APS testimony to the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies

Outside Testimony for the Record for Fiscal Year 2026

U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
Regarding NASA, NIST, and NSF

Dr. Jonathan A. Bagger, CEO
American Physical Society (APS)

Chairman Moran and Ranking Member Van Hollen, the American Physical Society thanks the subcommittee for the opportunity to provide testimony on the importance of federal funding for the scientific agencies under your jurisdiction: the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and the National Science Foundation (NSF).

America’s federal science agencies have enabled some of our nation’s—and perhaps humanity’s—greatest achievements:

• NASA, known globally for its accomplishments in space exploration, has provided us with a deep understanding of the cosmos and inspired generations of Americans to pursue scientific careers, while generating spin-off technologies like digital camera sensors and solar cells¹.
• NSF has enabled countless discoveries that are integral to our daily lives, from semiconductors and quantum technologies to MRI and LASIK eye surgery², garnering 268 Nobel Prizes, including for the recent observation of gravitational waves.
• NIST has pioneered innovations like the atomic clock³, which is fundamental to the functioning of GPS, while supplying crucial measurement and calibration services, which support everything from blood oxygen sensors to the extreme ultraviolet lithography required for manufacturing semiconductors.

For decades, these agencies have made the United States the undisputed global leader in science, technology, and innovation. They have made unparalleled contributions to our nation’s economic prosperity, national security, and well-being.

Today, all of this is at risk. Competitor nations have dramatically increased their investments in science⁴, modeling their research and development (R&D) enterprises after our own.

In addition, the race for global talent has intensified. After decades of the U.S. being the premier destination for global talent—attracting top STEM students and world-class researchers with a dynamic, well-supported R&D ecosystem—recent reports^5,6 indicate that we are losing our draw. Other nations are revamping their immigration systems to attract talented young scientists, and there are new efforts by some countries allocating hundreds of millions of dollars to recruit U.S.-based researchers⁷.

America is now faced with a dramatic choice. We can choose a future where the United States is no longer a global leader in science and technology; a world where the first (all-purpose) quantum computer debuts in China; a world where the European Union wins the race to Mars; and a world where everyday Americans are forced to wait in line behind the citizens of other nations for access to breakthrough, life-saving medical technologies.

Or we can choose a different path. One where we build on and take advantage of our scientific advances and innovations, where we aren’t satisfied with the status quo, and where we are focused on improving the lives of and opportunities for all Americans. We can choose a path where America doesn’t shy away from challenges—a path where America leads.

Ultimately, this choice rests with you and your Congressional colleagues. You will decide if we continue to lead—or, for the first time in our nation’s nearly 250-year history—if America is willing to simply follow.

Choosing leadership requires that Congress meet the moment. It requires sending a clear signal to other nations, along with their talented students, scientists, and engineers, that America’s best years still lie ahead. That we are committed to funding ambitious research projects across the country, training the next generation of STEM talent, and catalyzing growth in the private sector.

Put simply, choosing leadership requires the Senate Appropriations Committee—and, in particular the Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies—to champion sustained and robust investments in the federal science agencies that are responsible for making the American innovation ecosystem the envy of the world.

Why are strong, consistent investments in NASA, NSF, and NIST critical to America’s future? Because there are no analogs, no substitutes, and no alternatives for their role—and the role of federal investment—in our R&D ecosystem.

From their inception, NSF, NASA, and NIST have supported ambitious, fundamental research that private industry cannot or will not pursue. For an individual company or industry, such research is often either too large-scale or too risky—or offers too difficult-to-capture short-term economic returns⁸. Research supported by federal science agencies lays an indispensable foundation for American innovation that spurs further private investment⁹.

Countries around the globe seek to emulate the American research enterprise, with its unique combination of public and private funding. Our world-class research infrastructure and fertile training ground have incubated breakthrough scientific discoveries and, at the same time, the world’s most valuable companies. Federally-funded fundamental research is a long-term investment that provides exceptional returns—estimated to be 150 to 300 percent since World War II¹⁰.

Federal funding provided by NIST, NSF, and NASA reaches all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories, supporting people and research infrastructure, along with local economies. For example, in fiscal year 2023 (the most recently available data), higher education institutions in Kansas received $37 million from NSF and those in Maryland received $103 million¹¹.

For NASA in particular, federally funded national research centers carry out core parts of its science mission while drawing scientists from around the country and benefiting the local economy immensely. The Goddard Space Flight Center, for example, drives $8.2 billion in economic impact and supports, directly and indirectly, more than 33,000 jobs in Maryland¹².

Beyond pioneering breakthroughs and boundary-pushing innovations, investments in the federal science agencies are essential to producing perhaps our most important resource—tomorrow’s STEM workforce. A core part of the NSF’s mission, for example, is supporting STEM education and the broader development of the nation’s talent pipeline. In FY 2023, NASA, NSF, and NIST together supported more than 21,000 graduate students and 4,500 postdoctoral researchers¹¹. The federal science agencies recognize that without people, there is no research, no discovery, and no innovation.

In President Trump’s recent letter to Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Kratsios, the President alludes to the Manhattan Project, the Apollo Program, and the dawn of the Information Age. He seeks a new “Golden Age of Innovation” for the United States that echoes these achievements.

Each of these American achievements was the direct result of a commitment by Congress for the United States to lead. Congress chose to support these ambitious programs through sustained, robust investments in our federal science agencies. And, today, Congress has the opportunity to do so again.

We urge you to choose the path of innovation and scientific leadership. Doing so requires a commitment to America’s future. Doing so requires a commitment from the Senate Appropriations Committee to champion all of our federal science agencies. And doing so requires that the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Science, Justice, and Related Agencies allocate at least $9.9 billion for NSF, $9 billion for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, and $1.2 billion for NIST for fiscal year 2026.

We urge this Congress to open a new chapter in our nation’s journey—one that captures the imagination of today’s youth, inspires tomorrow’s leaders, and provides opportunities for all to participate in discovering the wonders of the universe.

The American Physical Society and its more than 50,000 members in universities, industries, and national laboratories across all fifty states thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony.

References

1. NASA. (consulted 2025, May 5). NASA spinoff. https://spinoff.nasa.gov/
2. National Science Foundation. (consulted 2025, May 5.). Brought to you by NSF. https://www.nsf.gov/impacts#brought-to-you-by-nsf-467
3. National Institute of Standards and Technology. (consulted 2025, May 5). Atomic clocks. https://www.nist.gov/atomic-clocks
4. National Science Board. (2024). Cross-national comparisons of R&D performance. National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics. https://ncses.nsf.gov/pubs/nsb20246/cross-national-comparisons-of-r-d-performance
5. Institute for Defense Analyses. (2024). Characterizing the loss of talent from the U.S. STEM ecosystem. https://www.ida.org/-/media/feature/publications/c/ch/characterizing-the-loss-of-talent-from-the-us-stem-ecosystem/product-3001891.ashx
6. American Physical Society. (2021). Building America’s STEM workforce. https://www.aps.org/publications/reports/building-americas-stem-workforce
7. Reardon, S. (2025, May 5). Europe pledges €600 million to lure foreign researchers, vows to protect scientific freedom. Science. https://www.science.org/content/article/europe-pledges-%E2%82%AC600-million-lure-foreign-researchers-vows-protect-scientific-freedom
8. Doyle, K., & Borah, M. (2025, April 30). Preliminary estimates of the macroeconomic costs of cutting federal funding for scientific research. American University Research Commons. https://aura.american.edu/articles/report/Preliminary_Estimates_of_the_Macroeconomic_Costs_of_Cutting_Federal_Funding_for_Scientific_Research/28746446?file=53480237
9. Katz, Y., & Lam, A. (2020). Federal R&D funding: The bedrock of national innovation. Science Policy Review. https://sciencepolicyreview.org/2020/08/federal-rd-funding-the-bedrock-of-national-innovation/
10. Dallas Federal Reserve. (2023). STEM research, innovation, and economic productivity. Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas Working Papers. https://www.dallasfed.org/~/media/documents/research/papers/2023/wp2305.pdf
11. American Physical Society. (2024). Federal Research Enterprise Visualizer https://lookerstudio.google.com/u/0/reporting/c8f21d37-3620-427e-8622-144f0f563dc2/page/p_ggoimbafdd
12. NASA. (consulted 2025, June 10). NASA's Effect on Maryland's Economy. https://www.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/24-eir-statesheet-center-maryland-u25-v1-tagged.pdf