NATIONAL PHOTONICS INITIATIVE STATEMENT IN SUPPORT OF FISCAL YEAR 2017 OMNIBUS APPROPRIATIONS BILL

WASHINGTON, DC – May 3, 2017 – The leadership of the National Photonics Initiative (NPI), an alliance of top scientific societies uniting industry and academia to raise awareness of photonics, released the following statement today in support of H.R. 244 - the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017:

"We support passage of the fiscal year 2017 omnibus appropriations bill as the necessary vehicle to fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year. It will fund much-needed programs important to the optics and photonics community. We strongly support increased funding for the National Institute of Health and other key agencies.

"As Congress turns its attention to the fiscal year 2018 budget and appropriations process, our community looks forward to working with leadership, committees and members on a bipartisan basis to build support for continued funding for policies and programs important to optics and photonics. We believe investments optics and photonics-related policies and program will continue to power the current and next generations of American innovation and competitiveness."
 

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About the NPI: The National Photonics Initiative (NPI) is a collaborative alliance among industry, academia and government to raise awareness of photonics and the impact of photonics on our everyday lives; increase cooperation and coordination among US industry, government and academia to advance photonics-driven fields; and drive US funding and investment in areas of photonics critical to maintaining US economic competitiveness and national security. The initiative is being led by top scientific societies including the American Physical Society (APS), the IEEE Photonics Society, the Laser Institute of America (LIA), The Optical Society (OSA) and SPIE, the International Society for Optics and Photonics. For more information visit www.lightourfuture.org.