Life Sciences Discovery Fund Update

The fate of millions of research dollars is still in limbo as budget negotiations continue in Olympia. Last week, advocates used our tools to send thousands of messages in support of saving the Life Sciences Discovery Fund (LSDF), which the Senate abruptly defunded in their supplemental budget proposal.

The LSDF has served a critical role in funding the state’s health science research industry since its creation in 2005. LSDF-funded research has generated $1 billion in economic activity, helped create some 33 startup companies, and saved $67 million in health care costs.

We sent a simple message to the Senate: prioritize citizen health and our state economy by restoring LSDF funding in the state budget. Fortunately, our message was echoed by news outlets, UW President Mike Young, WSU President Elson Floyd and over four dozen of the state’s top researchers and biotech entrepreneurs.

There are just a few more days left in the 2014 legislative session, and budget negotiations are wrapping up. Let’s keep the pressure on: share this post, and send a message to your legislators TODAY! (Note: if you’ve already taken action via this form, consider modifying the message by clicking within the body of the form letter and adding your own words.)

The Everett Herald called it the Senate’s “sin of omission,” and urged the Senate to reverse their “non-sensical” decision to whack funding.

Madeline Ostrander published an editorial in Crosscut on Friday.

The Olympian published an editorial written by former UW President Lee Huntsman (and former executive director of the LSDF), and Lee Hartwell, president emeritus at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.