New York- The National Science Foundation (NSF, in English) can continue to retain hundreds of millions of dollars of researchers in several states Until the litigation destined to restore them is resolved, a federal court ruled on Friday.
The United States District Judge, John Cronan, in New Yorkhe refused to force the NSF to resume payments immediately, while the case is still ongoing, as requested by the sixteen states led by Democrats who filed the demand, including New York, Hawaii, California, Colorado and Connecticut.
In his ruling, Cronan said that the preliminary judicial order would not grant in part because it could be another court, the Federal Claims Court, has jurisdiction on what is essentially a case on money. He also said that the states failed to demonstrate that the NSF actions were against the agency’s mandate.
The demand filed in May alleges that the new priorities for financing subsidies of the National Science Foundationas well as a limit to what is known as indirect research expenses, “they violate the law and endanger the global leadership of the United States in Stem”
Another district court had already blocked the limit of indirect costs: administrative expenses that allow the investigation to be carried out, such as payment to support personnel and equipment maintenance. This court order had been requested to restore the financing of the subsidies that were cut.
In April, the NSF announced a new set of priorities and began eliminating hundreds of subsidies for research focused on things such as misinformation and diversity, equity and inclusion. The researchers who lost financing were also studying artificial intelligence, post-traumatic stress disorder in veterans, Stem education for K-12 students and more.
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The researchers did not receive a specific explanation of why their subsidies were canceled, said lawyer Colleen Faherty, who represents the state of New York, during the hearing last month. Instead, they received a standard language that indicated that their work “no longer performs the objectives of the program or the priorities of the agency.”
The Congress has long ordered the NSF that encourages underrepresented groups, such as women and people with disabilities, to participate in Stem. According to the demand, the financing cuts of the Scientific Foundation have already arrested efforts to train the next generation of scientists in fields such as computer science, mathematics and environmental sciences.
A NSF lawyer said at the hearing that the agency has the authority to finance any investigation it deems necessary, and has done so since its creation in 1950. In the judicial presentation, the government also argued that its current priorities were “creating opportunities for all Americans everywhere” and “not giving preference to some groups at the expense of others, or directly or indirectly excluding individuals or groups”.
The plaintiffs are trying to ‘replace their own trial for the agency’s trial,’ said Adam Gitlin, a NSF lawyer during the hearing.
The Scientific Foundation is still financing some projects related to the expansion of representation in Stem, Cronan wrote in his ruling. According to the lawsuit filed in May, for example, the University of North of Colorado lost financing for only one of its nine programs focused on increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in the Stem fields.
The states are reviewing the decision, according to spokesmen of the offices of the General Prosecutors of New York and Hawaii. The National Science Foundation declined to comment.