1. United States
2. Va.
3. Letter

I'm writing to demand that you protect federal scientific research and institutions from any attempts to dismantle or defund them. Science is not a partisan issue, and gutting our research capacity will harm every person in this country. Federal scientists have given us vaccines, weather forecasting, clean water standards, and countless technologies that drive our economy. When politicians interfere with research or silence scientists, we all lose. We fall behind other nations in innovation, we become more vulnerable to disease and disaster, and we make decisions based on ideology instead of evidence. I expect you to vote against any legislation that cuts funding for scientific agencies, restricts what scientists can study or publish, or removes scientific expertise from policy decisions. I also expect you to speak out publicly when science is attacked or misrepresented. This isn't about politics. It's about whether we want a country that solves problems based on facts or one that ignores reality until it's too late.