Federal Employees Continue to Speak Up

Last month, employees from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NASA were the latest to publicly express concern about the Trump Administration’s actions at their respective agencies. In a July 21 letter to House Science Committee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), NSF employees under the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403 outlined eight “categories of harm” being inflicted by the Trump Administration, including staff and grant terminations, massive budget cuts, and the unannounced move from the NSF headquarters in Alexandria, VA. The letter asks the Science Committee to: (1) shield NSF employees from “politically motivated” firings; (2) end the illegal impoundment of appropriated funds to NSF; (3) defend against further interference into the peer review process; (4) demand transparency from NSF and White House officials about employment policies and agency relocation plans; and (5) reaffirm NSF’s scientific independence.  

As previously reported, current and former employees from the National Institutes of Health and Environment Protection Agency raised their concerns publicly earlier this year.