WASHINGTON, DC (February 20, 2026) — Yesterday, Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04) led 24 House Democrats responsible for oversight of federal science and technology initiatives in a letter to Michael Kratsios, Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), and David Sacks, Special Advisor for AI and Crypto and Chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), calling for transparency, accountability, and a renewed commitment to federal STEM education and research and development (R&D).
In the letter, the lawmakers warn that steep proposed cuts to federal science agencies and a lack of publicly available information about the PCAST threatens the United States’ longstanding leadership in science and technology innovation. Although PCAST was reestablished in January 2025, the Administration has provided no recent public updates on its membership, activities, or progress. The most recent materials available on OSTP’s website date back to 2021, and PCAST was not referenced in the Trump Administration’s most recent Science and Technology Highlights.
“Serving as the bedrock for national innovation, federal R&D expenditures have driven U.S. scientific and technological superiority,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is our responsibility as Members of Congress to ensure that as these paradigm-shifting technologies emerge, we preserve our national competitiveness in the sciences and technology, supporting sustained and long-term federal investment in STEM education and research. To that end, we request that you provide a formal report of PCAST’s plans and updates in advancing our scientific and technological innovation.”
Federal investments in STEM education and R&D are critical to cultivating and retaining talent, building an AI-capable workforce, and strengthening our cybersecurity infrastructure, and enabling economic growth and job creation across communities. Significant proposed funding cuts to agencies that support these efforts risk undermining scientific progress and global competitiveness. As Congress begins consideration of FY2027 appropriations, the lawmakers are calling for greater accountability and renewed commitment from the Administration.
“Historically, PCAST has served to provide expert policy guidance for the administration to forward the U.S.’s leadership in scientific and technological innovation, convening both public and private sector expertise,” the lawmakers continued. “Rather than articulating its science and technology vision, the President’s FY2026 Discretionary Budget Proposal sought to decrease total federal R&D funding. Given the lack of action undertaken by PCAST, we request that you provide a formal report of PCAST’s current membership, initiatives, and projected meeting schedule, in addition to any achievements made in the past year. Furthermore, we request your official support and commitment to strengthening federal STEM education and R&D funding. We cannot afford to curtail our own growth and innovation by underfunding essential research and development programs.”
The letter also details how the President’s FY2026 budget proposal would reduce overall federal R&D funding by 22 percent compared to FY2025 levels, severely gutting capacity across nearly every major science agency, including the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), National Science Foundation (NSF), National Institutes of Health (NIH), and Department of Energy (DOE). Most striking is a proposed 43 percent cut to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). These proposed cuts have drawn bipartisan opposition, with both House and Senate Appropriators rejecting the President’s drastic cuts to critical agency funding in the bipartisan spending package that passed both chambers last month.
The letter was signed by Reps. Gabe Amo (RI-01), Don Beyer (VA-08), Jasmine Crockett (TX-30), Danny Davis (IL-07), Suzan DelBene (WA-01), Cleo Fields (LA-06), Bill Foster (IL-11), Valerie Foushee (NC-04), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Ted Lieu (CA-36), Zoe Lofgren (CA-18), Sarah McBride (DE-At-Large), April McClain-Delaney (MD-06), Jim McGovern (MA-02), Seth Moulton (MA-06), Josh Riley (NY-19), Luz Rivas (CA-29), Deborah Ross (NC-02), Andrea Salinas (OR-06), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), Suhas Subramanyam (VA-10), and George Whitesides (CA-27).
The full text of the letter can be found here.