Why We’re Marching for Science
This weekend, scientists are marching on Washington and across our nation to stand up against President Trump’s dangerous threats to scientific endeavors. Federally-funded scientists are rightly worried about the security of their jobs and research missions under the new administration. And that should worry all of us.
As someone with a background in engineering who represents leading scientists at New Mexico’s national laboratories, research universities and military installations, I have always called on policymakers to use science as a guiding light. Our capacity to seize opportunities and deal with the many challenges we face in the decades ahead rests heavily on our ability to make decisions driven by scientific data.
This week, I met with students and faculty at the University of New Mexico to learn about important research funded by the National Science Foundation and tour an environmental engineering lab on campus. In just one afternoon, I heard about critical research of long-term ecology in the Middle Rio Grande Valley, cutting-edge technological solutions for water and environmental challenges, and materials research with exciting computing, solar, and quantum energy applications.
New Mexicans rely on the work of federally-funded scientists to keep our air and water clean and guard against natural disasters like wildfires and floods. Federally-funded defense researchers equip our men and women in uniform with the tools they need to keep our nation secure. Scientists in federal agencies are responsible for ensuring the food we eat, the medications we take, and the products we use are safe.
Advances in science also fuel economic growth. Investment in scientific research during and after World War II drove the greatest era of prosperity in our nation’s history, when millions of families joined the middle class and reaped the benefits of America’s technological superiority. Federally-funded scientists continue to play major roles in creating the technologies and inventions that will power our nation’s economy in the years to come.
Even before President Trump threatened to zero out important federal science funding streams in his budget, his administration took disturbing steps to undermine federal research and intimidate scientists. President Trump’s appointed leaders of science agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy have a track record of disputing scientific findings. The Trump White House has also singled out climate scientists, issued blanket restrictions on the dissemination of data to the public, and jeopardized research agencies’ ability to fill essential positions by freezing federal hiring.
Future discoveries and technological breakthroughs depend on scientists’ ability to share their work openly with their peers and the public. Critical evaluation and collaboration are fundamental tenets of the scientific method that are only possible when data and results are accessible and transparent. That’s why I joined my colleagues in introducing the Scientific Integrity Act, which would protect government scientists and their capacity to share information with the public from political interference. Attempts to quash scientific endeavors will greatly damage our nation.
This isn’t just a hypothetical. During the George W. Bush Administration, the White House exercised intense control over science agencies to advance an ideological agenda. White House officials rewrote government documents, distorted data, and minimized findings to fit a political narrative. These moves promoted doubt and put the United States behind the rest of the world in responding to climate change and building the energy infrastructure of the future.
None of us are entitled to our own facts. The American people deserve public leaders who will make forward-looking decisions grounded in the best possible information. That can only happen if we empower our nation’s scientists to continue their endeavors — uninhibited by political interference — to find the truth.
