Amid Fear of Retaliation, N.S.F. Workers Sign Letter of Dissent
The letter, addressed on Monday to Representative Zoe Lofgren, the senior Democrat on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, petitioned it to defend the mission of the N.S.F. and its employees.
The N.S.F. declined to comment on the letter.
The formal protest by N.S.F. employees followed similar ones made last month by workers from the National Institutes of Health and the Environmental Protection Agency, who criticized orders that they saw as unlawful and accused the administration of endangering public health. The E.P.A. suspended 144 of the signatories a few days after the letter was sent, a step that has been described by some as retaliation.
In a news conference on Tuesday, Representative Lofgren said the letter was submitted to her office as a whistle-blower complaint. In a statement thanking the signers, she added: 'I promise to do all I can to protect you, protect your agency, and protect our scientific enterprise.'
Hundreds of NASA employees issued their own letter of formal dissent on Monday. Addressing the secretary of transportation, Sean Duffy, the letter warned the agency's leadership that major budget cuts would harm science missions. President Trump appointed Mr. Duffy as interim NASA administrator this month.
All the N.S.F. employees in the letter that was released publicly signed anonymously, except for Dr. Jesus Soriano, president of the American Federation of Government Employees Local 3403, the union representing the N.S.F. Nearly 50 of the signatories included their names in the private letter.
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