM degree holders eligible for permanent resident status, allowing graduates to remain and work in the U.S. (endorsed by MIT Graduate Student Council w/ APS press release and AGU post). Worked with Senate Democratic Whip’s office to introduce the legislation in both chambers.
• CRISIS Act* (bipartisan) which would make certain vetted Russian nationals with advanced STEM degrees eligible for permanent resident status, allowing them to contribute to American research and innovation (related press release). Introduced w/ Jay Obernolte (R-CA).
• National Pi Day Resolution (bipartisan) which designates March 14 as “National Pi Day” and recognizes the need for investments in getting students interested in STEM subjects (related Congressional record statement). With Chairman of House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development as original co-sponsor.
• National FIRST Robotics Day Resolution which marks the third Friday of March as “National FIRST Robotics Day” and recognizes the need to teach fundamental STEM concepts and inspire the nation’s youth to pursue STEM careers.

Legislation Co-Sponsorship

Led on or assisted with legislation co-sponsorship for the STEM workforce, graduate students and U.S. leadership in AI. Selected bills below.

 

• RESEARCHER Act which requires executive guidance and policy changes on compensation and benefits for graduate and postdoctoral researchers.
• The POST GRAD Act which aims to restore subsidized loans for graduate students.
• Scientific Integrity Act which requires federal agencies conducting or funding scientific research to adhere to clear scientific integrity principles. Legislation championed by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
• NSF AI Education Act of 2024 which supports NSF’s AI education and professional development mission for students and teachers.
• Expanding AI Voices Act which broadens participation in AI research, education, and workforce development.

 

Letters Led or Co-Signed

Led on drafting original letters (*), and recommended that the Member sign letters supporting funding for scientific research in universities and national laboratories. Selected letters below.

 

• NSF research letter* demanding answers from the Trump Administration on firing 168 NSF employees, including the danger of losing a generation of scientists who cannot complete NSF-supported graduate and postdoc training.
• NIH research letter expressing concerns on how Trump directives are creating uncertainty that affects funding, researcher employment, pausing any new studies or preprinting of research that could be critical to saving lives. Letter co-signed by Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.
• Led on Congressional appropriations letters and requests including for DOE Office of Science and STEM Master Teacher Corps (MTC) Program to support research and education funding.

 

Committee & House Floor Events

Led on or contributed to writing questions and remarks for House Floor speeches and House Science, Space and Technology Committee events highlighting the importance of federal research funding for U.S. competitiveness, innovation and economic growth. Staffed the Member for Committee events, and these included the participation of Ranking Member Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA). Selected activities below.

 

Committee Activities

• House Science Committee Full Committee Member Day Hearing testimony on national labs infrastructure, AI policy, foreign-born scientists and the federal scientific workforce (science testimony link).
• House Science Committee Research & Technology and Energy Subcommittee Joint Hearing on Biotechnology Innovation talking points on biotechnology research topics and how international STEM scientists contribute to the biotechnology workforce.
• House Science Committee Energy Subcommittee Hearing on DOE’s National Laboratories talking points on national labs research instrumental to U.S. competitiveness (highlighted in AIP FYI).

 

Floor Speeches

• Stand up for Science-focused Special Order Hour House floor speech on NSF’s 75th anniversary, and how president Trump’s proposed budget cuts at NSF are impairing American competitiveness and workforce development (related press release).
• NSF GRFP House Floor Speech expressing concern with the Trump administration’s reduction in funding to the program, preventing outstanding graduate students from pursuing research-based master’s or doctoral degrees in STEM fields.
• Scientific Integrity-focused Special Order Hour House floor speech on the importance of basic research and scientific integrity, including supporting federal scientific funding and the research workforce in universities (related to relevant legislation). 

 

Broader Research Events

• New Currency of Power: The Future of U.S. Science and Technology event by Science and Technology Action Committee (SATC) and NSF NSB on maintaining robust scientific research funding (highlighted by Research! America).
• ROADMAP Summit event on how federal investments in the CHIPS and Science Act have facilitated regional innovation across the nation.
• Stand Up for Science Rally in DC speech calling out the attacks of the Trump Administration on our scientific institutions and supporting the mission of the scientific community (highlighted in Science).

 

Briefings & Events Organized

Organized and/or staffed Member of Congress at briefings and meetings on scientific research, AI, quantum computing, innovation, STEM immigration, tech hubs, and international scientific collaboration to research support in universities and national laboratories. Selected events below.

 

Congressional R&D Caucus Briefings

• Make America Great for Science: Stemming the American Brain Drain event by Congressional R&D Caucus with Federation of American Scientists on the impacts of the recent assault on the science talent and workforce that power the American R&D enterprise (event summary & highlighted in AAAS article).
• Aligning Talent, Research, and Innovation: A Cross-Sector Approach to Strengthening America’s Research Enterprise event by NASEM GUIPRR and the Congressional R&D Caucus on practical strategies to strengthen the research enterprise and STEM workforce and make federal R&D investments more effective (GUIPRR newsletter).
• Federal Innovation Driving National Progress event by Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer and Congressional R&D Caucus showcasing how groundbreaking research in federal labs drives economic growth.

 

Other Activities

• National Lab Research SLAM talking points on research taking place at the 17 DOE National Labs across the nation, and the contributions of early career scientists to the nation’s innovation ecosystem (LLNL summary video & highlighted in National Labs Caucus newsletter). 
• While in Congress, served as Scientific Integrity Taskforce liaison (related to relevant legislation) which fosters collaboration and knowledge-sharing on scientific integrity, and provides resources on scientific integrity violations by the Trump administration and coordinated staff efforts to address them.

NSF GRFP floor speech by Rep. Foster on Trump’s funding cuts preventing graduate STEM research (start 14:10).

National Lab Research SLAM remarks by Rep. Foster on early-career contributions to American innovation (start 35:09).

UNIVERSITY ADVOCACY PROJECTS

University of California Office of Federal Governmental Relations:

• Drafted a STEM pipeline amendment to include postdoctoral researchers as eligible recipients of the professional development supplement. The amendment was included in NSF for the Future Act in 2021 during a House Science Committee full committee mark-up. The legislation was mentioned as a highlight in a House Science, Space and Technology Report from 117th Congress and included the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, which was signed into law by-then President Biden.

• Contributed to priority documents and letters on research and graduate education and developed language related to Pell grants for graduate students.
• Written letters to support legislation on research and the STEM workforce on behalf of UC.
• Contributed to sections of community letters including:
  • Racial Equity and Diversifying the STEM Workforce (AAU’s response to NSF).
  • STEM education and innovation for equity for a letter to the Biden Administration on FY23 (CNSF’s letter to OMB and OSTP).
  • Detailing the needs of graduate and professional students in a letter to CA Senators asking them to defend the research funding in the reconciliation package.
• Drafted social media language on the importance of graduate students for the research enterprise to support the launch of the Congressional GRAD Caucus.
• Contributed to Congressional testimony for a hearing on the NSF for the Future Act, including sections on DEI and workforce development (hearing recording).
• Led Capitol Hill Advocacy Days and Hill meetings in support of research funding and workforce development, including for the Council for Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching (CARET) and the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE).
• Led planning for Congressional briefings on science and education, including UC research during the pandemic and impacts on early career researchers, wildfires, and the COVID-19 Delta Variant.

The Science Coalition: Helped with planning and organizing a panel discussion on Building the U.S. Research Workforce: The Role of Federal Research Investment, and led the UC System’s nomination for the late Senator Feinstein’s 2023 Champion of Science Award.

The Science Coalition (TSC) U.S. STEM research workforce event, featuring UC Davis VCR Prasant Mohapatra (event summary and update).

The late Sen. Dianne Feinstein was honored as The Science Coalition (TSC) 2023 Champion of Science (nominated by UC System) for her leadership.

 

Future of Research: Contributed to FLSA and Postdocs resource on monitoring institutional compliance with the FLSA, and to synthesizing mentoring climate guidelines for institutions. Co-led project advocating for increased postdoctoral salaries across institutions.

 

NPA Advocacy Committee: Co-wrote policy article on FLSA and postdocs, and proposal for a publicly-available, opt-in repository of postdoc policies and practices from NPA member institutions.

 

Graduate Career Consortium: Contributed to advocacy data collection resource and content for advocacy careers, and published institutional PhD career outcomes paper with data that Congressional staffers could use to develop legislation supporting the PhD research workforce.

SCIENTIFIC ORGANIZATIONS ADVOCACY

Society for Neuroscience: Drafted a Congressional testimony in support of NIH & NSF Funding (FY20) (news page), as well as policy responses on reducing administrative burden and improving the BRAIN Initiative, and planned and implemented SfN Hill Day. Advocacy on Capitol Hill included ECPA trainees.

 

ASCB Public Policy Committee: Co-wrote several policy statements on NGRI and the bioeconomy to educate Congress and the Administration about the importance of basic biomedical funding and policy, and participated in ASCB Leadership Hill Day.

 

Various Research Organizations: Led Hill meetings with scientific societies and organizations including AIBS asking Congress to support federal research investments including NSF, STEM education & workforce development.

 

Federation of American Scientists: Worked on advancing policy entrepreneurship to make the work of policymakers more impactful and help realize the potential of landmark legislation by assisting the federal government in fostering innovation and U.S. competitiveness.