WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) introduced four bills that would institute a moratorium on reductions in force (RIF) at federal science agencies under the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s jurisdiction, including the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Science Foundation (NSF).
This comes after President Trump’s mass layoffs of over 3,000 employees at federal science agencies, including over 2,000 employees at NASA last month, over 150 employees at NSF in February, around 800 employees at NOAA, and over 70 employees at NIST.
“Our federal science agencies do critical work to keep our communities safe, while also promoting and fostering innovation, conducting important research, and encouraging exploration in various fields,” said Senator Hirono. “These reductions in our federal workforce will cause irreparable damage to this country and this regime’s blatant disregard for these agencies, as well as the well-being of the federal workers employed by them, is unacceptable. I am proud to introduce these bills to help protect our federal workforce and the crucial work that these agencies do.”
“The Trump Administration’s purge of federal employees from our science agencies is not only hurting thousands of hard-working public servants, it is threatening key engines of innovation that benefit the American people and our economy. With this legislation, we’re fighting to stop Trump from laying waste to our federal science agencies and their workforce as Congress works to fund their missions for the next year – and ensure they can continue making life-changing discoveries,” said Senator Van Hollen.
Trump has claimed that these mass layoffs are part of his administration’s agenda to cut “government waste.” Meanwhile, he has taken advantage of these cuts to give his political appointees preferred treatment. In June, the administration made an abrupt decision to move the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) into the NSF’s office building in Alexandria, Virginia, without giving NSF’s 1,833 employees advanced notice or presenting a plan for where these employees would relocate to accommodate HUD workers.
Specifically, Senator Hirono and Van Hollen’s bills would prevent RIFs at these four agencies, essentially pausing mass layoffs or demotions, until Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations for those agencies are signed into law.
The full text of the legislation for the Saving NIST’s Workforce Act is available here.
The full text of the legislation for the Saving NASA’s Workforce Act is available here.
The full text of the legislation for the Saving NOAA’s Workforce Act is available here.
The full text of the legislation for the Saving NSF’s Workforce Act is available here.
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