91麻豆天美 Opposes Classifying Federal Scientists Into Schedule F
| Noah Peters Senior Advisor to the Director Office of Personnel Management 1900 E St. NW Washington, D.C. 20415 |
Proposed Rule: Performance, Accountability & Responsiveness Civil Service OPM-2025-000 RIN 3206-AO80
Dear Mr. Peters,
On behalf of the American Society for Microbiology, which represents over 37,000 scientists dedicated to advancing the microbial sciences, we request that scientific positions within federal agencies not be classified into Schedule F.
Moving scientists into Schedule F undermines the scientific credibility of these non-political career professionals and will have a chilling impact on scientific integrity across the federal government. Scientists charged with conducting research and analyzing scientific evidence to inform government actions could be fired if their scientific conclusions do not match the policy preferences of agency officials. The proposal also could lead to a significant loss of institutional knowledge that is invaluable to the functioning and efficiency of federal government agencies, ultimately harming public welfare and wasting taxpayer dollars.
Furthermore, the OPM guidance notes that federal employees with “substantive participation or discretionary grantmaking” should be classified into Schedule F. Scientific agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health and the National Science Foundation, hire scientists who are experts in their field to facilitate grant review and review proposals to ensure that agencies are funding cutting-edge and scientifically meritorious work. These employees should not be subject to political pressure to fund ideas and work that may not have scientific merit.
Thank you for your consideration of this request. If you would like to further discuss the impact of the proposed Schedule F classification on the scientific integrity and the scientific community, please contact Nicole Zimmerman, Senior Federal Affairs Officer, at nzimmerman@asmusa.org.
Thank you,
Amalia Corby
Director of Federal Affairs
American Society for Microbiology
