Political Advocacy: Why Now More Than Ever

Scott Franklin, Rochester Institute of Technology

The American Physical Society has long advocated at Federal and State levels, with some important results. APS contributed ideas that ended up in the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which awarded $3B in funding to the National Science Foundation, much for “shovel-ready” science projects. More recently, APS advocated successfully that graduate student stipends should not be taxed as proposed in 2018 Tax Reform, contributed feedback that influenced wording on the 2018 National Quantum Initiative bill and has engaged (perhaps less successfully) with the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) on the STEM Education Strategic Plan. These result from a long, slow process in which APS staff and members cultivate relationships with members and staff on Capitol Hill, in the process learning which issues are germane to the representatives and senators and how best to communicate our priorities.

STEM Education issues of particular importance to the Forum on Education are also being discussed at the highest levels of APS. The Committee on Education has worked to establish the following priorities for APS education policy;

1. Ensure all high school students have access to a year of high quality physics
2. Promote widespread use of evidence-based education practices throughout the undergraduate physics curriculum
3. Increase the participation in physics in the broadest possible ways

Currently, an Education Policy Committee is considering additional priorities and welcomes community input into this process. I am the FEd representative on this committee and invite you to contact me for direction for more information on this process.

Forum members can play a critical role in advancing these priorities, and this article explores why, how and where you can help. Whether your motivation to advocate is personal, professional or moral, I have found advocacy to be timely, important, straightforward and lots of fun.

Why Advocate

The professional case for advocacy has never been clearer. The current administration has proposed large cuts in funding for STEM and STEM education, removed “evidence-“ and “science-based” language from government websites, and terminated reports on environmental impact and climate change. In early July the administration moved to revise federal guidelines for academic institutions considering race in admissions and Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts’ question in Fisher v. University of Texas of “What unique perspective does a minority student bring to a physics class?” still rankles. For some depressing reading, check out the Union of Concerned Scientists running list of attacks on science at https://www.ucsusa.org/center-science-and-democracy/attacks-on-science.

Nevertheless, some strong bipartisan support for science exists and should be recognized. When the Trump administration requested an 11% budget cut to the National Science Foundation, the Republican-led Congress instead returned a 4% increase. Similar stories played out for NIST (26% increase instead of the requested 23% cut), the Department of Energy’s Office of Science (16% increase instead of 17% cut) and NIH (9% increase instead of 22% cut). The administration proposed eliminating all STEM Education programs; Congress fully funded every one. I don’t mean to suggest that the two political parties are equivalent. But the local nature of legislative politics ensures that representatives attend to issues relevant to their constituents and STEM, STEM Education and job preparation all resonate.

For example, my first visit to Capitol Hill in 2010 was with a tea-party Republican representative from upstate New York. Nevertheless, because of his district workforce needs, he was one of only 16 Republicans to vote for the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 that continued funding of STEM research. Despite our many differences of opinions, we had a successful meeting that led to continued contact over several years. And, because of this, we were able to find areas of common interest. For example, in 2011 his Legislative Assistant reached out to me for input on intellectual property resulting from scientific research and development, an issue germane to academics and industrial scientists.

The recent elections in which the Democrats regained control of the House creates new opportunities, especially in the House Science Committee, often the focal point for science policy debate. Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) who had an often adversarial relationship with the National Science Foundation, challenging the peer-review process, climate science and environmental policy is now replaced by Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) who has introduced a bill to promote research “at the water-energy nexus” and has stated her intent to “address the challenge of climate change, starting with acknowledging it is real, seeking to understand what climate science is telling us, and working to understand the ways we can mitigate it.”

There are, of course, non-professional issues that cry out for engagement as well: immigration policy, federal minimum wage, climate change and environmental regulations, military spending and foreign or tax policy. Whatever your motivations, Capitol Hill is a place where you can make your voice heard to the people closest to “the room where it happens.”

How to Advocate

Getting an appointment, either on Capitol Hill or at your representative’s local office, is surprisingly easy. Simply call your representative’s office (numbers can be found at whoismyrepresentative.com), explain your issue(s) and ask to meet with an aide. Each office has a staff of aides, each with their particular issues, and sitting down with constituents is an important part of their job. Grab a suit or equivalent and you’re set.

Aides range from just-out-of-school interns to more experienced staffers who have been on the Hill or with the representative for years. Don’t be fooled by their age, however. Aides are incredibly smart, driven and well-informed on their particular issue. While they may not know STEM-specific details, they have a perspective on how individual issues fit together both within the national context and the representative’s philosophy.

This big-picture perspective results in an interesting twist: communication on the Hill is the inverse of scientific dialogue. Scientific arguments are a chain of logical ideas that build to a conclusion. But on Capitol Hill, no issue is independent of another and straightforward logic may not suit the complexity of multiple intersecting issues. It is therefore better to present your issue or “ask” first and then listen to get an idea of what information the aide thinks most useful or interesting. Leading with an ask (e.g. “Hi, my name is Scott and I’m here to ask you to consider exempting graduate stipends from tax.”) can seem a bit presumptuous but aides expect visitors to ask for something and doing so up front is see as respectful of their time, not rude.

Finally, share your personal stories and have fun. Offices love to hear about what’s going on in their district or state so bring the impact down to the personal level and how things affect you the constituent. Show your passion and excitement. Talk about how the issue is important to you, how STEM policy impacts your classrooms and labs, and how your work contributes to the local workforce or develops students. I have also found it particularly effective to bring students with me to advocate for themselves. Graduate students present compelling testimony for inclusive visa and immigration policy. Undergraduate students can talk about Pell grants and other policy that has enabled their studies.

It has now become part of my conference planning to, whenever possible, add a day to any DC travel to visit the Hill. Sometimes I’m just touching base with my personal Senators and Representative. Other times I’ll reach out to APS or AiP to see if there are any current issues they want advocated and, if appropriate, I will visit offices of relevant non-NY Representatives. I’ve now advocated, with help from APS and AiP, for a range of STEM and STEM-Education policies, including preserving the peer-review system at NSF, waiving taxes on graduate student tuition, and the importance of sustained funding at national labs. I found this process incredibly educational and enjoyable, and recommend everyone experience the thrill of walking through the halls of our government at least once.

When and Where to Advocate

There’s never a bad time to advocate. If you have a few hours in D.C., make an appointment and visit your representative. Meetings are typically 10-15 minutes, so scheduling an hour per visit is appropriate. Each representative also has a local office in major towns or cities. Advocating there or at town halls when representatives are in town can be particularly effective ways to get involved with their local efforts.

There are many resources that can help you prepare. The American Physical Society has created an advocacy dashboard (https://www.aps.org/policy/tools/index.cfm.html) on which STEM Education is highlighted. The American Institute of Physics’s FYI website (https://www.aip.org/fyi) is a compilation of news and resources for federal science policy, and allows you to track budgets and bills, look up representative positions and get summaries of the week’s congressional activities. APS and AiP both maintain DC offices that are willing to spend time to help you prepare for your visit. Depending on the time of year and what issues are topical they may even accompany you on your visit and/or supply you with supportive materials. In that vein, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Greg Mack for his work coordinating and facilitating member visits from the the APS DC Policy office.

Good luck and have fun!

Scott Franklin is a Professor of Physics at Rochester Institute of Technology and Director of the Center for Advancing STEM Teaching, Learning & Evaluation. He maintains active research labs in both physics education and granular materials and has been advocating on Capitol Hill, independently and as part of APS-coordinated events since 2010.

Disclaimer – The articles and opinion pieces found in this issue of the APS Forum on Education Newsletter are not peer refereed and represent solely the views of the authors and not necessarily the views of the APS.