ASCB on Capitol Hill, Virtually

For decades, ASCB has made personal meetings with Members of Congress and their staff part of its advocacy efforts. Explaining the important research supported with federal funds or educating our elected leaders about the implications on the research community of potential policy decisions has always been important to ASCB.

With COVID well behind us now, on March 21, 2024 ASCB took advantage of Congress’s new openness to hold meetings with constituents via video conferencing to meet with members of the Indiana Congressional delegation. Six ASCB members from the University of Notre Dame and Indiana University met with staff members for Senators Mike Braun and Todd Young, and Representatives Frank Mrvan, Jim Baird, and Erin Houchin. During their meetings, ASCB members talked about the impact federal funding has had on their research and the difficulties current U.S. immigration regulations are having on international collaborations that are so important to the American biomedical research community.

Virtual meetings will now allow more ASCB members to participate in Hill Days without paying for airfare and hotel bills. In addition, the ASCB will be able to educate more Congressional offices than we have been able to connect with previously.

In the past, Hill Days were held in-person and often in conjunction with ASCB leadership meetings in Washington, DC. The last Hill Day before COVID closed the world for several years was a huge Hill Day during the 2019 Cell Bio meeting. Over 60 meeting attendees participated in that Hill Day.

The 2024 ASCB Virtual Indiana Hill Day participants were Holly Goodson, Padmanabhan Pattabiraman, Claire Walczak, Laurie Littlepage, Carman Herrera Sandoval, and Katherine White.

If you would like to work with the ASCB to hold a Virtual Hill Day in your state, contact Kevin Wilson, ASCB’s VP for Policy, Governance, and Meetings at kwilson@ascb.org.