Sustained federal funding
Predictable, inflation-adjusted appropriations for the NIH, NSF, and the agencies that make discovery science possible.
Advocacy for discovery science
Basic research is the engine of every cure.
The Coalition for the Life Sciences unites scientific societies behind a single purpose: making sure the public investment in fundamental biological research keeps pace with its promise.
Who we are
A coalition of scientific societies speaking with one voice for the life sciences.
Our member organizations represent researchers across biology, biochemistry, genetics, and cell science. Individually, each has a constituency. Together, we have a coalition — one that can carry the case for fundamental research into appropriations hearings, agency consultations, and congressional offices.
We do not lobby for a single institution or a single disease. We advocate for the conditions under which discovery happens at all.
Policy priorities
What we are working on
Science in policymaking
Ensuring that legislation and regulation affecting research are informed by working scientists and the evidence itself.
The research workforce
Support for graduate students, postdocs, and early-career investigators so that careers in science remain viable.
Open, rigorous research
Policies that protect scientific integrity, data sharing, and the freedom to pursue fundamental questions.
How the work gets done
Capitol Hill briefings
We bring researchers to Washington to explain their science directly to the members and staff who write the budget.
Coalition letters & testimony
We speak with one voice on appropriations and policy, joining societies across the life sciences behind shared positions.
Grassroots advocacy
We equip scientists with the tools, language, and timing to make the case for research in their own communities.
The coalition
CLS is built from scientific societies and research organizations that pool their advocacy capacity. Membership brings a seat at the table when coalition positions are set, and shared representation in Washington year-round.
Become a member organization“The discoveries that reshape medicine rarely begin with a cure in mind. They begin with a question, and a country willing to fund it.”
Stay in the loop on science policy
Get coalition updates, appropriations alerts, and ways to take action — sent only when it matters.