Leaders of science agencies to face more budget hearings

The congressional calendar is packed this week with hearings on the president’s fiscal year 2027 budget request. Energy Secretary Chris Wright will testify before the Senate Appropriations Committee and Energy and Natural Resources Committee on his department’s budget request, which proposes a 13% cut to the Office of Science and a 12% increase for the National Nuclear Security Administration. NNSA Administrator Brandon Williams and Defense Department leaders will separately testify before the House Armed Services Committee on the budget request for nuclear forces and atomic energy defense activities. NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman will appear before the House Science Committee to discuss the space agency’s budget request, which proposes a 46% cut to the Science Mission Directorate and a 23% cut to the agency overall. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will testify before the Senate and House appropriations committees on his department’s budget request, which proposes a 28% cut to both the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum will testify before the Senate and House appropriations committees on his department’s budget request, which proposes a 37% cut to the U.S. Geological Survey. Several Senate committees will hear from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on HHS’s budget request, which proposes a 13% cut for the National Institutes of Health.

Appropriators are also beginning to release their own budget proposals for fiscal year 2027: the House Appropriations Committee released its Financial Services and General Government bill last Thursday. The general government bill backs several Trump administration objectives, such as defunding Biden-era climate initiatives and blocking diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. It also pledges to shrink the size of the federal workforce to pre-COVID levels and block federal funds from being used to support laboratories owned by China, Iran, North Korea, Russia, Cuba, or other “foreign adversaries.”

Former deputy surgeon general nominated to lead CDC

Erica Schwartz, who served as deputy surgeon general during President Trump’s first term, has been nominated to lead the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – a role that has seen considerable turnover in the past year. The CDC is currently being led by National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya following the nomination of former acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill to lead the National Science Foundation. The last confirmed CDC director, Susan Monarez, was ousted after less than a month following reported disagreements with Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy and scientific independence. RFK Jr. appeared in multiple budget hearings last week to defend the administration’s proposal to cut $16 billion (13%) from his department’s budget in 2027. He touted the department’s efforts to reduce fraud, waste, and abuse, but also faced questioning from Democrats over a surge in vaccine-preventable disease outbreaks, such as measles.

Dems accuse NASA of implementing president’s FY26 budget request

House Science Democratic staff issued a report last week asserting that NASA moved to implement elements of the president’s budget request for fiscal year 2026 without congressional authorization. House Science Democrats received reports of NASA implementing the request “almost immediately upon its public release” in May 2025, the report states. For instance, the report alleges that the agency began shutting down its Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project on the same day that the request was released because that program was “zeroed out” in the request. It adds that, although NASA was “forced to revive” the project in 2026 after Congress appropriated funds for it, the disruption has led to only one of the two planned aircraft flying. The report states that the mentioned disruptions “represent only a portion of the damage sustained at NASA” due to its implementation of the request, and it asks NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman to “protect NASA” from the White House Office of Management and Budget and “any other political actors who seek to coerce the agency into defying the will of Congress.” NASA had not responded to a request for comment as of publication time.

Also on our radar

• House Science Republicans are raising concerns about the National Academies’ “opaque funding” and “potentially compromised objectivity,” particularly regarding its greenhouse gas report issued in response to the EPA’s proposed rescission of the endangerment finding.
• OSTP has directed NASA and DOD to work toward having in-space nuclear reactors ready for launch by 2030 and 2031, respectively.
• The National Quantum Initiative Reauthorization Act advanced out of the Senate Commerce Committee last week with bipartisan support.
• The House Science Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on automation and manufacturing, and the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing Wednesday on China’s “theft of U.S. innovation.”
• Republicans on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee introduced a bill that would remove demonstration reactors from the types of facilities over which the NRC has licensing and regulatory authority.
• NIH announced more modifications to its peer-review practices last week to deal with a backlog of applications that built up during the government shutdown last year.
• The Golden Dome program will drop space-based interceptors from its plan if they are not affordable, the general in charge of the missile defense shield told the House Armed Services Committee last week.
• The White House and House Oversight Republicans have announced that they are looking into multiple U.S. rocket and nuclear scientists who have died or gone missing since 2023, including former employees of NASA and Los Alamos National Lab.
  

---

---

All events are Eastern Time unless otherwise noted. Listings do not imply endorsement. Events beyond this week are listed on our website.

Monday, April 20

NOIRLab: Empowering science in the data-rich era of astronomy (continues through Friday)

CLEAN: Nuclear in New Mexico: Fueling the US nuclear renaissance (continues through Wednesday)

National Academies: Securing AI systems: New challenges and research priorities (continues Tuesday)

CSIS: Strategic forces priorities: A conversation with Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE)
9:30 - 10:30 am

National Academies: Conversation with ARPA-E Director Conner Prochaska
11:00 am - 12:00 pm

USRA/LPI: Outer Planets Assessment Group meeting
12:30 - 2:45 pm

AEI: How should Congress reform infrastructure permitting?
1:00 - 3:00 pm

Hudson Institute: Deterring Russia and China: Securing America’s nuclear future
1:00 - 1:45 pm

Harvard: France’s changing nuclear posture, doctrine, and force structure: Implications for European security
1:30 - 3:00 pm

National Academies: Committee on Solar and Space Physics discussion with NASA Heliophysics Division
3:00 - 4:00 pm

Stimson: Shared risk, shared responsibility: Lessons from Canada on allied burden-sharing in global WMD threat reduction
3:00 - 4:00 pm

House: Interior Department budget hearing
3:30 pm, Appropriations Committee

Senate: To receive testimony on the Department of Energy’s atomic energy defense activities and Department of Defense nuclear weapons programs in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2027 and the Future Years Defense Program
3:30 pm, Armed Services Committee

Tuesday, April 21

USRA/LPI: Mars Exploration Program Analysis Group meeting (continues through Thursday)

Atlantic Council: Building Panama’s innovation economy through AI and science
9:00 - 9:30 am

Senate: Department of Energy budget request hearing
9:30 am, Energy and Natural Resources Committee

House: Robots made in America: Advancing U.S. leadership in manufacturing and automation
10:00 am, Science Committee

House: Department of Energy budget hearing
10:00 am, Intelligence Committee

House: Protecting U.S. leadership in codes development and enhancing public access
10:00 am, Judiciary Committee

House: Department of Health and Human Services budget hearing
10:00 am, Energy and Commerce Committee

House: SAT Streamlining Act: Modernizing satellite licensing for the final frontier
2:00 pm, Energy and Commerce Committee

National Academies: Understanding the Emerging Research Institutions landscape
2:00 - 3:30 pm

Senate: Department of Health and Human Services budget request hearing
2:30 pm, Appropriations Committee

House: Cyber posture of the Department of Defense
3:30 pm, Armed Services Committee

New America: The fifth pillar: Where higher ed goes from here
3:30 - 5:30 pm

NASA: Unveiling the complete Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope
4:00 pm

Wednesday, April 22

STM Association: Annual conference (continues Thursday)

House: NASA budget request hearing
10:00 am, Science Committee

Senate: Commerce Department budget request hearing
10:00 am, Appropriations Committee

Senate: Interior Department budget request hearing
10:00 am, Appropriations Committee

House: Nuclear Regulatory Commission: Oversight of activities, priorities, and fiscal year 2027 budget
10:00 am, Energy and Commerce Committee

Senate: Department of Health and Human Services budget request hearing
10:00 am, Finance Committee

CSIS: Powering maritime dominance: A conversation with ADM William Houston, USN
10:00 - 11:00 am

Senate: Stealth stealing: China’s ongoing theft of US innovation
10:15 am, Judiciary Committee

WSBR: Washington Space Business Roundtable April luncheon featuring Dr. Nicola Fox, NASA associate administrator for science
11:30 am - 1:30 pm

Senate: Department of Health and Human Services budget hearing
2:00 pm, Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee

Senate: Department of Energy budget request hearing
2:30 pm, Appropriations Committee

House: Nuclear forces and atomic energy defense activities budget request hearing
3:00 pm, Armed Services Committee

Thursday, April 23

National Academies: Enhancing scientific integrity: Progress and opportunities in the social and behavioral sciences (continues Friday)

House: Commerce Department budget hearing
11:00 am, Appropriations Committee

Carnegie: The future of climate-health policy: Lessons from the U.S. experience
4:00 - 5:15 pm

EESI: Tracking down data: Where to find climate and environmental information in 2026
4:00 - 5:00 pm

Friday, April 24

PSW Science: The Earth BioGenome Project: Reading the library of life
8:00 pm

Monday, April 27

UCAR: Space Weather Workshop (continues through Friday)

---

Deadlines indicated in parentheses. Newly added opportunities are marked with a diamond.

Job Openings

◆AAU: Director of data policy and institutional research (ongoing)
◆Global Science and Technology: Science Council portfolio manager (ongoing)
◆Oceana: Science and strategy fellow (ongoing)
FAS: Senior manager, climate tech and innovation (ongoing)
Senate: Legislative assistant, Republican member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee (ongoing)
APLU: Assistant vice president for governmental affairs (ongoing)
APS: Chief marketing and communications officer (ongoing)
AIP: Director of science policy news (ongoing)
Science Philanthropy Alliance: Civic science fellow (ongoing)
Foundation for American Innovation: Research fellow, weather and atmospheric interventions (ongoing)
◆NSF: Chief budget strategist (April 20)
◆NSF: Supervisory scientist/engineer (April 20)
◆NIST: Supervisory management analysis officer (April 20)
◆DOE: Manager, Pacific Northwest Site Office (April 21)
◆DOD: Science director, Office of Naval Research (April 23)
DOE: Attorney-adviser, Office of Energy Dominance Financing (April 30)
◆DOD: Science adviser, Office of Naval Research (May 7)
AAS: Editor in Chief (May 11)
DOE: Associate director for finance and budget officer, ARPA–E (May 18)
ANS: Congressional science and engineering fellowship (June 5)

Solicitations

◆National Academies: Call for experts: Assessment of technical and scientific capabilities at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (April 24)
Census Bureau: RFC on Survey of State Government Research and Development (May 1)
ANS: Nominations for 40 Under 40, Nuclear News (May 1)
NRC: RFC on proposed rule on NRC reviews of reactor designs previously authorized by DOE or DOD (May 4)
NSF: RFC on renewal of the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering (May 8)
NSF: RFC on Materials Research Science and Engineering Centers (May 8)
House Appropriations Committee: Call to submit written testimony on FY27 science budget (May 8)
NSF: RFC on Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation (EFRI) program (May 8)
FCC: RFC on Spectrum Abundance for Weird Space Stuff proposed rule (May 11)
NOAA: Solicitation of nominations for membership on the Ocean Research Advisory Panel (May 14)
NIST: RFC on CHIPS Workforce Solution participant data collection (May 18)
NASA: RFC on NASA Front Door (May 19)
NIH: RFC on NIH-wide strategic plan for fiscal years 2027-2031 (May 26)
NRC: RFC on regulation of byproduct material associated with fusion machines (May 27)

Know of an opportunity for scientists to engage in science policy? Email us at fyi@aip.org.

---

Do you have a story to tell about how science policy is impacting you?

AIP’s research team is gathering first-hand accounts from scientists, engineers, students, and staff whose careers have been affected by policy and funding changes over the past year. Volunteers can submit their stories via this online form. Participants’ stories will be added to the Niels Bohr Library & Archives digital repository as searchable, citable records — with options for anonymity and a five-year embargo period. Read more about the initiative here.

---

---

News and views currently in circulation. Links do not imply endorsement.

White House

Scientific American: NASA needs nuclear power for its Moon base. Here’s the White House plan to get it
American Nuclear Society: OSTP memo guides space nuclear plan
E&E News: Trump admin urges Supreme Court to reject nuclear case
Wired: Where the DOGE operatives are now
FedScoop: US DOGE Service is alive and growing, organization official says
Bloomberg: White House works to give US agencies Anthropic Mythos AI
Inside Defense: OMB chief says massive defense request is a ‘seize-the-moment’ budget to expand weapons production

Congress

CRS: Federal R&D funding: FY2026 (report)
Roll Call: Reconciliation picks up, again (audio)
Roll Call: Senators spurn budget request for NIH overhead cost cap
Scientific American: Congress grills RFK, Jr., about vaccines and cuts to health budget
Export Compliance Daily: Bipartisan bills seek faster license reviews, more outreach at BIS

Science, Society, and the Economy

Nature: ‘Science needs defending’: Record number of researchers run for office in US mid-terms
AAU: Business coalition warns research funding chaos is fueling new US Brain drain
Chemical & Engineering News: Restart of US small-business research grants may be too late for some
Issues in Science and Technology: What’s possible when a state invests in science-informed policymaking
Undark Magazine: When scientific debate steps into custody cases (perspective by Frieda Klotz)
Inside Higher Ed: How professors shaped some of last year’s biggest films and television
Scientific American: The real science of Pokémon

Education and Workforce

ABC News: Officer improperly canceled visa of Harvard scholar charged with frog embryo smuggling, judge rules
AAU: Congress must delay implementing new graduate and professional loan caps (perspective)
Chemical & Engineering News: Academic freedom declines in US and 49 other countries, survey finds
Inside Higher Ed: HBCUs and the uneven legacy of academic freedom (interview with Eddie Cole)
Issues in Science and Technology: How the American research university survives (perspective by Robert Brown and Bruce Guile)
Nature: I was set to lead an undergraduate research trip abroad. Then my visa was denied (perspective by Mayank Chugh)
Inside Higher Ed: Rethinking unpaid undergraduate research

Research Management

Nature: AI models ‘subliminally’ transmit biases when training other systems
Chronicle of Higher Education: AI can improve scholarly writing — if we use it right (perspective by Brayden King)
Nature: How hidden contributions power modern research
Retraction Watch: 45 editors resign from math journal, former EIC calls Elsevier publisher a ‘mini-dictator’
Scholarly Kitchen: The journal article is not the job (perspective by Ashutosh Ghildiyal)

Labs and Facilities

Oak Ridge National Lab: ORNL names Joe Hoagland associate laboratory director for fusion, fission energy (report)
Chemical & Engineering News: National Lab Research SLAM event brings chemistry to Capitol Hill
American Nuclear Society: LLNL and Inertia sign R&D partnership agreements
Fermilab: Fermilab researchers develop AI tools to advance the future of particle accelerators
HPCwire: Los Alamos leads research in versatile quantum computing
American Nuclear Society: Argonne study evaluates impact of tropical cyclones on nuclear power plants
DOE OIG: Improvements needed in Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory’s management of professional and consultant services agreements (report)
American Nuclear Society: DOE Office of Nuclear Energy’s handling of failed Carbon Free Power Project: Audit’s key takeaways

Computing and Communications

Brookings: Assessing the state of AI adoption across the federal government (report)
Science: As helium-3 runs scarce, researchers seek new ways to chill quantum computers
Wired: The US government will ask data centers how much power they use
Roll Call: Winning the AI ‘arms race’ holds appeal for both parties
Science News: Math long resisted a digital disruption. AI is poised to change that

Space

SpaceNews: Senators seek increased funding for NASA Mars missions
NASA: NASA, OPM announce new NASA Force website, open job applications
MIT Technology Review: NASA is building the first nuclear reactor-powered interplanetary spacecraft. How will it work?
Nature: Thrilling, frivolous, a waste: not everyone’s happy about the Artemis II Moon mission (perspectives)
Ars Technica: NASA chose the right crew to launch a new era of human space exploration (perspective by Stephen Clark)
SpaceNews: In the wake of Artemis 2, America needs to consider the ‘why’ of its government space program (perspective by Nick Reese)
SpaceNews: Put science back in the driver’s seat (perspective by Casey Dreier)
SpaceNews: China ramps up satellite production capacity amid constellation ambitions
SpaceNews: AI and geopolitics spur space investment surge

Weather, Climate and Environment

E&E News: Zeldin rebuilds EPA Science Advisory Board
E&E News: Leaked memos show Supreme Court ignored climate dangers in Obama regs fight
E&E News: Judges skeptical of youth fight against Trump energy orders
E&E News: USDA reinstates grants wiped clean of climate change

Energy

E&E News: Chris Wright faced a big test this week. Republicans say he passed
E&E News: Why energy earmarks are going away
E&E News: DOE to issue Biden-era project awards after high-level review
FedScoop: Energy needs ‘a lot more’ funding to reach Genesis Mission goals, official says
Science: Department of Energy’s tech incubator doubles down on fusion power
E&E News: ‘The absolute edge of precedent’: FERC prepares to take on data centers

Defense

Inside Defense: New Golden Dome fund adds budget detail, heavy on early development
Politico: A depleted Space Force races to prepare for Trump’s spending spree
Inside Defense: Space Force considering multiyear frameworks for satellites
AFGE: AFGE blasts Secretary Hegseth’s move to terminate collective bargaining agreements at DOD
Scientific American: DARPA built an AI to fact-check enemy weapons claims (perspective by Sarah Scoles)
Inside Defense: OpenAI is exploring a ‘unique’ arrangement for working with DOD (report)

International Affairs

Nature: Boycott of major AI conference exposes a growing US–China divide
Nature: What Orbán’s fall from power means for research around the world
Science|Business: Israeli participation in Horizon Europe halves as boycotts bite
Research Professional: UK’s public R&D spending boost largely bypassed universities
Science|Business: EU Chips Act 2.0 must better link R&D with deployment, industry says
SpaceNews: New EU Space Act draft seen as a step backward
E&E News: ‘No such thing as absolute safety’: Japan embraces nuclear post-Fukushima
Physics World: Joint Institute for Nuclear Research ‘deeply embedded’ in Russia’s military efforts, states report
University World News: Arab-Eurasian corridor: A ‘breakthrough’ for HE cooperation