AIBS on Capitol Hill.

This paper highlights the Congressional Visits Day held on May 10-11, 2005. Biologists from the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) and the Organization of Biological Field Stations, an AIBS member organization, joined nearly 200 scientists and engineers to urge members of Congress to increase the federal investment in basic scientific research. The AIBS Emerging Policy Leader of 2005, Karen Laughlin, a doctoral candidate at Cornell University, was among those participating in the event. Despite the disruption caused by a brief evacuation of the Capitol after a small plane entered Washington's restricted air zone, all attendees called the Hill visits a positive experience. It is a rare opportunity as a graduate student hi the sciences to directly participate in the political process to promote biological research, Laughlin noted. The Congressional Visits Day was part of a two-day event sponsored by the Science-Engineering-Technology Work Group. It also included briefings by key government officials and a reception at which Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) and Representative Vernon Ehlers (R-Mich.) received the 2005 George E. Brown Jr. Award for their long-standing support of federal research and development programs.