1. United States
2. Calif.
3. Letter

Today I take pen in hand to write and urge you to oppose the OMB's proposed rule to hand political appointees control over federal scientific grant funding. This proposal would dismantle the peer review system that has driven American breakthroughs in cancer treatment, HIV research, rare disease medicine, and weather science since World War II. Cancer clinical trials should be evaluated by oncologists, not Russell Vought. The rule would also ban federally funded research on DEI and gender topics, and end international scientific collaborations — ceding ground to countries like China that are actively increasing research investment. Rick Spinrad, former NOAA head, has warned that politically directed research funding has historically been disastrous, pointing to the Soviet Union as a cautionary example. The US became a research superpower precisely because funding followed merit, not political extremism. Since the public comment period is open, I want you to announce formal opposition to this rule and push for Congressional review, followed by legislation to codify peer review of scientific grant funding. Thank you.