The NSC Alliance has submitted testimony to the House Appropriations Committee regarding fiscal year (FY) 2023 funding for programs that curate natural history collections within the Department of the Interior and Smithsonian Institution.
“Scientific collections are critical infrastructure for our nation’s research enterprise, argued NSC Alliance. They are a national treasure that help support the nation bioeconomy. Research specimens connect us to the past and are used to document and solve current problems. They allow us to predict threats to human health, find successful methods for ensuring food security, and address the impact of future environmental changes.”
NSC Alliance urged appropriators to provide the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institution with at least $60 million in FY 2023 and adequate funding for programs within Interior bureaus that support the preservation and use of scientific collections, “a truly irreplaceable resource.”
“Sustained investments in scientific collections are in our national interest,” urged NSC Alliance. “We also see these investments as critical for our efforts to grow diversity and inclusion in the scientific workforce.