Keeping an Eye on Washington

Keep up with developments in Washington on GSA's website, Speaking of Geoscience blog and twitter feed, participate in congressional visits days, read about life on Capitol Hill from the perspective of the GSA-USGS Congressional Science Fellow, engage with GSA's Geology and Society Division, use GSA's position statements and critical issues in communications with elected officials, meet with elected officials in your district, and more!

Council approves revisions for seven Position Statements.

• Meet Melanie Thornton
Congressional Science Fellow
• Meet Lindsay Davis
Science Policy Fellow

Events & Briefings

USGS Coalition Awards and Reception
Join us in celebrating the USGS, the nation's premier natural sciences agency. The 2017 USGS Coalition Leadership Awards will be presented to Reps. Suzan DelBene (D-WA) and Mark Amodei (R-NV).
Tuesday, September 12, 2017
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
R.S.V.P. by 11 September
Science in Society – From the Lab to Your Life
On 22 June, join the House Earth & Space Science Caucus for its inaugural Capitol Hill exhibition to experience how Earth and space science innovations are essential to the economy and daily lives.
BUILDING THE MODERN WORLD:
Geoscience that Underlies Our Economic Prosperity
On 12 June, learn about the critical applications of geoscience information in the development and maintenance of urban and rural infrastructure at this congressional briefing.

Paris Climate Agreement Withdrawal
GSA affirms its position.
[more]
Science Agencies Fare Well in 2017
More than halfway through Fiscal Year 2017, federal agencies finally have their appropriations. Signed into law on 5 May, the omnibus spending package slightly boosts spending at most science agencies. [more]
GSA-USGS Congressional Science Fellowship
from “The STEM Advocate: Eng Alumna Goes to Washington”
Paczkowski [2016 CSF] says. “We were responding to a timely event and I worked with a variety of stakeholders to draft up the bill and I even got to drop it on the floor of the Senate the day we introduced it. My technical background allowed me to understand how the defeat devices worked and that knowledge was extremely useful when I worked on the bill with my fellow staffers.” [more]
[about the fellowship]

Support for NSF Funding
As part of the Coalition for National Science Funding, GSA signed a letter to Congress stating that "a balanced bipartisan budget agreement that raises the 2018 spending caps and makes prudent, adequate investments in scientific research and innovation would prevent budget gridlock and help grow the economy."
Joint Letter Regarding EPA Climate Science
GSA and leaders of 17 other science societies are requesting a meeting with EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, in response to reports that he is working to develop a “red team/blue team” process that challenges climate science.
Opposition to Proposed Cuts to the USGS Library Budget
GSA signed a letter to Members of Congress to encourage "continued funding for the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Library, one of the world’s largest and most important Earth and natural resources libraries." The FY 2018 budget request would reduce funding to the library by 52 percent.