Cheyenne, OK – Last week, House Science, Space, and Technology Committee Ranking Member Frank Lucas (R-OK) cosponsored legislation to invest in recovering America’s research abilities, which have been greatly reduced due to COVID-19. 

The Research Investment to Secure the Economy (RISE) Act authorizes approximately $26 billion in emergency relief that federal science agencies will award to research universities, independent institutions, and national laboratories. The bill provides the funding needed for researchers to complete work that was halted due to the pandemic.

“The reason America leads the world in science and technology is that we’ve continually invested in it – in the facilities, the studies, and the researchers who conduct this work,” Lucas said. “COVID-19 closed labs and shut down critical research, and we can’t simply flip a switch and turn it back on again. It will take time and investment to recover and rebuild our research enterprise. And if we don’t act now by passing the RISE Act, we’ll face long-term consequences. Not only will we fall behind in our current research and development, but we could slow our scientific progress for years to come because of damage being done to our STEM pipeline.” 

Lucas first introduced the RISE Act in June of 2020 and has advocated for its inclusion in COVID-19 relief packages. 

“To date Congress has authorized nearly $4 trillion in spending to provide relief to American families and businesses,” Lucas said. “Democrats have proposed nearly $9 trillion. But in all of that spending, our research enterprise has been ignored, even as we depend on our scientists to fight the virus. It’s well past time to invest in American research.”

Read Ranking Member Lucas’ op-ed on defining a strategy to restart American research in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic here.

###