Blogs

On March 8, population scientists representing 10 states participated in over 40 meetings with congressional offices as part of the 2021 PAA Virtual Advocacy Day. The meetings, which PAA sponsors annually, are an important opportunity to inform staff in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives about the field of population research and to urge support for funding key federal scientific and statistical research agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and Census Bureau. In addition to urging funding for these federal agencies, the advocacy day participants asked members of Congress to support enactment of the RISE Act, which would fund non-COVID related emergency relief, and pending legislation that would extend the statutory reporting deadlines for the 2020 Census. The delegation of population scientists, which included former PAA President Dr. Eileen Crimmins, University of Southern California, and Dr. Sara Curran, President, Association of Population Centers, met with senior staff in House and Senate leadership offices as well as on the House and Senate Appropriations Committees.

“So grateful to all the folks who represented us on Capitol Hill for PAA Virtual Advocacy Day 2021. Their interesting and important research animates PAA’s advocacy for investing in social and behavior research and continuing robust funding for our federally-supported statistical data,” said Dr. Vida Maralani, Cornell University and Chair of the PAA Government and Public Affairs Committee.

PAA members can view the handouts that were shared during the 2021 Virtual Advocacy Day at: GPAC Advocacy Day Handouts - Population Association of America.

#capitol-hill-activities