[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 38 (Wednesday, February 26, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H862]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        FIRED BY PRESIDENT TRUMP

  (Mr. BEYER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. BEYER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to share the story of a Federal 
scientist, and a constituent of mine, who has witnessed the impacts of 
President Trump and Elon Musk's recent firings. He wrote:

       This week, 168 of my colleagues at the National Science 
     Foundation were fired in a mass meeting and then waited for 
     hours for an email with instructions before they were removed 
     from NSF systems.
       Two in my division were program assistants who provided 
     crucial support for the review process--both early in their 
     career and with tremendous promise as civil servants.
       Another in my division was an intermittent expert.
       National Science Foundation's work depends on bringing in 
     knowledgeable experts from many fields, and intermittent 
     experts are critical for this.
       To lose them is an incredible loss for STEM education.
       The cost of employing them to the government is small and 
     far outweighed by the benefits of their service to NSF and 
     the Nation.
       Letting them go makes no sense that I can see.

  Mr. Speaker, I agree with my constituent that this makes absolutely 
no sense. This will be a severe loss for American scientific leadership 
and scientific advancement at large.
  We stand with our scientific community and condemn these firings.

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