Public investment in science has long been the backbone of American prosperity — a social contract that recognizes research not merely as an intellectual pursuit, but as infrastructure for human flourishing. When the U.S. funded the basic research that defeated polio, launched the Apollo missions and laid the groundwork for the internet, we were making collective choices about the kind of society we wanted to build.
The numbers tell a compelling story: Every $1 we invest in the National Institutes of Health generates $2.56 in economic output, amounting to almost $95 billion in nationwide activity last year alone. Nearly every new drug approved by the FDA between 2010 and 2019 relied on research backed by the National Institutes of Health.
These aren’t abstract statistics. They represent real lives saved, communities strengthened and possibilities expanded.
Federal research and development investment has historically delivered economic returns that in many cases exceed 200 percent, driving nearly a quarter of U.S. productivity gains over the last half century. This isn’t just good science, it’s smart economics. Treating research as a public good advances not just science, but shared opportunity and prosperity.
As acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy during the Biden administration, I witnessed firsthand how research translates into tangible improvements in people’s lives — from cancer treatments that extend precious time with loved ones to technologies that make our communities safer and healthier.
This opportunity engine is under attack. The Trump administration’s proposed cuts to NIH, the National Science Foundation and NASA — combined with broader assaults on universities and the global talent that helps fuel innovation — signal more than fiscal austerity. They represent a retreat from the very systems that have long anchored American success, including its leadership in science and technology. The system is being deliberately dismantled.
These proposed cuts run counter to what Americans across the political spectrum actually want. Bipartisan majorities consistently support federal investment in science and research and development because they appreciate the connection between research and their daily lives. This is precisely why the responsibility to defend science and research cannot rest solely with the scientists. When research funding is under threat, every community that benefits from medical advances, every family that relies on weather forecasting and every worker whose livelihood depends on safe technology has a stake in this fight. What we’re really talking about is whether we’ll continue to invest in the systems that allow all Americans — not just the privileged few — to thrive.
The initial assault was just the beginning. What’s being proposed now goes far beyond typical budget adjustments. The president’s 2026 budget proposal slashes funding for science and research to a level with no precedent in modern U.S. history, including a 57 percent cut to the National Science Foundation, a 40 percent cut to NIH and a 24 percent cut to NASA — plus nearly halving its science budget. The American Association for the Advancement of Science warns that these cuts “would end America’s global scientific leadership.” The AAAS isn’t given to alarmist rhetoric, yet the group’s analysis shows federal science funding plummeting by 22 percent in a single year — a drop that could be followed by an additional $30 billion in frozen funds.
The damage is already apparent. A future Congress may want to restore funding, but talent pipelines, lab capacity and institutional knowledge cannot simply be switched back on.
The real costs will compound over time. In the short term, jobs are disappearing, research projects are being abandoned midstream and promising scientific inquiries are grinding to a halt. In the medium term, breakthroughs in cancer treatment, climate resilience, AI safety and space exploration will slow. And in the long term, we risk losing our competitive edge entirely.
The U.S. has long been a destination for talented researchers from abroad, but that edge is slipping as our STEM pipeline shrinks and other countries invest aggressively in their own research ecosystems. We’re not just risking breakthroughs that could save lives — we’re abandoning our responsibility to future generations who will inherit the consequences of our disinvestment.
One study estimates that a 25 percent cut to public research and development could shrink the U.S. economy by 3.8 percent, a blow on par with the Great Recession. If we continue on this path, we won’t just miss the next big discovery. We may not even be in the race.
Yes, our research system needs reform — we must make it more trustworthy, accountable and responsive to the communities it serves. But reform requires precision, not demolition. When America led the world to the moon, we didn’t do it by abandoning science — we did it by investing in the collective capacity to imagine and build a better future.
The damage we’re witnessing is profound, but it doesn’t have to be permanent — yet. The Trump administration’s approach is deliberate and coordinated — ours must be as well.
Congress must reject any rescissions package, but that’s just the beginning. Every American who has benefited from GPS navigation, weather forecasting or life-extending medical advances has a stake in this fight. Every small business owner using satellite data, every farmer relying on climate research, every teacher inspiring the next generation of researchers and every parent who wants their child to grow up in a country that values discovery does as well.
The choice before us is fundamental: Do we believe that knowledge should serve the common good? If so, we cannot treat this assault on science and research as someone else’s problem.
The stakes are too high, and the consequences too lasting, for anything less than our full commitment.
Dr. Alondra Nelson is an American academic, policy advisor, nonprofit administrator and writer. She is the Harold F. Linder Chair and professor in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, and she is as a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.
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