1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

The recent attempt by Sen. Ted Cruz and others to flag and potentially defund scientific research projects using a simplistic keyword search raises significant concerns. Cutting funding from beneficial studies merely due to the presence of words like "female," "diversify," or "trauma" in their descriptions is counterproductive and detrimental to scientific progress. Many of the projects identified employ these terms for legitimate reasons unrelated to any political agenda, such as studying plant biodiversity, developing life-saving medical devices, or examining societal inequalities from an objective, data-driven perspective. Pursuing knowledge and innovation should be the priority, not policing language through an overly broad censorship effort. Scientific research is vital for advancing our understanding across numerous fields and addressing pressing challenges facing society. Arbitrarily defunding valuable work based on a flawed methodology does a disservice to the principles of academic inquiry and evidence-based policymaking. I urge you to reconsider this approach and instead evaluate research proposals comprehensively through rigorous peer review by subject matter experts. Maintaining robust funding for scientific endeavors, regardless of incidental terminology used, will strengthen our nation's competitive edge and ability to meet the demands of the future.