WASHINGTON, DC (March 20, 2025) — This week, Science Committee leaders introduced bills that would institute a moratorium on reductions in force (RIF) at federal science agencies under the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology’s jurisdiction. Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren sponsored the bills. Ranking Member Valerie Foushee of the Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics, Ranking Member Deborah Ross of the Subcommittee on Energy, Ranking Member Haley Stevens of the Subcommittee on Research and Technology, and Ranking Member Gabe Amo of the Subcommittee on Environment each joined as co-leaders on the RIF Moratorium bill for their Subcommittee’s respective Agency.
“Supporting NASA’s workforce remains a top priority as we work to reauthorize NASA during the 119th Congress,” said Ranking Member Valerie Foushee. “Despite being villainized by this Administration and threatened with mass layoffs, NASA employees continue to work tirelessly to support NASA’s mission and help maintain our nation’s leadership in space, as we all witnessed with last week’s successful Crew-10 launch to the International Space Station (ISS). I’m proud to introduce the Saving NASA’s Workforce Act alongside Ranking Member Lofgren to protect these invaluable employees by preventing the Trump Administration from forcing any reductions to NASA’s workforce until Congress passes a Fiscal Year 2026 Budget.”
“The missions of these agencies are critical to the health, safety, and prosperity of the American people,” said the Members. “Our devoted public servants make those missions possible. If you take away the workforce, what are you left with? DOGE will stop at nothing to slash and burn core functions of our federal science agencies at the altar of their twisted idea of ‘efficiency.’ This must stop.
“The chaos that has spread since DOGE began to illegally and indiscriminately clear-cut critical federal programs and the hardworking people that power them has been a national embarrassment. From programs addressing emerging infectious diseases, like bird flu, to hurricane forecasting and tsunami warnings—Americans are less safe because of Donald Trump and Elon Musk. Our national security and economic prosperity depend on American scientists remaining at the forefront of innovation globally, so that the defining knowledge and technologies of the 21st Century are shaped by American values rather than the values of our rivals. There is no reason to believe any forthcoming RIF will be any different than what we’ve already witnessed. That is why we introduced these bills to institute a moratorium on reductions in force at these agencies. No one is for waste, fraud, or abuse—but that’s not what DOGE and President Trump are addressing. In fact, in their wake, they leave a mess to clean up that could take decades— in other words, very inefficient. President Trump and Elon Musk are lying to the American people when they claim that terminations, cuts, and cancellations will put more money in Americans’ pockets. The chaos must end."