Advocacy and Public Policy
MAA Past President David Bressoud
In keeping with our mission to advance the mathematical sciences, especially at the collegiate level, MAA federal advocacy centers on public policy efforts to recruit and retain minority and female students into undergraduate mathematics and mathematics-intensive fields in which they are most critically underrepresented; to ensure teachers are prepared to deliver mathematics instruction, particularly at the middle and high school levels; and to conduct outreach and programming to provide professional development opportunities and related efforts to strengthen mathematics instruction.
The MAA works at the federal level to increase funding for programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that address these issues.
Latest News
May 2011
The scientific community and science press responded to a critique from Senator Tom Coburn (R-OK) that accuses the National Science Foundation of wasting money and conducting "silly" research. The MAA strongly disagrees with this critique and supports continued critical funding for the innovation, research, and education that NSF provides on a highly competitive basis.
For more information on the report and the true value of the studies it criticizes, read:
"Senator's Criticism of Science Foundation Draws Fire" Jeffrey Mervis, Science Insider "Scientists Cry Foul Over Report Criticizing National Science Foundation" Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience "Funny science sparks serious spat" Alan Boyle, MSNBC
March 2011
MAA Past President David Bressoud testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, and Science, in support of President Obama's 2012 budget request for NSF.
Read David Bressoud's testimony here. The total NSF request is $7,767 M, which is in line with the reauthorization of the America Competes Act.
December 2010
The House of Representatives concurred with a Senate amendment to the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act, which authorizes funding for the National Science Foundation through fiscal year 2015. The bill was signed into law by President Obama in January 2011.
Since the bill was introduced, MAA has worked to strengthen federal support of undergraduate mathematics education. Read more here about the MAA's advocacy efforts on America COMPETES.
MAA Policy Briefs
To track the progress of legislation
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) maintains a website where you can track the progress of various authorization and appropriation bills. See http://www.aaas.org/spp/rd/approp07.htm
The Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF), to which MAA belongs, publishes periodic summaries of federal research allocations and proposals, and the reports are available at http://www.cnsfweb.org.
Another useful tool in following the progress of proposed legislation can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov where you can search for a bill by its reference number or by key words.