ASM Honors Senator Baldwin and Representative Bera for Leadership and Advocacy
Washington, D.C.—°®¶¹´«Ã½ is honoring Senator Tammy Baldwin and Representative Ami Bera for their years of leadership in advancing science, medical research and public health. Baldwin and Bera will be recognized at the 10th anniversary celebration of the at a reception on Capitol Hill on Sept. 27.“ASM is pleased to recognize 2 Congressional champions in Senator Baldwin and Representative Bera, and we are excited to honor them during this milestone anniversary of such an important program,” said ASM Chief Advocacy Officer Allen Segal. “Their efforts have paved the way for the next 10 years of success for the AMD program.”
In the past 3 years, both Baldwin and Bera have taken leadership roles in advancing the use of next generation sequencing and cutting-edge technology in public health, particularly through the CDC AMD program. Since the program’s beginning in 2014, experts across CDC have worked to protect the health of Americans against infectious disease threats by ensuring the U.S. has the necessary resources, infrastructure and technology.
Congress invested $1.7 billion for CDC’s Advanced Molecular Detection Program (AMD) via the American Rescue Plan to address COVID-19 variants and build longer term infrastructure for the program, including workforce training. This supplemental funding supported training in bioinformatics and genomic epidemiology and formed Pathogen Genomics Centers of Excellence (PGCOEs). Those centers were authorized with year-end legislation passed in December 2022, which ensures critical partnerships between academic research institutions and public health entities can continue. Baldwin and Bera also pushed to increase annual funding for the program to provide sustainability and meet present demand. ASM played a critical role in securing this funding and could not have done so without the support of both Senator Baldwin and Representative Bera.
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°®¶¹´«Ã½ is one of the largest professional societies dedicated to the life sciences and is composed of 30,000 scientists and health practitioners. ASM's mission is to promote and advance the microbial sciences. 
ASM advances the microbial sciences through conferences, publications, certifications, educational opportunities and advocacy efforts. It enhances laboratory capacity around the globe through training and resources. It provides a network for scientists in academia, industry and clinical settings. Additionally, ASM promotes a deeper understanding of the microbial sciences to diverse audiences. 
°®¶¹´«Ã½ is one of the largest professional societies dedicated to the life sciences and is composed of 30,000 scientists and health practitioners. ASM's mission is to promote and advance the microbial sciences. 
ASM advances the microbial sciences through conferences, publications, certifications, educational opportunities and advocacy efforts. It enhances laboratory capacity around the globe through training and resources. It provides a network for scientists in academia, industry and clinical settings. Additionally, ASM promotes a deeper understanding of the microbial sciences to diverse audiences. 
