During a meeting in Alabama Senator Katie Britt's office, physicist Kathryn Williamson had an idea. Instead of just talking about her research in science outreach, she pulled up the Skynet Robotic Telescope Network on her laptop, which lets users remotely control dozens of telescopes. Then she handed control of the Green Bank Observatory's 20-meter radio telescope to a Senate staffer working for Britt.
"She chose [to look at] Mars, and she seemed to really enjoy watching with me as the telescope collected the data live," Williamson recalls.
Williamson's creative approach reflects a broader push by scientists, including APS members, who have been meeting with key Senate offices across the country to advocate against proposed cuts to federal science funding. To date, APS members and their allies have had 21 in-state meetings with Senate offices.
The meetings, part of APS' response to the Trump administration's budget proposal, have brought dozens of physicists and physics students face-to-face with congressional staff to share personal stories about how federal funding impacts their research and communities.
Advocacy like this may be paying off. In recent weeks, the Senate Appropriations Committee advanced a FY2026 appropriations bill that would provide $9 billion for the National Science Foundation and $7.3 billion for NASA science — a dramatic increase from the $3.9 billion proposed for each agency in the president's initial budget request. Several senators from APS' target states supported the legislation: Jerry Moran of Kansas, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Bill Hagerty of Tennessee, Mike Rounds of South Dakota, and Katie Britt of Alabama.
Survey responses from participants reveal that Senate staff have been largely receptive. For example, in Maine, Sen. Collins' staff "expressed significant disapproval of the budget cuts" and showed particular interest in biotech research, according to one participant. The office was "most vocal" in supporting science related to biotechnology.
Some encounters revealed unexpected personal connections. In South Dakota, physicist Frank Strieder discovered that one of Sen. John Thune’s staff was a graduate of their own institution, South Dakota Mines, and viewed Mines scientists as a "trustworthy source."
Training scientists to advocate
APS has trained participants to focus on local impacts and emphasize how federal funding supports jobs, education, and economic development in their home states, rather than getting lost in technical details.
In Pennsylvania, physicists meeting with Sen. Dave McCormick's office found that a staffer’s background in tech manufacturing helped him "understand the connection between research funding and American business success."
In Alabama, one physicist noted that Sen. Britt's office was "generally interested in preserving the scientific workforce" in the state and had "a very specific interest in small businesses." Another participant leveraged his role in the University of Alabama's Office of Research to provide detailed information about how federal science dollars flow through the state.
Broader campaign context
The meetings are part of APS' advocacy campaign responding to the Trump administration's proposed cuts to major science agencies. The initial budget proposal called for reducing NSF's budget by 57%, NASA's Science’s budget by 47%, and the Department of Energy's Office of Science by 14%.
Beyond the meetings, APS has mobilized members to write letters to their representatives, author op-eds and letters to the editor for local papers, and share their personal stories about the impacts of federal science funding. APS has also filed legal briefs.
While the House committee passed substantial cuts, the Senate committee supported funding at the same levels as the current fiscal year. The budget process will continue for months, meaning APS members will need to sustain their advocacy efforts well into the fall.
As one South Dakota physicist noted after meeting with Sen. Rounds' staff, "the general takeaway was the final budget cuts would not be as drastic as the proposed ones. Senator Rounds appreciates the value of science and [the] research enterprise."
For now, physicists like Williamson are following up on their meetings. She sent her Alabama contact a link to the Mars data they collected together, along with a list of federal projects she's benefitted from. It's the kind of personal touch that may prove crucial as the budget debate continues.
