House Appropriations Committee cuts funding for NSF and NIST, maintains for NASA
Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK), left, and Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY) arrive for the House Appropriations Committee’s markup of the fiscal 2027 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies bill on May 13. Credit:
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
The House Appropriations Committee approved its fiscal year (FY) 2027 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) appropriations bill May 13, which would provide $7 billion to the National Science Foundation (NSF)—20% below current funding levels.
Although that’s smaller than the nearly 55% cut the Donald J. Trump administration proposed in April, it’s still significantly less than the $9.9 billion that advocacy groups, such as the Coalition for National Science Funding (PDF), say would “ensure that NSF’s research, infrastructure, education, and translation focus areas move forward.”
The House CJS bill also cuts the budget for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) by nearly $550 million, or around 30% from enacted FY 2026 levels. The Trump administration had proposed a nearly 54% cut.
The committee also approved cuts for other science agencies covered by this appropriations bill—albeit less drastic reductions than those for NSF and NIST. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would receive a cut of only about 5%, while NASA’s funding would remain relatively flat compared with current levels.
The CJS bill was approved along party lines with a vote of 32–28 and is now headed to the full House for a vote. During the committee’s markup of the bill, many Democratic members spoke up against the cuts to science agencies.
In her opening statement, House Appropriations Committee ranking member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) said that the proposed cuts “are a failure to invest in the future. We must ensure that the next generation of world class engineers, inventors, researchers and technicians are educated and employed here in the United States. These cuts hurt that effort.”
Neither Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) nor CJS Subcommittee chairman Hal Rogers (R-KY) mentioned the steep cuts to NSF and NIST in their opening statements. Both focused on NASA’s appropriations, and Rogers said that the bill “sets NASA on a path to return American astronauts to the Moon before China and ensures America maintains the competitive advantage.”
Meanwhile, the Senate has yet to release its version of the CJS bill, though it is expected to in the coming weeks.
—Krystal Vasquez
FDA details plan to investigate chemicals in the food system
The US Food and Drug Administration has finalized a program for assessing the safety of chemicals added to food, including a process for prioritizing chemicals that need further assessment, the agency announced Tuesday.
The initiative began in 2024 under the Joe Biden administration.
“Today’s release finalizes our framework for this new, dedicated reassessment program that provides Americans with confidence that the FDA is ensuring chemicals in the U.S. food supply remain safe as new scientific information becomes available,” FDA acting head Kyle Diamantas says in a statement. He was deputy commissioner for food until Tuesday, when former Commissioner Marty Makary resigned.
The agency released two documents that will guide the new program, which broadly defines “chemicals in food” as elements such as calcium or lead, chemical compounds such as salt, and mixtures of compounds such as chocolate. The process is intended to identify potential hazards to human health from chemicals already in the food system.
The moves affirm that food policy is still an active focus at the FDA, according to a statement from the law firm Akin, meaning that the chemical industry should be ready for increased scrutiny of food chemicals.
The new framework contains improvements over the previous version, including more opportunities for public input, says Thomas Galligan, principal scientist for food additives and supplements at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). But the real test will come in how it’s implemented, he adds. “It’s all talk at this stage.”
Two chemicals that have long raised health concerns are also under continued scrutiny, the FDA announced Tuesday: through July 13, the agency is seeking more information about butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT)—an additive often used as an anticaking agent in products like cake mixes—and azodicarbonamide (ADA), used for flour bleaching in cereals and bread. The FDA completed a similar process for butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) earlier this year.
Studies about possible harms from BHT and ADA have been available for years, Galligan says. CSPI has supported legislation to ban BHA and ADA in New York.
The assessments continue an FDA shift from food-borne pathogens to chemical additives that began in 2023.
—Laura Dattaro, special to C&EN
Congressional democrats, thousands of scientists criticize NSB firings
There has been more outcry since the Donald J. Trump administration fired members of the National Science Board (NSB) on April 24. Shortly after 13 former NSB chairs and National Science Foundation (NSF) directors sent a letter to the Senate asking it to quickly seat a new board, over 1,000 members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine sent their own letter calling for the former board’s reinstatement.
The dismissal of the NSB members “ramps up an alarming attack on the ability of the US to engage in basic and applied research, and to be competitive globally,” the letter says. “This dismantling of a critical national advisory body is but one of many such actions taken by the current administration that deprives our government of independent, apolitical, oversight and expert advice, not only in the sciences but also in healthcare and technology.”
The letter, which has been posted on the Stand Up for Science website, has since amassed over 2,200 signatures, including from several Nobel laureates.
Alongside the scientific community, some members of Congress have also begun to publicly condemn the termination of the NSB. On May 12, the 31 Democratic members of the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology sent a letter to President Donald J. Trump questioning his legal justification for dissolving the board.
The Trump administration has cited a 2021 Supreme Court decision, US v. Arthrex, as the basis for its dismissal of the NSB.
In a separate letter to the Trump administration, Democratic members of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation also call into question the timing of the board’s disbandment, noting that the members were fired before their next meeting, at which they were supposed to release a report “on the United States ceding scientific ground to China.”
The Senate Democrats’ letter also demands that the Trump administration provide information regarding its plans to appoint new members and carry out the board’s functions in the interim, which includes approving major NSF awards and expenditures, establishing new agency policies, and providing advice to the president and Congress.
—Krystal Vasquez
