Restore Federal Research Capacity and Strengthen Evidence-Based Policymaking

The gutting of federal research and evaluation offices is a self-inflicted wound on government's ability to deliver results, and you need to act to reverse it. Over 10,000 STEM PhDs have left the federal government since 2025. The Department of Education's research arm lost 90% of its staff. The HHS Secretary's research office lost an estimated 60%. This isn't trimming fat — it's amputating the nervous system that tells government what's working. This damage didn't happen by accident. Weak statutory language made it easy. Research programs written as "allowable" rather than required were simply eliminated. The Evidence-based Policymaking Act of 2018 was a real step forward, but its requirements were underfunded and exploited through vague terms like "rigorous" and "independent." Congress needs to fix this with sharper statutes: percentage-based funding set-asides tied to program dollars, mandated evidence-building in discretionary and block grants, and legal protections for scientific independence so findings can't be suppressed for political reasons. Thirty years of bipartisan work built agencies that used data to improve anti-poverty programs, child care, workforce development, and more. State welfare agencies, Head Start programs, and tribal governments all relied on this work. Rebuilding it requires more than restoring old positions — it requires legislation that makes evidence use a permanent, protected part of how government operates.