[Pages H2578-H2579]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      SOUNDING THE ALARM ON A CRISIS THREATENING AMERICA'S FUTURE

  (Ms. Johnson of Texas was recognized to address the House for 5 
minutes.)
  Ms. JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to sound an alarm on 
a crisis threatening America's future. I am talking about the Trump 
brain drain.
  Donald Trump and Republicans in this House are launching a full scale 
assault on our Nation's ability to think, learn, and to innovate.
  Let's look at the facts. Trump's budget cuts funding for the National 
Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, STEM education, and 
even basic K-12 public schools. He has tried to crush public service 
loan forgiveness and gut Head Start, all while trying to give tax 
breaks to those who don't need them.
  This isn't cost savings. It is self-sabotage.
  In Dallas, we are home to UT Southwestern Medical Center, one of the 
top research institutions in this country. We have innovators, world-
class hospitals, biotech startups, and students

[[Page H2579]]

ready to change the world. They can't do that when Federal research 
funding is drying up and educational support is being pulled out from 
under them.
  Dallas ISD alone has over 150,000 students, many from middle-class 
families. Cuts to programs like Head Start, Title I, and after-school 
STEM enrichment don't just hurt, they derail students' futures.
  Texas colleges and universities share one of the largest enrollments 
compared to almost any other State. Yet, under Trump's budget, millions 
of them would lose access to workstudy jobs and to affordable student 
loans. That is not just an educational crisis, it is an economic time 
bomb attacking our workforce development.
  This country has long been a magnet for global talent. Engineers, 
scientists, and doctors come here to help build our future, but Trump's 
anti-immigrant crusade is scaring them off. Whether it is blocking 
student visas, slashing green cards, or denying people their due 
process, he is slamming the door on the very people who fuel our 
economy.
  Dr. Kseniia Petrova, a brilliant Harvard scientist whose research 
could lead to breakthroughs in early cancer detection, was charged with 
a felony by the Trump administration for failing to declare preserved 
frog samples at customs, which is normally a very minor infraction 
handled by a mere warning.
  Instead, she is locked up in an ICE detention center in Louisiana, 
facing possible deportation to Russia. This isn't just cruel, it sends 
a chilling message to scientists and international students around the 
world: Come to America, and you may be imprisoned instead of empowered.

  Then there is Ardem Patapoutian, who came to the U.S. from war-torn 
Lebanon at 18. He worked nights delivering pizza to become eligible for 
the University of California. Years later, with the help of an NIH 
research grant, he launched a lab making groundbreaking discoveries on 
how humans sense touch and went on to win the Nobel Prize in 2021.
  However, thanks to Trump's cuts to science funding, his Federal grant 
has been frozen. Just like that, China offered to fund his lab for the 
next 20 years in any city, any university, anywhere he wants. China is 
winning this war.
  That is what countries like China are doing. They are investing in 
students, in science, and in research because they want to win the 
future while Trump wants to only tweet about the past and harm American 
innovation.
  We should be doubling down on education and innovation. We should be 
building labs and funding scholarships, not building walls.
  Here is the truth: You don't make America great again by making 
Americans dumber. You don't build up the economy by draining it of 
talent and opportunity. This is not just about spreadsheets and budget 
lines. It is about real people: students trying to become the first in 
their family to graduate, young scientists working on the next 
breakthrough, and teachers trying to give every child a chance.
  Trump's budget doesn't just threaten programs. It threatens progress. 
We must fight back.
  Let's protect our students, support our researchers, and defend the 
right for everyone to dream big and achieve greatness in the United 
States of America.

                          ____________________