Urge Your Members of Congress to Reject the FY27 President’s Budget Request for US Science

The FY2027 President’s Budget Request (PBR) was released on 3 April, and it once again proposes major cuts to our science agencies, including a 47% cut to NASA’s Science Mission Directorate, a 55% cut to NSF, and a 13% cut to the DOE Office of Science. If enacted, these funding levels would signal an abdication of US leadership in the astronomical sciences. Continued uncertainty surrounding our science agencies jeopardizes our ability to recruit and retain a highly skilled workforce and stifles our nation's ability to innovate, explore, and answer fundamental questions about the universe.

However, the PBR is not law; it is an initial proposal to start the process of budgeting. Congress holds the “power of the purse” and will ultimately decide how much federal funding is appropriated to these and other agencies. Last year, AAS members and the broader scientific community pushed back vigorously against the PBR, with the result that Congress decided to preserve our US science agencies in FY2026.

We need your help once more to ensure that Congress takes swift and decisive action in rejecting the FY2027 PBR. Every voice makes a difference.

We have provided an example phone and email script to help you craft your message. Please share some details about the work you do that is enabled by federal funding in the "Personal message" box. The most effective action would be to both email and call your members of Congress, but if you can only do one, a phone call is more likely to have an immediate impact.

Please email us at [email protected] if you have any questions before reaching out to your representative. Please note that any messages with crude or inflammatory language will not be passed on, and please be respectful during any communications with Congressional offices (messages should align with the AAS Mission and Vision Statement and AAS Code of Ethics).  

Thank you for advocating for your research and the US astronomical community.