On February 7, U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley from Oregon joined 23 senators on a letter expressing concern about funding delays and confusion at the National Science Foundation (NSF),  The letter asks the director of the NSF to respond to a series of questions about the impact of the  Administration’s Executive Orders and possible involvement of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).  

The Administration’s memoranda and Executive Orders forced the NSF to pause all grant review panels, initiate a re-examination process for existing awards, and develop plans to dismiss a significant portion of the agency’s workforce within the next two months. Since 1950, NSF has served as a critical facilitator and funding source for U.S. research at universities and has contributed to countless modern advancements. NSF tapped researchers in the State of Oregon to conduct over $148 million in research in 2024, with researchers from the University of Oregon awarded $32 million of this amount.

The 25 senators express concern about impacts on research universities and their ability to sustain robust research programs, stating in the letter:

“We believe these actions are having a devastating impact on our universities and their ability to sustain robust research programs. These pauses will also undermine NSF’s competitive, peer-reviewed research selection process, and could result in a corrupt research system based on ideology and party loyalty rather than independent, scientific inquiry and intellectual integrity.”

Senators Merkley and Wyden have been consistent champions for federal research agency partnership with universities supporting appropriations and authorizations like CHIPS & Science.