Stop Trump's Chaos--Stand Up for Science
Floor Speech
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Mr. TONKO. Mr. Speaker, I thank Representative Stevens for the kind introduction. I thank Representative Subramanyam for cohosting this showcasing of supporters of science and tech in our economy and the investments that we can make in our government.
No nation can maintain its leadership status in the world without investments made and attention paid to science, to science technology, engineering, and math.
It is essential that we grow that population of scientists, of engineers who can then provide for the muscle of our innovation economy, to allow for that intellectual capacity of this great Nation and the pioneer spirit of this Nation to continue to foster this growth of product delivery that speaks to the quality of life of people across this great world.
We as a nation have been a leader. I think back to the humble beginnings of this Nation. In the 1800s, there was a development of the Erie Canal in upstate New York that is still looked to as perhaps the first tech corridor.
The eastern mouth of that Erie Canal is included in the geography that I serve in New York's 20th Congressional District, in the greater capital region. Along that canal, we not only provided for a great connection of a great ocean, the Atlantic, with the Great Lakes that inspired a westward movement into the midland of our country, into the States that border the Great Lakes.
With that came the development of a necklace of communities dubbed ``mill towns'' that became the epicenters of invention and innovation, that inspired all sort of product delivery and responses to the needs of this world, and impacted favorably not only the quality of life in our United States but in nations around the world.
That whole history, that powerful statement of what can be created when we invest in our manufacturing, in our technology, in our science community is proof that we need to continue forward in that vein.
Since January, Donald Trump and his political allies have launched a full-scale assault on America's scientific enterprise. Federal investments in science power nearly every aspect of our modern life, medical breakthroughs, clean air and water, accurate weather forecasts, safe food, and real solutions to the climate crisis.
This administration has made their position painfully clear. They simple many don't care. Instead, they are injecting partisan politics into research, censoring scientists, punishing experts, and pulling funding from projects that challenge their narrow ideology. They don't care about protecting communities from the climate disaster, and we are going to continue to write checks for disaster aid if we continue this ignoring of climate change.
They don't care about preventing the next pandemic. We have learned that science became very much focused upon during the whole COVID crisis. They don't care about making STEM more inclusive, and they certainly don't care if Americans suffer as a result.
This isn't just wrong, it is a blatant attack on scientific integrity. Integrity in research is essential, essential to scientific excellence and to maintaining the public's trust.
That is why, as an engineer and lifelong advocate for science, I have made it one of my top priorities in Congress to right the ship of American science policy.
As part of that effort, I am indeed proud to lead the bipartisan Scientific Integrity Act. Tomorrow, we will be the launching of the Scientific Integrity Task Force to continue the fight to protect science from political interference.
Hands off science. Let that pure product of research get delivered to those decisionmakers, those policymakers, and let us determine what those findings mean in terms of the need for additional policy and research advocacy. Let us do it in the purest sense.
New York's 20th Congressional District has felt the effects of these attacks firsthand. Over $715 million in National Science Foundation grants have been terminated in New York's 20th Congressional District alone, including a $1 million award to the University at Albany's Project SAGES.
Project SAGES was created to confront one of the deepest, most persistent inequities in science, and that is the underrepresentation of women, especially women of color, in faculty positions. This was peer-reviewed, data-driven, mission-critical science, and we need to make certain that we continue to build upon that.
Cutting this program sends a clear message to a generation of researchers: You don't belong.
It doesn't stop there. Another canceled UAlbany NSF grant supported a collaborative study to improve public understanding of population science, especially around climate change, racial justice, and the rise of misinformation. The goal was to equip students in communities with tools to recognize and challenge the misuse of demographic data, data increasingly weaponized to justify political extremism and division.
Does that sound familiar? You bet it does.
SUNY campuses, the State University of New York campuses, across the State lost almost $2.5 million in NSF support for programs helping students of color succeed in STEM through research opportunities, mentorships, and academic support. These students are the future of a diverse and dynamic scientific workforce, and this administration slammed the door in their faces.
Let's be clear. These cuts are not about efficiency. They are not about fiscal responsibility. They are rooted in racist, sexist, and authoritarian ideology.
I will not stay silent while extremists attack our scientists, our students, our universities, and our future.
We are woefully underproducing scientists and engineers in our society. You can look at the growth of those communities in other nations, other continents. This country is woefully underproducing. We do not have the luxury of walking away from any one demographic of students out there based on gender, race, or ethnicity to meet our goals. We cannot skip over any of those populations.
We must stand up--stand up for science, stand up for equity, and stand up for the truth.
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