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Sending the Wrong Signals

Infographic titled “Nearly 7 in 10 Americans Say Congress Should Invest More Taxpayer Dollars To Advance Science & Technology.” Below, a survey question asks whether Congress should invest more taxpayer dollars in science and technology in the U.S. A donut chart shows responses: 68% “Yes” (blue), 17% “No” (magenta), and 16% “Not sure” (gray). A note indicates the “Yes” response is up 5 percentage points from 2025. Additional icons and text at the bottom highlight subgroup results: 80% say “yes” (up 5 points), 65% say “yes” (up 6 points), and 54% say “yes.” Source text at the bottom credits Research!America, January 2026.On Friday, we learned that the administration had dismissed all 24 members of the National Science Board. This distinguished group of leaders from a range of scientific disciplines and institutions provided non-partisan, strategic advice to the National Science Foundation (NSF) on a volunteer basis. As this statement from the Science and Technology Action Committee underscores, this decision sends exactly the wrong signal as China and other nations take an ever more aggressively competitive stance in the S&T arena.

On the Hill: 

CJS bill: The House Appropriations Committee has released its FY27 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Bill. The bill would cut NSF funding by 20%. While this outcome is a significant improvement over the president’s FY26 budget, which proposed a 50% cut to NSF, we clearly have more work to do. NSF funding needs to grow, not shrink.

Americans see the value in this investment: in fact, an overwhelming majority believe that we should be bolstering U.S. investment in science & technology.

DoD R&D: As the appropriations process ramps up, we’re deep into “Dear Colleague” season, when members of Congress circulate letters to fellow members to build support for key funding priorities. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) are leading a bipartisan Dear Colleague letter in support of robust funding for the Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) at the Department of Defense. I hope you use our customizable action alert to encourage your Senators to sign on by the May 8 deadline.

Labor-HHS: A broad coalition, including the Coalition for Health Funding, Committee for Education Funding, Campaign to Invest in America’s Workforce, and Coalition on Human Needs, is circulating an organizational sign-on letter urging the highest possible FY27 Labor-HHS allocation. This funding level (known as the 302(b)) determines how much appropriators have to invest in priorities like NIH, CDC, and other medical and public health research programs. The deadline to sign on is May 15 at noon ET.

USPSTF: The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is opening nominations for service on the expert panel that provides evidence-based recommendations for preventive care in the U.S. The deadline for nominations is May 23.

Help Shape the Future of Nursing Research: In partnership with the National Health Council, Research!America will host an in-person National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) listening session on Wednesday, May 27, from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. ET at the Barbara Jordan Conference Center in Washington, D.C. This interactive session is part of NINR’s strategic planning process and will focus on emerging scientific opportunities, pressing health challenges, and priorities for advancing nursing research. Your input will help shape the future direction of NINR and ensure its strategic plan reflects real-world needs. Register here.

Surgeon General Pick: The administration announced today that it is dropping its nomination of Dr. Casey Means as the next Surgeon General and will instead put forth radiologist Dr. Nicole Saphier.

ICYMI: Earlier today we had the privilege of holding a virtual discussion with Amy Comstock Rick, Associate Director for Rare Disease Strategy at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) and Director of Strategic Coalitions for the Rare Disease Innovation Hub at FDA. She is also an Emeritus Director of Research!America. Amy provided a terrific overview of the Hub’s already impactful work to foster coordination and collaboration across FDA centers and address challenges in the “development” and “delivery” phases of the rare disease discovery, development, delivery pipeline. You can watch the recording here.

For alliance members only: If you’re a Research!America alliance member, save the date for our next members-only strategy session at noon ET on Thursday, May 14, featuring fan favorite Cheryl Jaeger. Watch your inbox for the invite!

Hot-off-the-Press – Virtual Discussion with ARPA-H Director Alicia Jackson! Keep this date and timeframe open on your calendar as we pin down details: Thursday, May 21 from 11 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. ET.

A Night of Celebration: I am truly humbled and grateful for the celebration last Thursday in Washington, D.C. to mark the end of my tenure at Research!America. The event was attended by leaders of many organizations and institutions who are members of Research!America, as well as leaders of science agencies and a host of current and former board members. Current and former “Research!Americans” – valued staff partners all – were also with us (see photo below). The evening brought back so many memories of the people I’ve had the honor of working with all these years. Thank you to everyone involved. If inclined, consider contributing to the Mary Woolley Leadership in Research Advocacy Fund, which will support early career researchers and the next generation of advocacy.

Large group photo of dozens of Research!America staff members from across the years, gathered in a warmly lit, ornate room with gold-toned walls and decorative columns. The group is arranged in several rows on and in front of a small stage, dressed in professional attire and smiling toward the camera. A podium with a Research!America sign is centered behind them, and a patterned carpet fills the foreground.

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