SfN Hill Days Connect NeuroAdvocates With Policymakers
SfN’s 18th annual Hill Days connected NeuroAdvocates with their elected policymakers March 12–14, 2024. A total of 46 participants held 53 meetings with members of the U.S. Congress and their staff representing 29 states.
To effectively speak on behalf of the neuroscience community, NeuroAdvocates spent a significant amount of time training before the Hill Days. Participants practiced their elevator pitches, describing their personal story and research in lay-friendly terms in under a minute. SfN staff and their legislative consultants also provided background information on the current political climate and specific bills of interest that may come up in conversation. NeuroAdvocates also spent time ironing out their congressional “asks,” which consisted of:
- Appropriations: At least $51.3 billion for NIH (including $740 million for the BRAIN Initiative); $11.9 billion for NSF; and $1.05 billion for the VA Medical and Prosthetic Research program in FY 25. Requests were also made to avoid long-term continuing resolutions due to their detrimental impacts to the research enterprise.
- Animals in Biomedical Research: First, general support for the continued well-regulated, ethical use of animals in biomedical research. Second, specific support for SfN’s FY 25 submitted report language — text that accompanies legislation that focuses on the importance of non-human primates and their role in studying neurodegenerative diseases.
- Lab Tour: Legislators were offered the opportunity to visit labs in their state/district.
- Join Neuroscience-Related Caucus: Representatives in the House were encouraged to join the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus.
With SfN Hill Days occurring during Brain Awareness Week (BAW) this year, NeuroAdvocates shared information about BAW with everyone they met. SfN staff and their legislative consultants also worked to have BAW recognized on the floor of Congress. Congressman Morgan Luttrell (R-TX), co-chair of the Congressional Neuroscience Caucus, did so on March 13.
Hill Days participants consisted of the 2024 Early Career Policy Ambassadors (ECPAs). The ECPA program is a 10-month commitment for early career neuroscientists beginning their efforts as NeuroAdvocates. Other attendees included SfN’s Key Contacts, engaged NeuroAdvocates who are represented by members of Congress in leadership roles. Members of SfN’s Government and Public Affairs Committee (GPA), Committee on Animals in Research (CAR), as well as SfN President Marina Picciotto and President-Elect John Morrison complemented the ECPAs with perspectives as neuroscientists with established labs and federal funding. Two advocacy coalition partner organizations, the American Brain Coalition and the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology, sent participants. Finally, leadership from the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) joined the Hill Day meetings to offer a global viewpoint.
