For a second year, a survey of nearly 1,000 scientists across a variety of life sciences details how federal government policies have created ongoing disruptions to American research and to the scientific workforce. Four out of five say federal policies since 2025 have caused an “extremely negative impact” or “irreparable harm” on their field of science. And, among specific harms felt, “uncertainty about the future,” “increased stress and anxiety,” “budget cuts,” and “chilling effect on free speech” were the most common, reported by more than half of survey respondents. (Adapted from data presented in “A technical report on the impacts of federal policies since January 20, 2025, on ecology, evolution, and marine science: Summer 2026,”” American Society of Naturalists)

For a second year, a survey of nearly 1,000 scientists across a variety of life sciences details how recent federal government policies have created ongoing disruptions to American research and to the scientific workforce.

Scientists report negative impacts that are varied and far-reaching: curtailed research programs, loss of funding and jobs, restrictions on free speech, barriers to working with international collaborators, severe delays in funding decisions, and a general decline in government efficiency.

The survey gathered input from scientists—including members of the Entomological Society of America—across all career stages and sectors, including academia, federal government, nonprofit organizations, and industry, with respondents geographically distributed throughout the United States.

Key Findings

Data points of note from the survey responses include:

• 79.7% of respondents said that federal policies since January 20, 2025, had caused an “extremely negative impact” (54.2%) or “irreparable harm” (25.5%) on their field of science.
• 56% of respondents said the waiting time for decisions on federal grant proposals after January 20, 2025, has increased by “several months” compared to the two-year period before that time. Another 18% said the wait time has increase by “several weeks.”
• Large portions of respondents reported that federal policies caused uncertainty about the future (78%) and increased stress and anxiety (75%).
• 69% of respondents said that U.S. federal training programs were “very important” or “extremely important” to their development as scientists.

Scientists’ comments about the impacts highlighted several major concerns:

Funding cuts. Between grant cancellations and ensuing university budget cuts, respondents reported job losses, difficulty in securing roles for student researchers, discontinuation of research projects, and reduced institutional knowledge and expertise when long-time researchers left or were terminated.

Delays and uncertainty. Respondents shared stories of greatly slowed-down grant review timelines, frequent changes to funding opportunities, sudden program cancellations, and unresponsive agencies—all contributing to decreases in efficiency and increases of wasted time and effort for the scientists trying to conduct research while navigating administrative upheaval.

Research harms. Ongoing research programs have been interrupted or cancelled, leading to gaps in data sets or the outright disappearance of previously available data, respondents said. A number of respondents pointed to programs focused on disease and expressed concerns about resulting negative impacts on human health.

International barriers. Scientists reported that it is now harder to establish collaborations with researchers in foreign countries due to new restrictions on federally funded projects. They also said that it is harder to attract talented researchers from other countries to roles in U.S. institutions, due either directly to new restrictions on immigration or indirectly to fear among foreign researchers that they would be targeted with increased government surveillance or scrutiny in the U.S.

Censorship. Respondents reported new and increased policing of language and subjects prohibited from being included in grant proposals, research programs, teaching curricula, and more—all of which hinders their ability to pursue legitimate scientific questions and research priorities.

The State of American Science

The 2026 survey’s findings echo and expand upon the findings from 2025, and it reveals the continuation of significant damage to the U.S. research enterprise and its place in the American economy and society.

Moreover, the survey was conducted in June, mostly before researchers had become aware or fully understood the implications of proposed rule changes by the Office of Management and Budget for federal grants. The proposed changes are far-reaching and, if enacted, stand to significantly worsen the negative impacts already being felt by U.S. scientists.

The Entomological Society of America has joined numerous other scientific organizations in voicing opposition to OMB’s proposals and encourages its members to do the same via messages to their Congressional legislators. You can also join ESA or donate to support its mission to advocate for insect science.