Lambert here: Not, apparently, DOGE as such, but Vought at OMB.
The Department of Commerce as a whole is looking to reduce as much as 20 percent of its staff at the direction of the Office of Management and Budget. According to recent reports, the Administration has already laid off over 70 probationary employees at NIST and may be targeting additional probationary scientists, postdoctoral researchers, and other staff authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act. These potential changes come on the heels of the deferred resignation program, which already is affecting the capacity of the NIST to fulfill its statutory obligations. Removing national and international leaders from the nonpartisan and professional civil service at NIST would hamper the development of critical standards, threaten industrial and consumer safety, and weaken American leadership around the world.
Congress empowered NIST with a critical function that is spelled out in Article 1 of our constitution to “fix the standard of weights and measures.” Over its 125-year history, this agency has supported innumerable critical but often-overlooked programs that have advanced American industrial competitiveness and improved our quality of life. NIST is highly regarded around the world, representing the gold standard for measurement science, research, and innovation. Projects managed by NIST scientists have incredibly important applications to everyday health and safety, including developing technologies to combat the opioid epidemic and improving bomb detection capabilities. NIST’s standardization work ensures the accuracy of the weights and measurements that underpin American industry. NIST’s advancements in atomic clocks support the global position system (GPS), financial markets, and telecommunications networks worldwide. NIST’s work is routinely used to influence and set global technical standards which govern product safety, systems security, and industrial resilience – ensuring the U.S. leads our competitors in international standards bodies.
Indiscriminate cuts will have ripple effects far beyond Maryland and Colorado. Reducing the workforce at the agency would undermine consumer safety, remove a key area of partnership between the government and private sector, and cede influence over international standards-setting to other nations that are making robust investments in science and technology. For example, recent reporting revealed the upcoming RIF plans would remove the entire Atomic Spectroscopy Group at NIST. Among many activities, this key group operates the Atomic Spectra Database, which receives 70,000 queries each month from professionals across industries that rely on access to this unique comprehensive collection of atomic spectroscopy research. Losing this capability will have negative impacts on dozens of scientific fields and across diverse industries ranging from pharmaceuticals to nuclear reactors. RIF plans at the agency may irreparably impair the federal government’s ability to recruit and retain top talent, leading to an exodus of scientists and researchers. This is not idle speculation. Past hostility towards the federal scientific workforce precipitated brain drain at targeted scientific agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.
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