Why Would We Undermine the Marvel of American Science?

I’ve spent over five decades as a scientist in academia and the federal government, including as director of the National Institutes of Health. Never before have I seen my profession so politicized as it is now under the Trump administration.

Historically, Americans of all political persuasions have respected science and celebrated its breakthroughs. In my field, these range from discovering the fundamental mechanisms of cancer to the development of drugs that improve and extend people’s lives.

And yet, for baffling reasons, the executive branch is now waging war on America’s scientific enterprise. This assault includes nominating leaders hostile to science and unqualified for their roles; issuing a barrage of executive orders that disrupt research by restricting meetings, publications, travel and grant making; censoring ideas and even certain words from scientific discourse; and trying to withhold billions of dollars from universities and other research institutions that help pay the costs of research.

Since 1945, when President Franklin Roosevelt’s science adviser, Vannevar Bush, outlined a blueprint for national research, government agencies have funded basic science conducted at universities, research institutions and government laboratories. Companies then turn their results into products that drive economic growth and improve our lives. In this way, the United States has come to lead the world in nearly all fields of science and technology. The rewards have been evident in virtually every aspect of human life, including medicine, agriculture, national defense and manufacturing.

This process has never been free of disagreement. Interested parties have argued over many things: How much funding should each federal science agency receive from Congress? How should the agencies spend that money? How should grant applications be evaluated? Who owns the products of research? What kinds of research should be exempted from federal support?

These questions are routine, and their answers have shifted across administrations. But one thing has remained constant: Regardless of their personal views on contentious topics, members of the executive and legislative branches have long seen themselves as caretakers of a precious commodity — the nation’s scientific and technological communities.