Lawmakers fight to stop the Trump administration’s dismantling of a $386M ocean observatory project
SEATTLE (AP) — A group of Democratic senators and one Republican, as well as two House Democratic committee members, sent letters to the National Science Foundation on Monday, urging it to reverse course on a plan to dismantle a sprawling ocean monitoring network, with House lawmakers going further and accusing the agency of acting illegally.
Ocean Observatories Initiative It is a network of more than 900 ocean sensors built at a cost of $386 million. It has tracked ocean circulation and marine ecosystems over the last decade. climate change And extreme weatherIt produces data that is freely available to the public and informs more than 500 scientific publications. The project was planned to last another 15-20 years.
National Science Foundation had directed that most instruments in the system be removed from waters off Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina and Greenland by 2027; Scientists said this decision came without any warning or scientific review. The independent federal agency established by Congress described the move not as a repeal but as a “scoping” consistent with its strategy to prioritize “emerging scientific priorities and emerging technologies.” The Trump administration’s proposed 2026 budget included a 55 percent cut to the agency.
‘Extremely stupid’
“This seems like gross stupidity and a violation of the basic allocation of power in our Constitution,” Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon told the Associated Press. “This program is authorized, it is funded, and for the administration to shut it down without direction from Congress violates the vision that the people’s representatives decide what to do and fund and the executive branch implements that vision.”
Merkley and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska co-led letterIt was also signed by Democratic Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell of Washington, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland and Ron Wyden of Oregon. It called on the National Science Foundation, or NSF, to halt the dismantling of the Ocean Observatories Initiative and conduct a comprehensive review, including consultations with the marine science community, before any action is taken.
“The elimination of much of this complex ocean monitoring system undermines our nation’s ability to monitor coastal environments, marine currents, and extreme weather events while threatening the safety of our coastal communities,” the senators wrote.
In a harsher rebuke, Democrats from the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee issued a harsher rebuke. joint letter We demand that the agency “immediately put an end to this expensive, destructive and, most importantly, illegal action.” The letter was led by Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Jared Huffman of California, the top Democrats on their respective committees, and signed by 23 Democratic members from each panel.
NSF said in a June 3 statement that its decision was based in part on the 2025 report on the future of the National Academies. ocean science. “NSF remains committed to ocean science and will continue to work with the scientific community on high-priority research targets,” he wrote.
Cuts seen as sign of broader pullback
The cuts at the ocean observatory are part of a broader retreat from the environment and climate. climate related science under Republican administration of President Donald Trumpmoved to reduce research programsReduce staffing at agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Environmental Protection Agencyand ease emissions regulations.
The federal appropriations bill requires NSF to notify the House and Senate Appropriations Committees at least 30 days in advance of any planned decommissioning of agency-owned facilities or assets valued at more than $2.5 million. It was stated in the parliamentary letter that no such notification was forwarded.
Merkley said he learned about the dismantling from the news.
“It was like alarm bells had gone off,” he said. “None of us knew about it, and there doesn’t seem to have been any consultation, any scientific commission or stakeholders that led to this.”
Merkley said his office was still confirming whether formal notice had been given, but added: “If there had been no notice, it would have appeared illegal.”
He and Murkowski planned to introduce legislation Monday that would prohibit NSF from spending federal funds on decommissioning vehicles until a comprehensive review is completed.
We pull the buoy off the Oregon coast
Scientists are scheduled to begin towing the first buoy off the Oregon coast on Tuesday.
The senators referred to the upcoming event in their letter. El Niño – periodic Pacific warming that disrupts weather patterns and overloads marine heat waves is evidence that the outages are particularly premature.
“The loss of this deep-water observing system would threaten our ability to prepare for and monitor future El Niño events,” they wrote, warning that coastal communities, fishermen and emergency responders would be left without important information.
“Instead of paying for the valuable information that could be gained from 10 years of continuous monitoring, taxpayers are now paying for research vessels to scan hundreds of pieces of instrumentation across the ocean. This is deplorable,” the House letter states. “At a time when resources are limited, NSF is wasting time and money destroying its own scientific infrastructure.”
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