1. United States
2. Ohio
3. Letter

I am a scientist and researcher who is concerned about the current administration’s attacks on the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation. In the name of removing “DEI” language from grants, staff at NIH and NSF are pulling ANY grant that uses “banned” keywords. The words on the banned list include women, socioeconomic, and inequality. NSF was charged by Congress in 1980 (Science and Engineering Equal Opportunities Act of 1980) to “promote the full use of human resources in science and technology through a comprehensive & continuing program to increase substantially the contribution & advancement of women and minorities in scientific, professional, and technical careers.” The goal was to make the US more globally competitive by building the scientific workforce and including groups that had traditionally been excluded from science training and careers. Because of this legislation, NSF grants are required to include a brief statement of Broader Impacts which typically includes efforts to "Broaden Participation" in the scientific workforce. In other words, it is almost impossible to write an NSF grant without using language that the current administration would consider “DEI.” Appropriations and funding priorities for our federal science agencies should be determined by Congress, NOT by the executive branch and certainly not by Elon Musk. Our investments in science make us more globally competitive. It’s time for Republicans in Congress to speak out about the Constitutional separation of powers and defend NIH and NSF from these executive branch attacks.