California on Wednesday joined 15 states filing lawsuits against the National Science Foundation and its representative directors, claiming that agents illegally terminated millions of dollars in grants and charged new fees that terminated or crippled research essential to health, economic and knowledge advances.
The Trump administration defends its actions as legal and necessary to align the NSF with the president’s priorities.
According to a statement from Aty, California, the lawsuit filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York specifically targets the Science Foundation “ends grants for scientific research that seeks to promote and understand higher education and the diversity of the workforce.” General Rob Bonta.
The lawsuit alleges that NSF’s actions are illegally arbitrary and whimsical, and violates federal laws relating to the control and use of federal funding.
Bonta’s office claimed that between 1995 and 2017, the number of women in science and engineering professions, or degrees in science or engineering, had doubled with the help of the federal government. Meanwhile, the minority has since accounted for around 15% of the occupation to around 35%.
The lawsuit also seeks to overturn the Trump administration’s 15% cap on indirect costs associated with the research. These indirect costs include maintaining lab space, maintaining temperature control, and proper handling and disposal of biological, chemical and biochemical materials.
Like other major federal agencies, the National Science Foundation has been causing confusion since Trump took office in January. It has undergone a clear ideological litmus test for overall funding reductions, layoffs, reorganizations, and research, termination of grants, and freezing funding for grant applications.
The Trump administration fought back against critics.
Earlier this month, Michael Krazios, director of the Department of Science and Technology Policy, criticised the diversity, equity and comprehensive initiatives in federal fundraising research, calling it “close” in a speech before the National Academy of Sciences in Washington.
Kratsios also called for a reduction in “red tapes” in scientific research, the online news site Fedscoop reported. He said there is a “crisis of confidence in scientists” that arises from fear that political bias is affecting research.
Trump officials have also repeatedly argued that the federal government is full of waste and fraud.
According to Bonta, federal government actions are at a great cost.
“President Trump wants to make American universities a second tier with his opposite effort to cut back on research funding that has kept us at the forefront of science and innovation,” Bonta said. “For over 50 years, Congress has explicitly allowed the National Science Foundation to train the next generation of talent and invest in the infrastructure needed to maintain its position as a global leader.”
“With President Trump’s latest indiscriminate funding cuts, America is ready to fall behind its competitors at a critical moment in the global technology race. We are calling for him to stop,” Bonta said.
Billions of dollars are at risk in California State University, the University of California and the entire Public Community College System.
“Many innovations, such as the Internet, GPS, MRI technology, track their origins in research that was originally funded by the NSF. Without NSF funding, many universities and universities would be forced to significantly reduce or suspend potentially groundbreaking programs and research projects,” according to the Bonta office.
For example, the completed NSF grant includes a five-year, $3 million project, “Computational Research for Equality in the Legal System.” The study also looked at police misconduct and eviction policies, while examining crime data on patterns of racial bias, reported the San Francisco Chronicle.
The cancelled UC Berkeley grant included two projects on the election system and two projects on environmental science education.
The NSF also directed staff to screen proposals for grants for “topics or activities that may not align with agency priorities” that have changed under the Trump administration, the Journal reported.
The lawsuit sets out the broad benefits and targets of federal funding.
“From developing AI technology to predict weather patterns to protect communities, developing sustainable solutions for environmental and economic challenges, to securing the country’s position as a global leader in science innovation with NSF-funded research at American universities.”
Other states involved in the lawsuit are Hawaii, New York, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, Wisconsin and Washington.
Patterns of federal cuts and disruption related to research are also being rolled out at the National Institutes of Health. California is also a party to litigation over the reduction of these grants.
Tara Kerin, a project scientist involved in pediatric infectious disease research at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, said the cuts in funding at the National Science Foundation resonated with similar ones made at the National Institutes of Health.
It’s what she said is “very nervous about the future of science and research.”
Kellin has been a partial focus on HIV prevention and detection in young adults, but was funded by the NIH grant until cuts this spring.
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