The following is a statement from the Association of American Universities regarding provisions slashing research funding in the newly released FY26 Presidential Budget Request:
President Trump himself recently wrote, in a letter to his chief scientific advisor: “We have the opportunity to cement America’s global technological leadership and usher in the Golden Age of American Innovation. We are not just competing with other nations; we are seeking, striving, fighting to make America greater than ever before.” Indeed, as his letter noted, America’s scientific research enterprise has kept our country the world’s leader in cutting-edge technology since World War II – but President Trump’s own proposed budget, if adopted, would set support for American science back decades and allow China to quickly surpass the United States’ global scientific and technological dominance in fields critical to our national security and future economic growth. AAU has significant concerns with the proposal, which would short-change all Americans’ futures by destroying our scientific workforce and hobbling our capacity for conducting American science and advancing U.S. innovation.
A more than 40% cut to the National Institutes of Health – the world’s premier medical research agency – would move us, virtually overnight, from global leadership in biomedical advancement to last place among our competitor nations and would jeopardize our ability to find new cures for debilitating diseases, including cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and heart disease. Likewise, a 56% cut to the National Science Foundation would kneecap the same world-leading scientific enterprise that put a man on the moon, helped create the Internet and GPS technology, and enabled a host of other world-changing technological advancements that have benefited every American, our economy, and the entire world. While the overall Department of Defense budget is proposed to increase, if the forthcoming full budget details don’t reveal proportional support for DOD research activities, we are sure to be caught flat-footed on the battlefields of tomorrow. Finally, gutting NASA Science and DOE research would dramatically inhibit our ability to explore the cosmos, understand matter at the smallest scales, or power innovation to win the global tech race.
This budget proposal is deeply short-sighted, and would put America last, not first.
We look forward to working with Congress to develop a FY26 budget that would help, not harm, continued American scientific leadership.
Founded in 1900, the Association of American Universities is composed of America’s leading research universities. AAU’s 71 research universities transform lives through education, research, and innovation.
Our member universities earn the majority of competitively awarded federal funding for research that improves public health, seeks to address national challenges, and contributes significantly to our economic strength, while educating and training tomorrow’s visionary leaders and innovators.
AAU member universities collectively help shape policy for higher education, science, and innovation; promote best practices in undergraduate and graduate education; and strengthen the contributions of leading research universities to American society.
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