Valerie Foushee: “I rise in solidarity with my colleagues to stand up and speak out against the proposed budget and demonization of…”

“I rise in solidarity with my colleagues to stand up and speak out against the proposed budget and demonization of science and the science community. America is where we are today because of what we create. Whether it is manufacturing, innovation, scientific and medical research, or technology transfer, all these fields require science and the millions of researchers and innovators who push American STEM in our Nation's workforce to the forefront. These efforts are critical to my district, which includes the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Duke University, North Carolina Central University, Durham and Wake Technical Community Colleges, and so many new up-and-coming industry leaders in STEM. However, in total, the Trump administration has canceled nearly $20 million in NSF research grants to North Carolina as a whole. Take, for instance, an NSF-funded grant that was recently canceled in my district, North Carolina's Fourth, that was aimed at addressing the lack of diversity in the engineering doctoral workforce and promoting the retention of students from underrepresented groups.”