[Pages H2086-H2092]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                STOP TRUMP'S CHAOS--STAND UP FOR SCIENCE

  (Under the Speaker's announced policy of January 3, 2025, Ms. Stevens 
of Michigan was recognized for 60 minutes as the designee of the 
minority leader.)
  Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, tonight I rise with my Democratic 
colleagues, frankly, to call out the dangerous and draconian 
antiscience agendas of this current administration. Since day one, this 
administration has unleashed chaos on our national scientific 
enterprise, undermining our Nation's competitiveness, our health 
safety, and the dignity of research and how it is conducted. It is 
coming at a time that will, frankly, move our country in the wrong 
direction, and it will cost us.
  In just over 100 days, we have seen the firing and rehiring of 
experts, the illegal impounding of congressionally authorized and 
appropriated research funding, and the future of our STEM student 
pipeline jeopardized. Frankly, it has created a chilling effect across 
our scientific research enterprise.
  For the science enthusiasts watching at home, allow me to clarify 
that, yes, we support our national scientific research enterprise, our 
National Science Foundation, and our National Institute of Standards 
and Technology.
  In this country, we also have the National Institutes of Health. Some 
of us are old enough to remember when we passed a DARPA for health 
research, ARPA-H, Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health.
  While much of my remarks will be dedicated toward our hard-nosed 
scientific research funding, I do want to make mention of what it means 
to have our health sciences under attack right now as well because 
doctors and researchers, particularly in the medical fields, are 
feeling extraordinary pain.
  These aren't just talking points. This isn't just fear-mongering. 
This is the cessation of scientific research, health research, special 
projects dedicated toward combating cancer, pilot projects being 
suddenly halted. It is a blow to patients. It is a blow to medical 
researchers and physicians.
  My colleagues tonight are going to join me in speaking about the 
antiscience agenda that is in full swing in the United States of 
America and what it means. Tonight, I am going to speak about Michigan. 
I am going to speak about the harm of this chaos and the antiscience 
agenda that it poses to the incredible State of Michigan.
  The State of Michigan is known for its manufacturing prowess. Yes, we 
have great healthcare institutions as well, but we are known as the 
place that has put the world on wheels for our best-in-class workforce. 
We are, of course, also known for the beauty of our Great Lakes. We are 
known as a place that has the most number of first robotics teams in 
the Nation. Also, that we are a hotbed and a place that people and 
businesses come to to expand, to grow, and to tap into our engineering 
talent.

                              {time}  1730

  Mr. Speaker, you can't have a shop floor without research and 
development. You can't have incredible manufacturing and incredible 
innovation without scientific research and development.
  It is about problem-solving. I know this from my time in the Obama 
administration. I know this from my time working in a scientific 
research lab. That innovation takes place on the shop floor and in the 
heart of Michigan's manufacturing capabilities.
  We are so proud of public-private partnerships. We are so proud of 
how the government can provide seed funding through the National 
Science Foundation and support for our National Institute of Standards 
and Technology through the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program.

[[Page H2087]]

  My friend Mike Coast, the former leader of the Michigan Manufacturing 
Technology Center, Michigan's MEP, and I are overdue for a 
conversation. He is ringing the alarm bell about what these cuts will 
do for Michigan and what this means.
  From growing up and from my upbringing, I saw this story of what it 
means to have a strong and vibrant manufacturing economy. It is 
intertwined with the Nation's scientific research enterprise and 
appropriated dollars.
  I have visited my friends in over 250 unique small businesses, small 
manufacturers, innovators, entrepreneurs, and training centers. The 
innovation story is powered by Michigan's incredible workforce, our 
hardworking men and women, and those large concentrations of engineers 
that we have. They are from Grand Rapids, Flint, Saginaw, Lansing, and, 
of course, all over southeast Michigan, from Detroit to Macomb County 
and throughout Oakland County.
  All of this goes hand in hand from the lab to the shop floor, to the 
classroom, to the tinkering in the garage, or in Michigan--because we 
do have those cold winters--in our basements. People are innovating, 
designing, and doing.
  I woke up on a Saturday morning to a headline that the National 
Science Foundation is canceling more than 400 STEM grants. What does it 
mean for Michigan? What does that mean for our schools that are not 
fully funded? What does it mean when we are competing on the world 
playing field?
  We need to have these scientists. We need to have these 
technologists. We need to have engineers and mathematicians. The 
student pipeline is absolutely essential, Mr. Speaker.
  Because of this Trump-Musk antiscience agenda undermining the 
symbiotic relationship and threatening Michigan's future in advanced 
manufacturing, environmental protection, and next-generation mobility 
technologies--news flash, we had 40-plus new factories built and 
developed in Michigan last year alone--the chaos continues to set us 
back.
  These aren't false threats. They are now a reality. It is blow after 
blow. It is self-inflicted chaos at a time when we don't need it, when 
it is not going to work for Michigan and not going to work for this 
country.
  Michigan is a national leader in public university research, with 
nine public institutions in the great State of Michigan ranked as top-
tier universities. They are what we call R1 research universities. We 
also have R2 universities. They all rank in that top nine.
  This also includes Oakland University, which is located in my 
district and where my parents met, and it is part of my origin story. 
They have a very robust engineering department that relies on these 
National Science Foundation grants, basic scientific research, 
technology readiness 1 through 9.
  What does that mean? We need to have basic scientific research. We 
need to have the scientific method, of course, dictating and governing 
how we conduct research in the United States of America.
  University of Michigan and Michigan State University recently came 
forward with what it would mean to see these grants and the 
relationship between our universities and our government shrink.
  I will hold this up. In fact, that was also in The Detroit News, that 
the MSU president has spoken about the partnership between research 
universities and innovation driven by government. We need these things.
  At Wayne State University and Michigan Technological University, it 
is the same thing. They conduct over 90 percent of the State's academic 
research, totaling more than $3 billion. We want to compete. We want to 
be a driver of the moonshot of this century.
  Every day, Michiganders reap the benefits of these universities, 
these small businesses, the entrepreneurs, and the small business 
innovation research grants. I walk out my door, and people are 
practically coming up to me, saying that this is where they want to 
grow and go. The STEM talent is so mission critical to all of us.
  Just the three largest research institutions created an economic 
impact of nearly $24 billion for the State of Michigan. This is 
personal for us, and this is very real. Our universities are where 
tomorrow's breakthroughs are going to begin, breakthroughs that our 
automakers are going to rely on, breakthroughs to compete in the global 
marketplace, and also breakthroughs to win on the battlefield.
  We are in a race for technological and, frankly, innovation 
dominance. These cuts that have come through from the stroke of a pen 
in the Oval Office have sincere, grave, and real results that are 
harmful.
  As a lawmaker, I choose to use my time to continue to craft the 
legislation on quantum and on reauthorizing NSF and NIST that I am so 
proud to see making its way through the Committee on Science. I hope 
that my colleagues will join in to pass those bills.
  Today, we use our voices to call out the harms of an antiscience 
agenda, the setbacks it means for equity, the setbacks it means for 
disadvantaged students, women, and students of color, and what this 
means for our manufacturers that rely on the diversity of a fully 
educated, skilled, and trained workforce, something that I see 
happening every single day in my incredible home State.
  It is that grit that Michiganders bring to everything that I know 
will get us through, and it is with tremendous honor, Mr. Speaker, that 
I sit and stand with my colleagues tonight as we speak out.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. 
Subramanyam), my incredible colleague, for tonight's Special Order. I 
thank him for leading with me tonight.
  Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Stevens and all 
the Members here today who stand up for science and innovation.
  This is a matter of profound significance for many Americans. It is a 
matter of life or death, whether they realize it or not.
  It is the responsibility of this body to be stewards of our country's 
future and leave this country better than how we found it. That means 
recognizing the pivotal role of science and innovation for the people, 
as well as the funding, and how it plays a role in making our country 
great now and in the future.
  Standing up for science is more important than ever right now because 
the reality is this administration has declared a war on science with 
DOGE, funding cuts, firing contractors, firing scientists and 
innovators, and trying to chase others out.
  For decades, America has been a leader in science and innovation, but 
this leadership is not our country's birthright. It has been earned 
over the years through an unwavering commitment to science and 
innovation.
  Make no mistake, our adversaries are watching closely the work we are 
doing and everything that is happening right now. They want to 
undermine and replace our leadership in science and innovation. We are 
at risk of being outrun on AI, quantum, and so many other critical 
technologies and innovations.
  Instead of helping us maintain our global leadership, this 
administration is slashing funding to our science agencies and firing 
Federal scientists. The President is proposing a $4.9 billion cut to 
the National Science Foundation. That is on top of over $1 billion in 
grant funding that this administration has already terminated. At least 
$100 million in grant funding was cut from universities just in my 
State of Virginia alone.
  Investments in science and innovation have fueled our economy and 
started entire industries, given us healthcare breakthroughs, fortified 
our national defense, and reinforced our leadership in the world.
  Make no mistake, these firings and cuts to science and innovation 
will hurt every single American. They will make us less safe, less 
healthy, and less prosperous.
  I have the honor of representing in northern Virginia one of the most 
scientifically advanced communities in the country and many of the 
folks who have been cut, fired, or have seen their funding subject to 
these cuts. They have seen harassment, intimidation, and firings. They 
are losing the ability to help Americans stay safe and healthy.
  What is happening is that there is a brain drain of science and 
technology innovators in our country because of these cuts. One of my 
constituents is a graduate student in astrophysics. She

[[Page H2088]]

is pretty smart. Their research funding is at risk of being cut right 
now. Folks like her are wondering whether they should stay in the 
science field.
  These cuts are destroying our Nation's pipeline of scientists, 
technologists, and innovators.
  A teacher from my district has been dismayed that the President plans 
to cut the NASA budget by 24 percent. This will end educational 
programs that get students excited about the sciences. Do we want to go 
to Mars? Who is going to take us there? It is going to need the 
ingenuity and expertise of the American people.
  The cuts are not just limited to NASA and the National Science 
Foundation. They are cutting healthcare research, as well.
  A woman in my district said her son has a disease for which NIH was 
researching a cure. Mr. Speaker, with recent cuts, you can kiss that 
cure good-bye right now or any hope of her son getting that cure.
  Right now, there are so many cuts that we are not solving the 
problems in healthcare that we need to, to keep our country healthy.
  For another woman, her son had congenital blindness, and NIH was 
searching for a cure for that. That funding is on the chopping block, 
as well, and also the people who are doing that research.
  Another biomedical researcher in the district said it perfectly when 
he said that the NIH, FDA, CDC, and NSF are making discoveries now that 
will be the foundation for solutions needed in the years and decades 
ahead.
  We won't even know what we missed with some of these cuts. We won't 
know what innovations we could have made but for these cuts.
  I want to end by saying that I am pretty sure these firings and cuts 
to science and research aren't about waste, fraud, and abuse or 
government efficiency. If they were and if this administration actually 
cared about efficiency, they would know that funding to science, 
technology, and innovation doubles or triples the investment back in 
economic activity, not to mention all the lives that research saves and 
all the people who are kept healthy and safe by this research.

  This does not have to be partisan. This does not have to be 
controversial in any way. Mr. Speaker, I call on all of my colleagues 
on both sides of the aisle to stand up for science, research, and 
innovation because standing up for science means standing up for the 
health, safety, and prosperity of every American.
  Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Subramanyam, a new freshman 
member on the Committee on Science and Member of this very body. As we 
can tell, he is already leading in an extraordinary way.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Beyer), who 
is well past his freshman term but also from the Commonwealth of 
Virginia.
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman for putting this 
together. I really appreciate it.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong opposition to the Trump 
administration's attack on our scientific workforce and on science, 
specifically at the National Science Foundation, located a few blocks 
from my home.
  Today, my colleagues and I introduced a resolution commemorating the 
75th anniversary of the National Science Foundation. We should be 
enormously proud to support the work of the NSF.
  Since 1950, the National Science Foundation has helped the U.S. lead 
the world in science. It supported the research and key investments 
that helped catalyze the internet, advanced technology for MRI 
machines, 3D printing, and artificial intelligence.
  It created American Sign Language, detected gravitational waves that 
developed LASIK eye surgery, and much, much more.
  It has been a cornerstone of our scientific education in the United 
States, providing support from elementary and prekindergarten right 
through the Ph.D. level.
  NSF's prestigious awards draw researchers from across the world to 
come to the United States to do their work and to study. Best for us, 
they often stay.
  The same incredible talent is under attack by this President, who is 
not only recklessly removing our best scientists from the Federal 
workforce but also defunding science and the scientific research at our 
Nation's premier institutions. These are exactly the people who create 
America's future.
  In his skinny budget request, the President proposed a $5 billion cut 
to the National Science Foundation, including $1 billion in STEM 
education and workforce programs. If that budget request is enacted by 
Congress, this will be a death knell for our innovation economy and for 
America's future.

                              {time}  1745

  I have already been alarmed by the workforce cuts the Trump 
administration has made over the past months. We are losing our best 
and our brightest. Some might find jobs in the private sector, but many 
are likely to be poached by other countries. We hear again and again 
that many countries are trying to recruit our best and brightest.
  I know this personally because these cuts have heavily impacted my 
home. I have had hundreds of constituents, thousands, fired or coerced 
out of the Federal workforce by the toxic environment that DOGE is 
intentionally creating. These are professionals who have dedicated 
their talent, their lives, and their scientific expertise to ensure 
that the National Science Foundation is advancing the most cutting-
edge, innovative research proposals.
  Mr. Speaker, the last thing we should be doing is losing that talent.
  I am also deeply alarmed at canceled grants and funding at NSF and 
our scientific agencies.
  The Trump administration has cut more than $1 billion in awards this 
year. Many of these grants were terminated for no reason by the 
administration. One particularly egregious example was an award on 
improving the effectiveness of teaching students how to do computer 
science. Really?
  At a time when we need to increase our domestic AI and STEM focused 
workforce, we need students to be familiar with the artificial 
intelligence systems of tomorrow, so that they can contribute to our 
continued leadership in tech.
  Mr. Speaker, I keep looking for examples in history on this retreat 
from knowledge. There were England's Luddites in the early 19th century 
who fought the use of new textile technology. There was Mao Zedong's 
Cultural Revolution 1966 through 1976 when intellectuals and scientists 
were labeled the ``Stinking Old Ninth'' and were sent to reeducation 
camps in the countryside.
  For 75 years, the National Science Foundation has kept the U.S. at 
the forefront of science and has made us the envy of the world.
  The NSF can claim 268 Nobel Prize winners. Yet now we have a 
President and an administration that is antiscience and antiprogress.
  Just as we have made investments in projects that are pivotal in 
artificial intelligence, quantum, and other leading areas at NIH, NOAA, 
NASA, the CDC, EPA, and, tragically, the National Science Foundation, 
now is not the time that we stop investing in our future. This is what 
the Trump administration is doing.
  I join my colleagues today to stand up for science, to oppose the 
administration's attacks on the National Science Foundation, and to 
fiercely champion our investment in science and knowledge for 
generations to come.
  Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Beyer for his great leadership 
in Congress and for his continued dedication to education as he is 
getting a degree in artificial intelligence.
  Mr. Speaker, we also have another very well-degreed Member of 
Congress, Dr. Bill Foster, whom I have been so proud to serve alongside 
for many years in this Chamber and, of course, for many years on the 
Science Committee where we have passed a lot of bills together.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Foster).
  Mr. FOSTER. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Stevens and 
Congressman Subramanyam for organizing this on such an important topic.
  As Congress' sole Ph.D. physicist, I spent 25 years of my life, 
before coming to Congress, working at the Department of Energy Office 
of Science supported laboratory. We were smashing protons and 
antiprotons together to make particles that have not been around since 
the big bang. I am proud to have been on the team that discovered the 
top quark, the heaviest known

[[Page H2089]]

form of matter. We worked with scientists from all over the world who 
came to America because we had the best equipment, the best 
experiments, and the best scientists, and they wanted to collaborate. 
All of this is at risk.
  Amidst the Republican assault on science, I am going to focus my 
remarks tonight mainly on the NSF.
  On May 10, we celebrated the 75th anniversary of the National Science 
Foundation. Today, together with my fellow Representatives  Don Beyer, 
Dr. Scott Franklin, and Haley Stevens, we introduced a House resolution 
to celebrate that anniversary.
  The resolution highlights the importance of the NSF for our Nation's 
research enterprise and the workforce it supports, totaling roughly 
350,000 students, teachers, scientists, entrepreneurs, and researchers, 
including 268 Nobel Prize winners to date.
  The NSF is a cornerstone of American innovation and is foundational 
for continuing basic research discoveries. We hope this work continues 
for many decades to come.
  Support for Federal science agencies like the NSF have led to new and 
unexpected research directions that would not have been possible 
without Federal funding.
  That is why it is important that we recognize the role that NSF-
funded basic research plays in the discoveries driving the next 
generation of science.
  This includes funding for AI, for cybersecurity, for supercomputers, 
fusion energy, space, ocean exploration, black holes, semiconductors, 
and, last but not least, the internet.
  In addition to basic research, the NSF also funds many educational 
programs supporting the next generation of scientists. Perhaps in the 
fullness of time that is its most crucial mission because it enables 
the careers to move forward in science of these young people who have 
shared my fascination with science.
  Over the past 75 years, the NSF has stayed true to its mission to 
promote the progress of science; to advance the national health, 
prosperity, and welfare; and to secure the national defense.
  Underpinning this has been its commitment to a merit-based and peer-
reviewed grant process that has ensured that good science is 
consistently prioritized and free from political interference.

  The NSF has had an exemplary 75 years, and I look forward to its 
progress in the next 75.
  So, how are Republicans celebrating this anniversary?
  By slashing the budget by a factor of two and muzzling the science.
  Unfortunately, the Trump administration has failed to see the 
importance of this Federal investment in science for our country's 
future.
  The President's fiscal year 2026 budget proposes cutting the NSF 
budget by 55 percent, including fundamental research, education, and 
broadening participation efforts.
  Other agencies have been impacted by the funding cuts, including NIH 
by 37 percent, NOAA by 24 percent, the EPA by 54 percent, NASA's 
science arm by 46 percent, and the Department of Energy Office of 
Science by 14 percent, among many others.
  Long term, these cuts will have detrimental impacts on scientific and 
technological innovation and cause irreparable damage to our global 
competitiveness. So this discussion could not come at a more important 
time.
  As a result of Trump's directives, all grant funding at the NSF is 
now halted, and the existing grants are under review for termination.
  I led over 100 of my fellow Members in a letter to the administration 
opposing this unconstitutional grant freeze, which is in direct 
opposition to Congress' appropriations.
  This measure comes after canceling over 1,000 NSF active research 
grants last month, with another 344 more grants canceled recently in 
the third consecutive round of Friday terminations.
  Why Friday?
  It is because Friday traditionally is the time that they reveal 
actions that they are ashamed of. I wonder why they put it on Friday.
  In addition to freezing all grants at the NSF, the agency instituted 
a 15 percent cap on indirect cost rates for colleges and universities 
where many of our future scientists receive training and participate in 
research experiences early in life that spark their curiosity.
  Many of these grants across many agencies are impacting STEM 
education across the career pipeline. In addition to stopping research 
discoveries, these cuts will lead to the loss of STEM talent, which 
places the United States at a permanent competitive disadvantage.
  President Trump's budget also proposes eliminating NASA's Office of 
STEM Engagement, which will significantly deter young talent from 
participating in STEM programming and impair our Nation's ability to 
lead in scientific fields.
  In another Republican assault on STEM education, which seems to be a 
theme of their cuts, at the U.S. Geological Survey, the Federal hiring 
freeze led to the termination of a summer internship program for 
undergraduate students. The National Association of Geoscience 
Teachers-USGS Cooperative Summer Fellowship program had been running 
since 1965, matching undergraduate students with mentors and projects 
at the agency.
  Through this program, talented student interns benefit from working 
with well-established scientists and gain valuable research experience 
at a well-known science agency. This experience can spark their 
curiosity in science and may set them up for long-term research 
careers, assuming, of course, the budget is not slashed there as well.
  Altogether, since 1965, around 3,000 interns have contributed to 
scientific projects in research areas of importance to USGS and NAGT to 
promote high-quality Earth education.
  Programs like this allow students to contribute to our country's 
scientific achievements, energy resource development, and economic 
prosperity. However, this year, 39 promising young geoscientists will 
not have this opportunity.
  So what does this mean for the scientific workforce?
  The recent departure of the NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, 
known to all of us as ``Dr. Panch,'' from the NSF was a really notable 
negative milestone for this administration's actions.
  It is a significant loss when we lose such dedicated and talented 
public servants. They are leaving the Federal Government workforce not 
as happy campers, and everybody knows it.
  This follows workers like Dr. Peter Marks, who is one of the heroes 
of Operation Warp Speed and one of the lead scientists at the FDA. 
There are hundreds of others, unfortunately, following in their 
footsteps.
  To shed light on this issue, for example, this last March, together 
with my colleague,  Don Beyer, I led 37 House Members in a letter to 
the Trump administration expressing our strong support for the agency 
and grave concerns with the firing of 168 workers at the NSF.
  Unfortunately, the DOGEs in the Trump administration have ignored 
this sort of appeal completely.
  This letter highlighted the importance of NSF funding to our 
country's leadership in cancer research, energy, artificial 
intelligence, and quantum computing. None of this work would be 
possible without program managers and experts who play central roles in 
grant funding decisions at the agency.
  A negative consequence of these actions for our country is that we 
will not only miss out on scientific breakthroughs that drive our 
country forward, but lose an entire generation of scientists who cannot 
complete their NSF-supported training and will abandon research careers 
altogether, or perhaps, as was mentioned, simply depart for countries 
abroad.
  So I want to assure NSF-funded researchers and staff that we are on 
their side, and we are supporting them. They should keep coming to 
Congress to tell us about the direct impacts, and that goes for 
scientists in all fields throughout this country.
  It is our duty to ensure that, regardless of the political climate, 
science remains at the forefront of our Nation's progress and 
innovation.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I urge my sensible colleagues on both sides of the 
aisle to support efforts that increase the resiliency of our Federal 
science agencies in the face of these growing threats from the 
administration, and to continue supporting the U.S. research workforce.

  Congratulations, again, to the NSF on celebrating 75 years. We will 
continue to fight for the agency's viability

[[Page H2090]]

and for our Nation's competitiveness by supporting all of our Federal 
science agencies.
  Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Foster for his always wise and 
important words.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. 
Whitesides), who is a leader in the field of science and space 
exploration.
  Mr. WHITESIDES. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Stevens for 
yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, my name is George Whitesides, and I represent 
California's 27th Congressional District.
  Before I was a Member of Congress, I served as the Chief of Staff of 
NASA and later as the CEO of an aerospace company that created hundreds 
of well-paying jobs in the Antelope Valley. I have a degree in remote 
sensing with GIS. I grew up in a science family. My dad is a chemist 
and a professor. I have worked on new and innovative ways to tackle our 
wildfire crisis, a growing threat that the people I represent know all 
too well.
  I know from firsthand experience that the United States is home to 
the smartest, most hardworking, and most impressive minds of our time 
who have dedicated their lives to helping families across the country 
fight deadly diseases, predict and prevent natural disasters before 
they hit, and mount a challenge against our foreign rivals like China.
  However, we can't continue this important work without our scientific 
institutions.
  Recently, our biggest scientific agencies have come under a full-
scale attack with the administration's proposed budget effectively 
annihilating the very science that keeps us safe. Programs that 
previously had broad, bipartisan support, such as the Army Corps of 
Engineers water infrastructure fund, EPA's drinking water and clean 
water funds for States, forestry operations, energy utility assistance 
for low-income households, science and technology programs, and 
agricultural support are all on the chopping block.
  At NASA, satellites that allow us to understand weather patterns, 
monitor our changing climate, and track fires as they move and spread 
are at risk of being deorbited. Employees in my home district who work 
at NASA Armstrong and JPL have no idea what their futures hold.
  NOAA, an organization that helps families across the country prepare 
for natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes, is being gutted 
from the ground up.
  The NIH, which works on groundbreaking cures for diseases like 
cancer, Alzheimer's, and heart disease, has supplied significantly 
fewer grants and awards to scientists than in previous administrations, 
effectively halting our work on critical medical advances.

                              {time}  1800

  From February to April, the administration terminated nearly 700 
grants across 24 NIH institutes and centers focused on subjects such as 
aging, cancer, child health, diabetes, mental health, and neurological 
disorders.
  We are not only losing the promise of progress and cures and climate 
technology, we are losing critical data that allow us to better 
understand the world we live in and respond to growing threats that we 
face, both foreign and domestic.
  That is why today I led my colleagues with similar scientific 
backgrounds to let the administration know exactly what will happen to 
our Nation if they gut these science agencies. A letter was sent to the 
President drawing on our diverse backgrounds and constituencies to let 
him know exactly why science is a good investment for the future of our 
children and for our country.
  Make no mistake, we can always be better and more efficient, and 
these are ideals that we should all strive for. These are ideals that 
Americans fairly demand from their government, and we should all be 
working toward that challenge.
  When I helped lead NASA for President Obama, we constantly iterated 
and improved our existing systems because we knew how important it was 
to stretch the taxpayer dollar as far as it can go.
  Taking a sledgehammer and a chain saw to entire institutions that 
allow us to stay safe and also remain competitive on the global scale 
is not only unwise, it is dangerous.
  The bottom line is that science is an incredible investment for jobs 
today and for the future of our country.
  I am going to keep fighting for the families across my district who 
need NASA satellites to know if their houses are going to be safe from 
fires, for seniors who need medical advancements to live long and 
healthy lives, and for red States and blue States that will be hit by 
tornadoes and hurricanes in the months and years to come.
  I am here to stand up for families in my district and across the 
country who will be less safe and more at risk as a result of these 
cuts. I am here as an innovator and entrepreneur to stand up for 
science.
  Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Mr. Whitesides for his comments. 
How lucky the people of California are to have his representation and 
how lucky the United States Congress is to have his expertise.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield now to Mrs. Foushee of North Carolina, another 
proven expert, leader and fighter, and ranking member on the Science, 
Space, and Technology Committee.
  Ms. FOUSHEE. Mr. Speaker, I thank my esteemed colleagues for 
organizing this Special Order hour.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in solidarity with my colleagues to stand up and 
speak out against the proposed budget and demonization of science and 
the science community.
  America is where we are today because of what we create. Whether it 
is manufacturing, innovation, scientific and medical research, or 
technology transfer, all these fields require science and the millions 
of researchers and innovators who push American STEM in our Nation's 
workforce to the forefront.
  These efforts are critical to my district, which includes the 
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, North 
Carolina Central University, Durham and Wake Technical Community 
Colleges, and so many new up-and-coming industry leaders in STEM.
  However, in total, the Trump administration has canceled nearly $20 
million in NSF research grants to North Carolina as a whole.
  Take, for instance, an NSF-funded grant that was recently canceled in 
my district, North Carolina's Fourth, that was aimed at addressing the 
lack of diversity in the engineering doctoral workforce and promoting 
the retention of students from underrepresented groups.
  Recent doctoral engineering attrition rates revealed a 
disproportionately high loss of students from groups historically 
underrepresented in STEM, like women, minorities, and people from rural 
areas.
  Researchers in my district were working to help us address this 
critical gap, funded by NSF, now canceled under the guise of being so-
called woke.
  Still, the majority continues to conflate the need to bolster 
manufacturing with the destruction of our scientific institutions.
  We need to make things here at home. Does America really win if China 
does all the innovation?
  I like the idea of an America that supports domestic manufacturing 
and is a leader in innovation, not an America that does China's 
manufacturing work.
  Right now, because of the senseless cuts to NSF, NIH, and scientific 
institutions across the board, we are, instead, taking steps toward 
losing a generation of innovators and helping China lead global STEM 
innovation, not us.
  Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Foushee for her 
ongoing leadership for women in the sciences and for HBCUs that are 
also so important to our STEM scientific research enterprise.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to pass the floor over to the congresswoman 
from New Mexico (Ms. Stansbury).
  Ms. STANSBURY. Mr. Speaker, Donald Trump's war on science is putting 
our country and our economy in peril. From haphazard firings of Federal 
workers who work on nuclear security and keep our food and medicine 
safe to firefighters and healthcare workers, I am here to say enough is 
enough.
  As a proud woman in STEM and a bona fide science nerd, I cannot sit 
quietly as this administration jeopardizes the scientific advancement 
of this country.

[[Page H2091]]

  That is why I am here to say enough; enough of the lies about Project 
2025 and its antiscience agenda; enough with the dismantling of the 
National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control, and the 
National Science Foundation; enough with canceling grants for medical 
research and STEM programs that ensure our country stays safe and 
globally competitive; enough with pedaling disinformation that 
jeopardizes the health and well-being of millions of Americans; and 
enough with hiring unqualified pundits, influencers, and political 
loyalists who pedal conspiracy theories and openly admit that no one 
should rely on them for advice. Mr. Speaker, everyone knows who I mean.

  America is a leader in science and technology. We were the first in 
the world to send a man to the moon. We invented the polio vaccine and 
DNA sequencing. We invented the microchip, the internet, and GPS. 
Americans invented the airplane, the lightbulb, television, and email, 
and we fed the world with our innovations in food and agriculture.
  Over the last 3\1/2\ months, we have seen an unprecedented attack on 
our Nation's science and technology, programs gutted, projects halted, 
and the world's leading scientists and engineers fired for no reason. A 
budget delivered to Congress just a couple of weeks ago by the 
President that would cut over a billion dollars in science, education, 
and workforce programs. A budget that would slash 30 percent of NOAA's 
budget, and strip the Environmental Protection Agency of more than half 
of its funding.
  That is why nearly 2,000 doctors, scientists, and researchers have 
called this administration a wholesale assault on United States science 
that threatens the country's health, national security, and economic 
development.
  Congress, the courts, and our communities are fighting back, 
conducting oversight, voting no, showing up to agencies, supporting 
cases across the Federal court system, and, yes, getting loud in the 
streets to stand with science.
  Democrats stand with our scientists, our engineers, our innovators, 
and our healthcare workers. Democrats stand with our Federal science 
and healthcare agencies. Democrats stand with the people of this 
country who depend on that science and who depend on that innovation to 
keep us safe and fuel our economy because that is all of us.
  I say to my fellow leaders in STEM, stay strong, stay in the fight. 
Democrats are fighting with you, and we will win.
  Ms. STEVENS. Mr. Speaker, I thank our science nerds and enthusiasts 
for their work, just as Ms. Stansbury so nicely laid out.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield the floor to the gentleman from New York (Mr. 
Tonko), another great warrior for scientific research and funding and 
support for the manufacturing economy of this country and a leader in 
the Congress.
  Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Stevens for the kind 
introduction. I thank Representative Subramanyam for cohosting this 
showcasing of supporters of science and tech in our economy and the 
investments that we can make in our government.
  No nation can maintain its leadership status in the world without 
investments made and attention paid to science, to science technology, 
engineering, and math.
  It is essential that we grow that population of scientists, of 
engineers who can then provide for the muscle of our innovation 
economy, to allow for that intellectual capacity of this great Nation 
and the pioneer spirit of this Nation to continue to foster this growth 
of product delivery that speaks to the quality of life of people across 
this great world.
  We as a nation have been a leader. I think back to the humble 
beginnings of this Nation. In the 1800s, there was a development of the 
Erie Canal in upstate New York that is still looked to as perhaps the 
first tech corridor.
  The eastern mouth of that Erie Canal is included in the geography 
that I serve in New York's 20th Congressional District, in the greater 
capital region. Along that canal, we not only provided for a great 
connection of a great ocean, the Atlantic, with the Great Lakes that 
inspired a westward movement into the midland of our country, into the 
States that border the Great Lakes.
  With that came the development of a necklace of communities dubbed 
``mill towns'' that became the epicenters of invention and innovation, 
that inspired all sort of product delivery and responses to the needs 
of this world, and impacted favorably not only the quality of life in 
our United States but in nations around the world.
  That whole history, that powerful statement of what can be created 
when we invest in our manufacturing, in our technology, in our science 
community is proof that we need to continue forward in that vein.
  Since January, Donald Trump and his political allies have launched a 
full-scale assault on America's scientific enterprise. Federal 
investments in science power nearly every aspect of our modern life, 
medical breakthroughs, clean air and water, accurate weather forecasts, 
safe food, and real solutions to the climate crisis.
  This administration has made their position painfully clear. They 
simple many don't care. Instead, they are injecting partisan politics 
into research, censoring scientists, punishing experts, and pulling 
funding from projects that challenge their narrow ideology. They don't 
care about protecting communities from the climate disaster, and we are 
going to continue to write checks for disaster aid if we continue this 
ignoring of climate change.
  They don't care about preventing the next pandemic. We have learned 
that science became very much focused upon during the whole COVID 
crisis. They don't care about making STEM more inclusive, and they 
certainly don't care if Americans suffer as a result.
  This isn't just wrong, it is a blatant attack on scientific 
integrity. Integrity in research is essential, essential to scientific 
excellence and to maintaining the public's trust.
  That is why, as an engineer and lifelong advocate for science, I have 
made it one of my top priorities in Congress to right the ship of 
American science policy.
  As part of that effort, I am indeed proud to lead the bipartisan 
Scientific Integrity Act. Tomorrow, we will be the launching of the 
Scientific Integrity Task Force to continue the fight to protect 
science from political interference.

                              {time}  1815

  Hands off science. Let that pure product of research get delivered to 
those decisionmakers, those policymakers, and let us determine what 
those findings mean in terms of the need for additional policy and 
research advocacy. Let us do it in the purest sense.
  New York's 20th Congressional District has felt the effects of these 
attacks firsthand. Over $715 million in National Science Foundation 
grants have been terminated in New York's 20th Congressional District 
alone, including a $1 million award to the University at Albany's 
Project SAGES.
  Project SAGES was created to confront one of the deepest, most 
persistent inequities in science, and that is the underrepresentation 
of women, especially women of color, in faculty positions. This was 
peer-reviewed, data-driven, mission-critical science, and we need to 
make certain that we continue to build upon that.
  Cutting this program sends a clear message to a generation of 
researchers: You don't belong.
  It doesn't stop there. Another canceled UAlbany NSF grant supported a 
collaborative study to improve public understanding of population 
science, especially around climate change, racial justice, and the rise 
of misinformation. The goal was to equip students in communities with 
tools to recognize and challenge the misuse of demographic data, data 
increasingly weaponized to justify political extremism and division.
  Does that sound familiar? You bet it does.
  SUNY campuses, the State University of New York campuses, across the 
State lost almost $2.5 million in NSF support for programs helping 
students of color succeed in STEM through research opportunities, 
mentorships, and academic support. These students are the future of a 
diverse and dynamic scientific workforce, and this administration 
slammed the door in their faces.
  Let's be clear. These cuts are not about efficiency. They are not 
about

[[Page H2092]]

fiscal responsibility. They are rooted in racist, sexist, and 
authoritarian ideology.
  I will not stay silent while extremists attack our scientists, our 
students, our universities, and our future.
  We are woefully underproducing scientists and engineers in our 
society. You can look at the growth of those communities in other 
nations, other continents. This country is woefully underproducing. We 
do not have the luxury of walking away from any one demographic of 
students out there based on gender, race, or ethnicity to meet our 
goals. We cannot skip over any of those populations.
  We must stand up--stand up for science, stand up for equity, and 
stand up for the truth.
  Ms. STEVENS. Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Tonko for his years of 
leadership on the Scientific Integrity Act, still very essential 
legislation for this country.
  What a profound honor it is to be with colleagues in this democracy 
sharing these views.
  Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano).
  Mr. TAKANO. Madam Speaker, I thank my colleagues, Ms. Stevens and Mr. 
Subramanyam, for hosting this Special Order hour. Their leadership is 
much needed, and I appreciate them.
  Madam Speaker, I rise today because something is deeply wrong. The 
Trump administration is gutting our Nation's scientific infrastructure 
and doing it with purpose. This isn't some misunderstanding or clerical 
error. It is an attack on research, on truth, and on the people who 
have dedicated their lives to making our country stronger, smarter, and 
healthier.
  Thousands of scientists have been laid off. Grants approved by 
Congress are being withheld. Whole labs are shutting down. Now, the 
administration wants to slash funding for the NIH, the CDC, the 
Department of Energy's labs, and the university partnerships that have 
built the modern American economy.
  They call this reform. It is not reform. It is a dagger to the heart 
of American innovation.
  Let's be honest about what's going on here. Elon Musk and the so-
called Department of Government Efficiency are using the Federal 
Government to settle scores: cancer trials, nonessential; national 
science databases, too expensive. That is not policy. It is a crusade 
against expertise.
  Last month, I sat down with five undergraduate researchers at UC 
Riverside. They are doing remarkable work on everything from climate 
change to biomedical engineering. Their students are bright; their 
ideas are bold; and their funding is suddenly at risk, not because the 
science failed but because politics did.
  While we fire researchers, other countries are sending job offers. 
France, Germany, Canada, and Australia are rolling out the red carpet 
for the scientists we are pushing out the door.
  While we make it harder for international students, researchers, and 
the greatest minds around the world to come, to bring their talent, 
other countries are offering funding, housing, and guaranteed lab 
space.
  One institute called it a ``once-in-a-century brain gain 
opportunity,'' a once-in-a-century brain gain opportunity for other 
countries. This is what it looks like when a country values science. 
Meanwhile, we are bleeding talent.
  As ranking member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, I need to 
speak plainly: Our veterans are being hurt, too.
  In Pennsylvania, doctors at VA hospitals warned that lifesaving 
cancer trials were being shut down. I was told by the Secretary--I 
rushed from that hearing--that they really weren't being shut down, but 
there are a lot of questions around the status of these trials.
  More than 1,000 veterans are at risk of losing access to treatments 
for head and neck cancer, kidney disease, and traumatic brain injuries. 
Some of these trials have not been restarted.
  In Pittsburgh, a study for veterans struggling with opioid addiction 
stalled out when a hiring freeze hit.
  In Los Angeles, all chemotherapy treatments almost stopped entirely 
before the VA reversed course.
  These are not just numbers. These are people. These are veterans who 
stepped up for this country, who are now wondering why the country will 
not step up for them.
  We passed the PACT Act to expand care to those exposed to burn pits 
and other toxins. It was the largest expansion of veterans' care in 
generations, making good on a promise to help those who served our 
Nation. Now, it is being broken.
  While all of this is happening, China is investing billions in 
biotech, AI, and clean energy. They are not just competing with us; 
they are outpacing us because they are not undermining their own 
scientists.
  While we fire, they fund. While we second-guess researchers, they 
fast-track them.
  We are not losing this race because we Americans are not capable. We 
are losing because we are allowing our government to sabotage them.
  Today, some of the National Science Foundation scientists who were 
fired may be watching from the gallery, others--grad students, post-
docs, public health experts--are tuning in from their labs and 
classrooms across the country.
  To all of them, I say this: We see you. We value you. We are not 
giving up on you. This is not about science; it is about who we are as 
a country.
  Do we invest in the people solving cancer, or do we dismiss them as 
expendable?
  Do we stand by our veterans mid-treatment, or do we tell them to wait 
until the budget looks better?
  Do we fight to stay at the forefront of discovery and innovation, or 
do we hand the future to someone else?
  Madam Speaker, I represent a region full of young people who believe 
they can cure disease, fight climate change, and explore the stars. 
What message are we sending them right now?
  We should be investing in their future, not pulling the rug out from 
underneath them.
  Madam Speaker, I urge my colleagues to reject these cuts, reject this 
anti-science, anti-veteran agenda. Let us fight for the truth for our 
researchers, for our vets, and for the country we still have a chance 
to become.
  Ms. STEVENS. Madam Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from Virginia 
(Mr. Subramanyam) to close us out. He is such a leader, and I am so 
proud of him for helping with this Special Order hour.
  Mr. SUBRAMANYAM. Madam Speaker, I thank Congresswoman Stevens for 
yielding, and I will keep it very short.
  A study a few weeks ago said that a 25 percent reduction in public 
support of science and research would correlate to a 3.8 percent drop 
in economic output. That is the same as the Great Recession. That is 
how bad it would be.
  Protecting science funding is not just about labs or some agencies. 
It is about preserving hope for families across the country. These cuts 
are bad for our economy, small businesses, parents, children, teachers, 
patients, you name it. Our country cannot afford these massive cuts to 
science and innovation.
  We must reject these cuts and stand up for the health, safety, and 
prosperity of every American.
  Ms. STEVENS. Madam Speaker, I thank the gentleman for his remarks.
  We will continue to use our voices. To every scientific researcher, 
science student, and American wondering, we have your back. We will use 
our voices. We will not be silent in the face of these cuts.
  Madam Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

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