June 5, 2025
The co-chairs of the Science and Technology Action Committee (STAC), a nonpartisan alliance of nonprofit, academic, foundation and business leaders advocating for greater focus and funding of science and technology, issued the following statement on the proposed budget cuts to the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other critical federally funded research infrastructure:
Americans across every state, in every community, will feel the negative effects of the proposed cuts to our scientific and research enterprise. If Congress enacts the sweeping slashes to the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and other critical research infrastructure, America’s national security, economic stability, and public health will all be at risk.
The proposed cuts also undermine decades of strategic, bipartisan congressional work to build a strong scientific enterprise – an investment that has driven incredible return on investment for the American people and the prosperity of our nation. We cannot hope to achieve President Trump’s stated commitment to usher in the Golden Age of American Innovation if these proposed cuts are enacted.
Finally, enacting the FY26 budget request will ensure that America loses the innovation race against China and hands over our hard-won global leadership. We call on Congress to prioritize and protect U.S. global leadership, as it has always done, before it is too late.