Meet with Your Lawmakers This Summer and Help Inform Science Policy
The American Institute of Biological Sciences is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2026 Biological Sciences Congressional District Visits event.
Now in its 17th year, this national initiative is an opportunity for biologists across the country to meet with their federal or state elected officials to showcase the people, facilities, and equipment that are required to support and conduct scientific research. This initiative helps to put a face on science and to remind lawmakers that science is happening in their district and state.
The Biological Sciences Congressional District Visits event enables scientists, graduate students, representatives of research facilities, and people affiliated with scientific collections to meet with their federal or state elected officials without traveling to Washington, DC. Participating scientists can meet with their elected officials at the local district office or invite them to visit their research facility.
"I am grateful for the experience, which has enriched my professional development. I am particularly pleased to think that we started a conversation with Rep. Joyce Beatty's office that will continue in the future. I encourage everyone to reach out beyond their scientific community, which includes explaining your science to your district offices."
- Coralie Farinas, Graduate Student, Ohio State University
AIBS will schedule participants' meetings with lawmakers and will prepare participants through online training and one-on-one support. Meetings will take place mid-July through October, depending on the participant's schedule and their lawmaker's availability. Read the Frequently Asked Questions for more information.
This event is made possible by the American Institute of Biological Sciences, with the support of event sponsors American Arachnological Society, American Society of Primatologists, Botanical Society of America, Florida International University Institute of Environment, Mycological Society of America, Organization of Biological Field Stations, and Paleontological Society.
Registration for participation is free, but required and closes on July 13, 2026. To learn more and register, visit io.aibs.org/cdv.
House Advances FY 2027 Science Spending Bills
The U.S. House of Representatives is continuing its work to advance fiscal year (FY) 2027 appropriations bills.
Last week, the House Appropriations Committee approved the Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) bill, which funds the National Science Foundation (NSF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The measure includes smaller funding cuts for NSF (-20% vs. -55%), NASA's science account (-17% vs -46%), NOAA (-5% vs. -28%), and NIST (-30% vs. -54%), compared to the drastic cuts proposed in the President's budget request.
Notably, the committee report accompanying the CJS bill endorses the Administration's proposal to consolidate NSF's STEM Education account into the agency's Research and Related Activities account, despite Congress rejecting a similar restructuring in the enacted FY 2026 spending legislation. In addition, NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, which the Administration proposed eliminating, would instead receive $580 million under the House bill, down from $650 million in FY 2026. The committee advanced the legislation on a party-line vote of 32-28.
Separately, the House Energy and Water Development Appropriations Subcommittee approved legislation last Friday that would increase funding for the Department of Energy's Office of Science by 1.5% to $8.5 billion, while reducing funding for the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) by $50 million to $300 million. The full Appropriations Committee is scheduled to consider the bill on May 20.
Previously, the Agriculture appropriations bill also cleared the full committee with reductions targeting climate and water-related initiatives. Additional FY 2027 spending bills covering the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and health agencies such as the National Institutes of Health are expected to move through committee in the coming weeks. The Senate has not yet announced a schedule for marking up its FY 2027 appropriations legislation.
New Science Indicators Report Warns U.S. Is Losing Ground to China
A major new federal assessment of the U.S. science and engineering enterprise paints a sobering picture of intensifying global competition, particularly with China, which is now estimated to have surpassed the United States in total research and development (R&D) spending.
According to reporting by Science, members of the National Science Board (NSB) drafted--but never formally approved or released--an unusually direct cover letter to the newly released biennial report, The State of U.S. Science and Engineering 2026, before all 22 board members were dismissed by President Donald Trump in April. The letter warned policymakers that the United States now faces a "two-nation race for leadership" with China in science and technology and argued that maintaining U.S. competitiveness will require sustained, long-term investments and difficult strategic decisions about which scientific and technological fields to prioritize.
The underlying report documents the scale of China's rise across research, education, manufacturing, and innovation. For the first time, China is estimated to have surpassed the United States in total R&D spending, investing approximately $1.03 trillion in 2024 compared with $1.01 trillion by the United States. Together, the two countries now account for nearly 60% of global R&D activity.
The report also finds that China leads the world in the total number of science and engineering doctorates awarded, research publications produced, and high-technology manufacturing exports. China has become the world's largest producer of knowledge- and technology-intensive manufactured goods and now leads globally in several critical and emerging technology patent areas, including artificial intelligence, semiconductors, biotechnology, quantum information science, and nuclear technologies.
At the same time, the report highlights several enduring U.S. strengths. The United States remains one of the world's most R&D-intensive economies, with research expenditures equal to 3.4% of gross domestic product. U.S. researchers continue to produce a higher share of highly cited scientific publications, while American firms dominate global venture capital-backed innovation and knowledge- and technology-intensive services.
The U.S. government obligated $194 billion for R&D in fiscal year 2024, with 24% directed toward basic research, 27% toward applied research, and 49% toward experimental development. Federal agencies additionally supported 14% of the nation's nearly 600,000 full-time graduate students in science, engineering, and health fields, with the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation together accounting for more than half of federally supported graduate students.
The report further emphasizes the central role of the private sector in the U.S. research enterprise. Businesses now fund roughly three-quarters of all domestic R&D and perform more than three-quarters of total research activity, with especially strong investments in software, biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and other critical and emerging technologies.
The assessment also underscores the importance of international scientific talent to the U.S. workforce and research system. Temporary visa holders earned more than half of doctoral degrees awarded in several key STEM disciplines in 2024, including computer science, engineering, and mathematics. Longitudinal data indicate that most foreign-born doctorate recipients remain in the United States after graduation, contributing substantially to the nation's STEM workforce and innovation capacity. In 2023, nearly half of U.S. science and engineering workers with doctoral degrees were born abroad.
At the same time, the report raises concerns about domestic STEM education trends. U.S. elementary and secondary student performance in mathematics and science has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic, and American eighth graders performed at or below the international average on several global assessments in 2023.
Taken together, the findings suggest that while the United States retains substantial scientific and technological advantages, maintaining global leadership will require sustained investments in research, education, workforce development, and innovation infrastructure over the long term.
Democratic Lawmakers Press White House Over NSF Board Firings
Congressional Democrats are intensifying scrutiny of the Trump Administration's decision in late April to dismiss all 22 members of the National Science Board (NSB), the congressionally established body that oversees the National Science Foundation (NSF).
In separate letters sent by House and Senate Democrats, lawmakers condemned the firings as a threat to the independence of U.S. science and demanded explanations for how the Administration plans to carry out the board's statutory responsibilities, including approving major NSF expenditures and awards and advising Congress and the President on science and engineering policy.
The Senate letter, led by Senators Ed Markey (D-MA) and Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and signed by 24 other lawmakers, requests the legal and constitutional basis for the dismissals and asks whether the White House intends to appoint new board members. The letter also asks whether the Administration directed NSF officials "not to share budget, grant-making, or strategic planning information with NSB members." The Senators requested a response in writing by May 29, but the Administration is not legally required to reply.
Thirty-one House Democrats, led by Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), called for the immediate reinstatement of the terminated members in their strongly worded letter. "This is a clear escalation of your war on American scientific excellence, and we demand that you re-appoint the 22 non-partisan Members to the Board so they can resume their vital work in providing steady, expert advice to the National Science Foundation (NSF)."
The firings have prompted growing concern across the scientific community. Former NSF Directors and past NSB Chairs previously urged the Senate to promptly fill the vacant NSF Director position and called on the White House to swiftly appoint highly qualified individuals to the NSB. In addition, roughly 1,500 members of the National Academies have signed an open letter urging Congress to call for the reinstatement of the Board. The letter argues that the firings undermine independent scientific oversight and calls for future board appointments to be based solely on distinguished scientific and public service. Leaders of the National Academies previously described the National Science Board as a "cornerstone" of U.S. scientific leadership.
The Administration has argued that a 2021 Supreme Court decision, United States v. Arthrex, Inc., raised constitutional questions about the board's authority and said it plans to work with Congress to revise the statute governing the NSB to ensure it can "perform its duties as Congress intended."
AIBS Joins Letter in Support of NSF's Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences
AIBS has joined 37 other organizations, representing the full breadth of America's scientific, technological, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research, in sending a letter to lawmakers urging support for the Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) at the National Science Foundation (NSF).
The SBE Directorate is slated for termination under the President's fiscal year 2027 budget request. "Even though our organizations represent scientific and technological fields that primarily receive research funding from other parts of NSF, we view SBE as a critical asset for advancing our respective scientific missions," the groups argue.
The letter reads, in part: "Many of the nation's most pressing policy questions have a scientific or technological component that needs to be understood through a human lens, including through integrated modeling and design approaches that combine technical systems with human behavior. That is where the research that SBE supports comes into play, providing crucial data and theoretical frameworks that inform work across the entire research enterprise, including the biological, computer and information sciences, engineering, and the mathematical and physical sciences. Examples include research on team collaboration informing engineering design and understanding economic incentives for energy efficiency, as well as examining the impact of modern air power for national security. NSF's support for SBE has even resulted in a remarkable number of economics Nobel laureates. Solving the most challenging modern research and development problems, such as the societal impacts of AI, cybersecurity, or public health, requires more than just technical research; the persistent barriers are fundamentally human."
Read the letter.
AIBS Submits Testimony in Support of FY 2027 Funding for NSF
AIBS has provided testimony to the House Appropriations Committee urging Congress to reject the steep cuts to science proposed in the President's budget request and instead provide the National Science Foundation (NSF) with at least $9.9 billion in FY 2027.
The testimony reads, in part: "Providing NSF with at least $9.9 billion in FY 2027 is necessary to reverse years of underinvestment in research. This funding would strengthen and expand the U.S. bioeconomy while enabling NSF to accelerate work at the frontiers of science and engineering, including strategic priorities such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and advanced biomanufacturing. It would also support critical research on infectious diseases and pandemics, closing key knowledge gaps regarding the spread and evolution of biological threats."
NSF received an 8% budget cut in FY 2024, flat funding in FY 2025, and a 3.4% cut in FY 2026 -- well below the targets established under the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act. AIBS urged Congress to reject the 55% budget cut for NSF and plan to dismantle the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate proposed in the President's budget and instead restore the agency to its FY 2023 funding level, reaffirming our national commitment to scientific excellence.
"To remain at the global forefront of innovation and to fully realize the benefits of NSF-supported research, the government must make bold and sustained investments in NSF," AIBS argued. "Unpredictability in funding disrupts research programs, creates uncertainty in the research community, and stalls the development of the next great idea. Enacting robust funding increases for NSF will allow for critical federal investments in scientific research, education, and the STEM workforce pipeline, especially as the agency undergoes a major reorganization."
Read the testimony submitted to House appropriators. A similar letter was submitted to the Senate.
Coalition Urges Senate to Hold Confirmation Hearing for NSF Director Nominee
The Coalition for National Science Funding (CNSF), of which AIBS is a member, has sent a letter urging the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee to promptly hold a confirmation hearing for James O'Neill, the President's nominee for Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), emphasizing the urgency of stable, accountable leadership for the agency and the nation's scientific enterprise.
"Although Mr. O'Neill was previously confirmed by this Committee for a position at Health and Human Services, the NSF Director position is fundamentally different, thereby requiring a hearing," the letter reads. "For more than a year, NSF has been led on an acting basis by its Chief of Staff--a dedicated public servant who has ably led the agency, but without the statutory authority, the mandate, or the full institutional standing that a Senate-confirmed Director carries. During this period of leadership uncertainty, NSF has faced significant disruptions, the departure of more than 30 percent of its staff, the relocation of its headquarters, and the troubling recent dismissal of all members of the National Science Board. The agency and America's scientific enterprise urgently need Congressional support and a confirmed and accountable leader. The questions surrounding NSF's direction--its funding priorities and its commitment to supporting the full breadth of fundamental research--deserve genuine examination by Congress. A confirmation hearing is precisely the venue for these questions."
Read the letter.
Short Takes
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The Trump Administration will significantly reduce the role of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in implementing the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), shifting responsibility and funding directly to recipient countries beginning later this year. Public health experts warn the move could weaken the technical expertise, disease surveillance capacity, and long-standing partnerships that have helped make PEPFAR one of the most successful global health initiatives in U.S. history, saving the lives of an estimated 26 million people in poor countries over 23 years.
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The National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) has been placed at the center of a legal fight after the Trump Administration moved to dismantle parts of the federally funded climate research center, citing "climate alarmism." The organization that manages NCAR--a coalition of around 130 universities called the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR)--is suing the National Science Foundation, arguing the agency is exceeding its authority in transferring major assets, including key supercomputing infrastructure.
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Federal agencies are moving to implement a March 2026 Executive Order restricting diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) activities by federal contractors. Proposed contract language would require contractors and subcontractors to certify they are not engaging in "racially discriminatory DEI activities" and comply with federal information requests related to enforcement. The agencies are accepting public comments on the proposal through July 6, while also working toward a rapid implementation timeline that could modify existing federal contracts as early as July.
- Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Space, Science, and Technology, has written to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) asking the agency to examine how the National Science Foundation (NSF) is gathering information on the STEM workforce needs of the country.
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Acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Jay Bhattacharya, has called for the creation of an externally peer-reviewed CDC journal after publicly criticizing the agency's long-standing Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) publication process. The controversy followed Bhattacharya's decision to pull a CDC study on COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness that used the widely accepted "test-negative" study design, prompting criticism from former CDC officials and public health researchers who argued the methodology and MMWR review process are scientifically rigorous.
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The Trump Administration has moved to rescind the Biden-era public lands rule, which had elevated conservation and ecosystem restoration as formal uses of Bureau of Land Management lands alongside energy development, grazing, and recreation. The Administration argues the rollback "restores balance to federal land management under the principles of multiple use and sustained yield" and expands access for activities such as drilling, mining, and livestock grazing. Conservation groups warn the changes could weaken protections for wildlife habitat and public lands stewardship. The rule goes into effect June 11, 2026.
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If you're interested in learning about Museums for All, an initiative dedicated to expanding community access for underserved audience, please join staff from the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Association of Children's Museums on June 24 at 2 p.m. Eastern. This is an opportunity to learn more about how and why over 1,600 museums of all kinds participate in the program. Registration is required.
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