Legislators Push Back Against Cuts to $386M Ocean Research Initiative

WHO:

ABC News - Lawmakers, including a group of Democratic senators and one Republican senator, are involved in the pushback against the dismantling of the Ocean Observatories Initiative.

AP News - Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley, Lisa Murkowski, Edward Markey, Elizabeth Warren, Tammy Baldwin, Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell, Sheldon Whitehouse, Chris Van Hollen, and Ron Wyden signed a letter to the National Science Foundation.

AP News - Representatives Zoe Lofgren and Jared Huffman led a joint letter from the House Science, Space and Technology Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee.

WHAT:

ABC News - Lawmakers are demanding the National Science Foundation stop dismantling the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a $386 million ocean monitoring network.

AP News - The Ocean Observatories Initiative consists of more than 900 ocean sensors and has produced data for over 500 scientific publications.

AP News - The National Science Foundation plans to remove most of the system’s instruments by 2027.

AP News - The Trump administration's proposed budget for 2026 included a 55% cut to the National Science Foundation.

WHERE:

AP News - The Ocean Observatories Initiative includes locations off the coasts of Oregon, Washington, Alaska, North Carolina, and Greenland.

WHEN:

AP News - The National Science Foundation's decision to dismantle the initiative was announced with a plan to remove instruments by 2027.

AP News - Scientists are scheduled to begin pulling the first buoy off the Oregon coast on a Tuesday.

WHY:

AP News - Lawmakers argue that dismantling the initiative threatens coastal community safety and undermines the ability to monitor marine environments and extreme weather events.

AP News - The decision to dismantle is described by the National Science Foundation as a “descoping” aligned with evolving scientific priorities and emerging technologies.

HOW:

AP News - The National Science Foundation stated that its decision was informed by a 2025 National Academies report on the future of ocean science.

AP News - Federal appropriations law requires the National Science Foundation to notify the House and Senate Appropriations Committees at least 30 days in advance of any planned decommissioning of agency-owned facilities valued over $2.5 million.

(UPDATED June 15, 2026 15:10 UTC)

Lawmakers, including a group of Democratic senators and one Republican senator, are pushing back against the National Science Foundation's plans to dismantle the Ocean Observatories Initiative, a $386 million ocean monitoring network that has contributed to over 500 scientific publications through its more than 900 ocean sensors. The initiative's dismantling is scheduled to begin with the removal of the first buoy off the Oregon coast on a Tuesday, and the National Science Foundation aims to remove most of the system’s instruments by 2027. Lawmakers argue that this decision threatens coastal community safety and undermines the ability to monitor marine environments and extreme weather events, while the National Science Foundation describes it as a “descoping” aligned with evolving scientific priorities.