By Associated Press’s Aditi Ramakrishnan
NEW YORK (AP) A federal court said Friday that the National Science Foundation can keep denying hundreds of millions of dollars to researchers in a number of states until legal action to restore it is completed.
The sixteen Democratic-led states who filed the lawsuit, including New York, Hawaii, California, Colorado, and Connecticut, asked U.S. District Judge John Cronan in New York to order the NSF to resume payments immediately while the case is still pending, but Cronan refused.
Cronan stated in his decision that he would not issue the preliminary injunction, in part because it might be that the Court of Federal Claims, another court, had jurisdiction over what is fundamentally a financial lawsuit. He said that the states had not demonstrated that NSF’s activities went against the agency’s mission.
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According to the May lawsuit, the National Science Foundation’s new grant-funding priorities and a cap on so-called indirect research expenses are illegal and threaten America’s long-standing position as a global leader in STEM.
The cap on indirect costs—administrative expenditures that enable research to be conducted, such as maintaining equipment and paying support staff—had already been prohibited by another district court. In order to restore funds to the grants that were slashed, this injunction had been requested.
The NSF started eliminating hundreds of funds for study on topics like diversity, equity, and inclusion and disinformation in April after announcing a new set of objectives. Additionally, researchers that lost funding were researching STEM education for K–12 children, artificial intelligence, and post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans, among other topics.
Attorney Colleen Faherty, who represents the state of New York, stated during last month’s hearing that researchers were not provided with a detailed explanation for the cancellation of their funds. Rather, they were given boilerplate wording that said their work no longer advances agency aims or program goals.
Congress has historically instructed NSF to promote participation in STEM among underrepresented groups, such as women and individuals with disabilities. The lawsuit claims that efforts to train the next generation of scientists in disciplines including environmental science, computer science, and arithmetic have already been put on hold as a result of the science foundation’s budget cuts.
During the hearing, an NSF attorney stated that the agency has the power to support any research it believes is required and has since its founding in 1950. The government also contended in the court filing that its present aims were to provide opportunities for all Americans worldwide and to avoid favoring some groups over others or excluding people or groups directly or indirectly.
Adam Gitlin, an NSF lawyer, stated at the hearing that the plaintiff states are attempting to replace the agency’s judgment with their own.
According to Cronan’s verdict, the Science Foundation continues to support certain initiatives aimed at increasing representation in STEM fields. The University of Northern Colorado, for instance, lost funds for just one of its nine programs aimed at boosting underrepresented groups’ involvement in STEM professions, according to the lawsuit filed in May.
Spokesman for the attorney general’s offices in New York and Hawaii said the states are analyzing the ruling. No remark was provided by the National Science Foundation.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Department of Science Education of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute provide support to the Associated Press Health and Science Department. All content is entirely the AP’s responsibility.
