Federal funding cuts seem to be a looming reality lurking across various sectors and divisions in the US. One of these that have recently been hit is STEM engagement programs, specifically across the career pipeline. Basically, from K-12 up to postdocs and early career faculty. A good portion of the NSF’s mass grant cancellations during the early part of the year were focused on the Directorate for STEM Education. Quite a huge number of the prestigious early-career faculty grants have been terminated.
All-encompassing contentious issue
A federal judge on Friday rejected a bid by 16 Democratic-led states to force U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration to restore hundreds of millions of dollars of grants it canceled that support increasing diversity in science, technology, engineering and math fields.
Democratic state attorneys general had urged U.S. District Judge John Cronan in Manhattan to block the National Science Foundation from canceling funding awarded to universities designed to increase the participation of women, minorities, and people in those fields, known collectively as STEM. John Peter Cronan is an Amercian lawyer that currently serves as a United States District Judge. Specifically for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Prior to this, he was acting US Assistant Attorney General for the US Department of Justice’s Criminal Division. They had argued in a lawsuit filed in May that the Trump administration lacked the power to cap research funding and eliminate diversity programs provided by the NSF that were mandated by Congress and urged the judge to reverse grant terminations that began in April.
A Judge’s perspective on matters
But Cronan, a Trump appointee, agreed with the administration that a challenge to NSF’s already-completed grant terminations could not be pursued in his court but instead could only be taken up by the Court of Federal Claims, a specialist court that hears monetary claims against the U.S. government. This court was established in 1855 by Congress. Jurisdiction runs across the whole of the United States, with the judges being allowed to hear cases across the country. Primary jurisdiction lies within 28 U.S.C. § 1491.
This is known as the Tucker Act. According to this as well as other statutes that have been passed by Congress, the court may be able to hear a variety of specialized claims. These are the claims lodged against the federal government and includes bid protests, contract claims, military pay claims, etc.
He said the states likewise failed to show a new NSF policy stating that research “must aim to create opportunities for all Americans everywhere” and that research projects that preference “subgroups of people” do not reflect the agency’s priorities was inconsistent with the agency’s governing statute. The same day that policy was posted in April, NSF began canceling grants that had been previously issued that touched on among other topics of diversity, equity and inclusion. Trump has sought to eliminate DEI from the government and society.
A state-wide interpretation of matters
The states said the policy was inconsistent with the National Science Foundation Act’s mandate that the agency award grants “to increase the participation of underrepresented populations in STEM fields.” But Cronan said NSF’s policy did not require it to cease supporting such projects and that it has in fact continued to fund a number of such projects, including at institutions within the plaintiff states.
“This evidence powerfully undermines Plaintiffs’ argument that the Priority Directive renders this class of projects categorically ineligible for funding,” Cronan wrote. NSF declined to comment. A spokesperson for New York Attorney General Letitia James’ office, which took the lead for the plaintiffs, said it is reviewing the decision.
The US National Science Foundation is classified as an independent agency of the US federal government. It supports fundamental research and education, but basically only in the non-medical fields of engineering and science. A variety of grants, fellowships as well as cooperative agreements are offered by the NSF. The agency also funds high-risk ideas as well as innovative projects that may possibly lead to significant advancements in the various fields.
GCN.com/Reuters.