Congresswoman Valerie Foushee has formally called on the Trump administration to restore federal funding for STEM research and to disclose details on the status of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).

The North Carolina Democrat issued her demand in an official statement published on her House website, pressing the administration on two fronts that matter directly to research institutions: money flowing to laboratories, and the advisory machinery that shapes federal science policy.

What is Foushee asking for?

The congresswoman's statement sets out two concrete requests:

• Restore funding for STEM research programs that have been curtailed under the current administration.
• Provide transparency on the composition, activity and status of PCAST, the body charged with advising the White House on science and technology policy.

Foushee represents a district whose economy is tied to research institutions, and her intervention frames the funding cuts as a direct threat to laboratory workflows, graduate training pipelines and long-running federal research portfolios.

Why does PCAST transparency matter?

PCAST has historically served as the main external science advisory channel to the president. When its membership, meeting schedule or mandate becomes opaque, university research offices and federal agency managers lose an early signal of where administration science priorities are heading.

Foushee's call for disclosure puts the question of whether the council is functioning — and on what evidence base — into the public record. For R&D managers planning multi-year grants, that uncertainty complicates portfolio decisions tied to agencies such as NSF, NASA and the Department of Energy.

What comes next?

The statement is a congressional demand, not legislation; the administration has not yet publicly responded to either request. Foushee's office is expected to keep pressure on the issue as federal budget negotiations proceed, and any restoration of STEM funding lines would require action through the appropriations process.