SEATTLE (AP) — A group of Democratic senators and one Republican, as well as two Democratic House committees, sent letters Monday to the National Science Foundation asking it to reverse course on its plan to dismantle a sprawling ocean monitoring network, with House lawmakers going further and accusing the agency of acting illegally.
The Ocean Observatories Initiative is a network of more than 900 ocean sensors built at a cost of $386 million. Over the last decade it has tracked ocean circulation, marine ecosystems, climate change and extreme weather, producing data freely available to the public and informing more than 500 scientific publications. The project was slated to run another 15 to 20 years.
The National Science Foundation had directed the removal of most of the system's instruments from waters off Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina and Greenland by 2027 — a decision scientists said came with no warning and no scientific review. The independent federal agency, which was established by Congress, described the move not as a cancellation but as a "descoping" aligned with a strategy to prioritize "evolving scientific priorities and emerging technologies." The Trump administration's proposed 2026 budget had included a 55% cut to the agency.
"It just seems like this is supreme stupidity and a violation of the fundamental distribution of powers in our Constitution," Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon told The ****** ociated Press. "This program is authorized, it's funded, and for the administration to shut it down without direction from Congress violates that vision in which the people's representatives decide what's done and funded, and the executive branch executes that vision."
Merkley and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska co-led the letter, which 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 urged the National Science Foundation, or NSF, to halt the dismantling of the Ocean Observatories Initiative and conduct a thorough review, including consultation with the marine science community, before any further action is taken.
The Ocean Observatories Initiative is a network of more than 900 ocean sensors built at a cost of $386 million. Over the last decade it has tracked ocean circulation, marine ecosystems, climate change and extreme weather, producing data freely available to the public and informing more than 500 scientific publications. The project was slated to run another 15 to 20 years.
The National Science Foundation had directed the removal of most of the system's instruments from waters off Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina and Greenland by 2027 — a decision scientists said came with no warning and no scientific review. The independent federal agency, which was established by Congress, described the move not as a cancellation but as a "descoping" aligned with a strategy to prioritize "evolving scientific priorities and emerging technologies." The Trump administration's proposed 2026 budget had included a 55% cut to the agency.
"It just seems like this is supreme stupidity and a violation of the fundamental distribution of powers in our Constitution," Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon told The ****** ociated Press. "This program is authorized, it's funded, and for the administration to shut it down without direction from Congress violates that vision in which the people's representatives decide what's done and funded, and the executive branch executes that vision."
Merkley and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska co-led the letter, which 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 urged the National Science Foundation, or NSF, to halt the dismantling of the Ocean Observatories Initiative and conduct a thorough review, including consultation with the marine science community, before any further action is taken.
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