The U.S. life science research mission is critical not only to human health and understanding the natural world but also to agriculture and food production, technological innovations, socioeconomic progress, and our national defense and leadership worldwide. A 2025 Research!America survey reveals that 92% of Americans want government to actively work to promote medical progress, in part by funding infectious and chronic disease research. Why? Because biomedical research saves lives, prevents suffering, and increases quality of life for not only Americans but for people throughout the world. While less well appreciated, science also drives enormous economic growth. Indeed, historically there has been widespread bipartisan support for biomedical funding by the federal government. Below we discuss the U.S. scientific research enterprise and provide evidence and arguments we hope the ASM community can use to advocate for science.