Chicago – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 16 attorneys general, today announced a lawsuit to stop the Trump administration’s illegal attempts to cut critical National Science Foundation (NSF) programs and funding that help maintain the United States’ position as a global leader in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).
In their lawsuit, Raoul and the coalition are seeking a court order blocking the implementation of the NSF’s new directives to eliminate programs addressing diversity in STEM and cut vital funding for research across the country.
“The funds the Trump administration is attempting to cut are vital to addressing the nation’s biggest challenges,” Raoul said. “The impact of these illegal cuts would devastate scientific research at universities in Illinois and across the country and would stall efforts to grow the STEM workforce.”
On April 18, the NSF began terminating grants funding projects focused on increasing the participation of women, minorities and people with disabilities in STEM fields. On May 2, the NSF announced that it would also cap “indirect costs” of all NSF-funded research projects, such as laboratory space, equipment and facility services, at 15%. Raoul and the attorneys general explain that these arbitrary changes would slash millions of dollars for groundbreaking scientific research across the country, which would jeopardize national security, the economy and public health.
Raoul and the coalition argue that the NSF’s directives violate the Administrative Procedure Act and the Constitution by unlawfully changing NSF policy and ignoring Congress’ direction for how the NSF should function. The lawsuit seeks a court order ruling the NSF’s new directives are illegal and an injunction blocking their implementation.
Per Congress, a “core strategy” of the NSF’s work must be to increase the participation of people who have historically been left out of STEM occupations. From developing artificial intelligence (AI) technology to creating innovative solutions to environmental and energy challenges, the NSF has been an independent federal agency crucial to maintaining the United States’ dominance in STEM since its creation in 1950.
As Raoul and the coalition note, the NSF’s strategy to increase participation in STEM careers has worked: Between 1995 and 2017, the number of women in science and engineering occupations, or with science or engineering degrees, has doubled. During that same time, people of color went from 15% to 35% of science and engineering job or degree holders. However, since the NSF’s April 18 directive to terminate programs seeking to increase diversity in STEM, dozens of projects have been canceled.
Attorney General Raoul and the coalition also assert in the lawsuit that the NSF’s directive to cap indirect costs at 15% would limit scientific research at universities in Illinois and throughout the country. The NSF’s new cap would mean essential research and infrastructure projects would be cut, leading to critical projects being abandoned, staff laid off, and essential research ending. The administration’s unlawful attempts to cap indirect costs at 15% for National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Energy (DOE) grants have already been stopped by courts, in part due to a lawsuit brought by Attorney General Raoul and 21 other attorneys general in February.
Joining Raoul in filing this lawsuit are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington and Wisconsin.
