The Chamber of Business and Industry of Centre County has joined a growing nonpartisan alliance of business organizations to advocate for protecting and increasing scientific research funding in the next federal budget and beyond.
CBICC is one of more than 70 organizations and chambers in 33 states to join the the Business for Federal Research Funding Coalition, which was founded in 2017 and relaunched in April by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce.
“Around the country, communities, businesses and institutions receive funding for important research and development,” James E. Rooney, president and CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement. “With a united voice, we are advocating for critical funding that will advance our region’s local economy as well as our global competitiveness.”
The Trump administration’s budget proposal released in May would reduce research and development funding by nearly a quarter, according to an analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science as reported by Inside Higher Ed. Republican-led appropriation committees in the House and Senate have indicated resistance to such large cuts, offering smaller reductions than what the White House proposed and in some cases small increases or funding of programs the administration wants to eliminate.
The BFRF Coalition says that federal research investments are important drivers of “innovation, economic growth and job creation, supporting breakthroughs in science, technology and medicine, and fueling local economies.” In 2024, for example, National Institutes of Health grants generated $94.5 billion in economic activity nationwide and supported over 400,000 jobs, producing $2.56 in new economic activity for every dollar invested, according to a CBICC news release.
Centre County is especially aware of that impact, with Penn State’s total research expenditures last year of $1.337 billion including $838 million in federal funding.
“Federal funding is essential to sustaining and expanding research at Penn State, which creates significant benefit throughout central Pennsylvania,” Andrew Read, senior vice president for research at Penn State, said in a statement. “The Business for Federal Research Funding Coalition’s dedicated advocacy efforts will help ensure that our institution to continues delivering that impact for years to come.”
The university’s research enterprise is an important piece of Penn State’s overall contribution of $4.3 billion annually to the local economy and support of nearly 36,000 jobs, according to the CBICC.
As part of the BFRF Coalition, CBICC will work with other organizations and policymakers to advocate federal investment in research that they say “benefits businesses, institutions and communities at every level.”
“CBICC’s participation in the Business for Federal Research Funding Coalition will ensure Centre County is represented in high-level budget conversations and that our region continues to benefit from research as an economic driver,” Gregory Scott, president and CEO of CBICC, said in a statement. “We are grateful to the Boston Chamber for relaunching this initiative and honored to join the growing movement advocating for robust research funding in our federal budget.”
