Dear colleagues:
The President’s Budget Request (PBR) for FY 2026 (1 October 2025 – 30 September 2026) has now been released. It offers a stark picture for the future of Heliophysics in the USA. Both NASA and NSF face severe and sweeping cuts that impact the entire range of activities that our community performs, from basic research to instrumentation, including both our space-based Heliophysics fleet and our ground-based facilities. Similar cuts are expected for NOAA and other agencies based on media reporting. Cuts of the magnitude proposed will stifle the training of new heliophysicists, and will largely obviate the bold and forward-looking recommendations of the 2024 National Academies Solar and Space Physics Decadal Survey.
Full details of the proposed budgets can be found at NASA and NSF. While the FY26 budget details for the Department of Commerce have not yet been released, similar reductions to the proposed NOAA budget are expected.
It is important to stress that this is a proposed budget. There are still several steps to take place before an enacted budget bill is achieved – i.e., funds are appropriated by Congress. Careful and targeted interventions at each stage of the budget process can help our community educate legislators and officials in the Executive branch as to the real-world impacts of what will occur if cuts of anything like the magnitudes proposed are made. Reducing, or even reversing, these proposed cuts is still something that our community can help achieve. Our community must not be complacent.
To that end, the Heliophysics Coalition (the AAS/Solar Physics Division Public Policy Committee, the AGU/Space Physics and Aeronomy section’s Advocacy Committee, and our institutional partners) has been working to gain a better understanding as to what specific messaging is likely to be well-received by Congress and thus help the House and Senate Appropriations committees reach a more reasonable budget. Our next planned activity is on June 17th, where we and some 50 community members, representing over 30 congressional districts and states, will visit targeted House and Senate offices. Our key, focused, messages on that visit will be:
(1) We must maintain the U.S. leadership in science, and specifically in space physics and space weather, that has persisted for decades. These proposed agency budgets will cede that leadership to other nations, with consequences for our allies and benefits for our adversaries;
(2) Maintaining a robust Heliophysics portfolio of research is important not only for basic science, but (in large part due to space weather impacts) also crucial for national security, maintaining critical infrastructure, and the success of the Administration’s ambitious human exploration priorities to the Moon and Mars. Specific heliophysics messaging includes the fact that our community’s research is impactful, and collectively will directly lead to:
· better nowcasts and forecasts of space weather effects that can impact communications, satellites, power grids, and astronauts;
· development of protections and mitigations against effects on space- and ground-based critical infrastructure;
· predicting conditions in, and exploitation of, the space environment, including very low earth orbit (VLEO);
· characterization of energetic particles resulting from potential high-altitude nuclear explosions; and
· progress developing fusion power
(3) A balanced portfolio of Heliophysics research, from PI-level grants, through a steady cadence of technology innovation initiatives and Explorers, to Flagship missions, is critical in preserving U.S. leadership in space science. The technical expertise of staffing at the pertinent agencies is also crucial to achieve this.
(4) Our field helps to create a scientifically literate U.S. workforce, which aids the nation and economy at-large, not just within Heliophysics. We must be able to continue training the next generation of scientists, technologists, and innovators.
We need your help! Below you can find information about how to find contact information for your Congressional Representatives and Senators. We urge you to join the effort by calling these offices and urging your elected officials to carefully consider the impacts of the proposed cuts, and to act to restore the science budgets at agencies like NASA and NSF to current enacted levels. Your family members and friends can also call; every voice helps. Note that you DO NOT need to be a U.S. citizen to advocate; your representative/senator represents all those who live in their district/state, regardless of their citizenship. With the messaging above in mind, PLEASE TAKE THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS: (1) call your Representative and Senators; (2) request a $9B FY26 appropriation for NASA SMD, including $955M for the Heliophysics Division; (3) request a $9.9B FY26 appropriation for NSF, including at least $1.6B for the Geosciences Directorate; and (4) encourage your friends, family, and colleagues to call to make the same requests. These figures are in line with longstanding AAS/AGU requests.
Maximum impact will occur when the community speaks with one voice, using the messages above. A unified message is far more impactful than many disparate messages. From experience, and as a result of recent meetings with legislative staff, we believe that the messages above will be the most effective (but watch out for updates as we continue our advocacy efforts). Of course, tying the specific impacts of your own work to these high-level objectives, and emphasizing the impact of the proposed cuts on your local community and/or state are also good to include. Given the timeline for legislative action, input to the Appropriations process must be delivered well in advance of 14th July, so now is the time to contact your Representatives.
– Graham Kerr, Gordon Emslie, Ian Cohen & Brian Walsh, on behalf of the Heliophysics Coalition.
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How to find your Representative: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative
How to find your Senator: https://www.senate.gov/senators/senators-contact.htm
Calling is more effective than writing. If you do call, it is best to write out your script or talking points in advance to best prepare a coherent and effective message.
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
- Moran (KS-R) – Chair
- Van Hollen (MD-D) – Ranking Member
- Britt (AL-R)
- Collins (ME-R)
- Coons (DE-D)
- Fischer (NE-R)
- Gillibrand (NY-D)
- Graham (SC-R)
- Hagerty (TN-R)
- Kennedy (LA-R)
- Merkley (OR-D)
- Moore Capito (WV-R)
- Murkowski (AK-R)
- Peters (MI-D)
- Reed (RI-D)
- Schatz (HI-D)
- Shaheen (NH-D)
House Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
- Rogers (KY-05, R) – Chair
- Strong (AL-05, R) – Vice Chair
- Meng (NY-06, D) – Ranking Member
- Alford (MO-04, R)
- Carter (TX-31, R)
- Cline (VA-06, R)
- Clyde (GA-09, R)
- Dean (PA-04, D)
- Gonzales (TX-23, R)
- Ivey (MD-04, D)
- Moore (WV-02, R)
- Morelle (NY-25, D)
- Mrvan (IN-01, D)
Senate Subcommittee on Subcommittee on Aviation, Space, and Innovation (Authorization)
- Moran (KS-R) – Chair
- Duckworth (IL-D) – Ranking Member
- Budd (NC-R)
- Fetterman (PA-D)
- Hickenlooper (CO-D)
- Kim (NJ-D)
- Moore Capito (WV-R)
- Rosen (NV-D)
- Schmitt (MO-R)
- Sheehy (MT-R)
- Thune (SD-R)
House Committee on Space and Aeronautics (Authorization)
- Haridopolos (FL-08, R) – Chair
- Foushee (NC-04, D) – Ranking Member
- Collins (GA-10, R)
- Fong (CA-20, R)
- Gillen (NY-04, D)
- Kennedy (UT-03, R)
- McCormick (GA-07, R)
- Salinas (OR-06, D)
- Self (TX-03, R)
- Stevens (MI-11, D)
- Webster (FL-11, R)
- Whitesides (CA-27, D)