This matters because if SBE is not specifically protected or reinforced through funding levels or bill/report language, it can be easier for support for social, behavioral, and economic research to be reduced, deprioritized, or squeezed inside broader NSF allocations. 

The House and Senate Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittees have jurisdiction over the National Science Foundation. For FY2027, both chambers are explicitly accepting programmatic and language requests, and House guidance says members may request funding for a specific program or activity and may also request bill or report language directing or encouraging agency action. In practice, that means members of the relevant subcommittee are exactly the people who can push to secure funding levels or protective language for agencies, departments, offices, and programs within CJS jurisdiction, including NSF and SBE.

That is why it is so important for researchers, professors, and universities to contact members of these subcommittees and ask them to support SBE to get a distinct appropriation for FY 27 !

 NSF SBE stands for the National Science Foundation’s Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences. It funds research on people, behavior, society, and the economy, including fields like psychology, sociology, political science, and economics. This research matters because it helps us understand how people make decisions, how communities function, and how to solve real-world social problems.

If you see your school listed below, organize a small group of researchers from your university to contact the relevant office together. The strongest outreach usually comes from constituents with institutional credibility: ideally at least two faculty members, center directors, department chairs, or other researchers who can explain why SBE funding matters to their campus, trainees, and local community. Professional societies can help amplify the message, but the core point is simple: congressional offices need to hear that constituents at universities and research centers in their state or district care about SBE funding now.

It is especially important to help get Republican members on board, since support for SBE may be less likely to happen automatically without clear constituent outreach. If you are in a Republican member’s state or district, your voice may be especially valuable. 

If your university has a government relations or government affairs office, reach out to them too. They may be able to help identify the right staffer, coordinate a meeting request, advise on the message, or even attend the meeting with you or for you. They may also already have relationships with the relevant congressional office, which can make your outreach stronger. 

I have more resources below.

Is your school or research center listed below? Ask to meet with your Representative on the House or Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies. If your school has a government relations or government affairs office, contact them too — they may be able to help set up the meeting, advise on messaging, or join you. They're linked below.

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Thanks for your help! Action items include:

Reaching out to colleagues with Republican senators or representatives on these subcommittees and offering encouragement, awareness, and support. Republican buy-in is especially important because support for SBE may be less likely to happen automatically without clear constituent outreach. 

 Spreading the word about these efforts on your own socials. Let’s go viral. 

 Contacting your own department, center, lab, or professional network and asking who has collaborators, former advisors, coauthors, or institutional ties at schools on the list. 

 Encouraging faculty at listed schools to contact their university government affairs/government relations office, since those offices may be able to help arrange meetings or coordinate advocacy. 

 Sharing sample emails, phone scripts, and meeting asks with researchers who are willing to organize locally. 

 If you belong to a society like APS, SPSP, APA, ASA, or a related field organization, encouraging them to amplify the issue and point members toward constituent outreach.