Dr. Jedidah Isler, Chief Science Officer of the Federation of American Scientists, Testifying on “American Global Competitiveness” in Congressional Committee Today
Dr. Isler is speaking at the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade
Washington, D.C. – June 30, 2026 – Called today to speak on behalf of U.S. science and technology, Dr. Jedidah Isler, astrophysicist, educator, strategist, policy-maker, and science communicator, will provide constructive, nonpartisan feedback to the House Committee’s hearing “American Global Competitiveness at 250: Legislative Proposals to Secure U.S. Technology Leadership.” Dr. Isler is the Chief Science Officer at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), the oldest non-partisan, nonprofit science policy organization dedicated to developing evidence-based policies. Today’s hearing is to examine and evaluate legislative proposals that aim to bolster U.S. technological leadership. Also called as witnesses are representatives from the Abundance Institute, Boston Dynamics, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“My focus is delivering recommendations that support the foundational investments necessary for the United States to lead. This includes strengthening the STEM talent pipeline, building the workforce, improving our nation’s industrial capacity, broadening our R&D ecosystem, securing our supply chains, and — running through all of these – ensuring a shared commitment to increasing government capacity to ensure implementation,” says Dr. Jedidah Isler, Chief Science Officer of FAS.
She continues: “We must fund the research and discovery work that continues to pay both figurative and literal dividends to our nation. Studies, commissions, procurement restrictions, and security reviews can be useful, but they only matter if Congress also protects the upstream research and workforce base that makes American technology leadership possible.”
You can read her complete testimony here.
Science-First Competitiveness
Technology is what science becomes when knowledge is translated into tools, products, systems, and capabilities. The United States cannot lead in the technologies of the future while neglecting the scientific enterprise — and most critically the people — that produce these discoveries.
The U.S. science and tech ecosystem impacts every sector of the economy. A strong base of education, talent, and financial resources are necessary to retain our global standing.
Global technology competition has changed. The United States remains a science and technology superpower, but it is no longer the undisputed leader across the full set of global indicators. China is now the central pacing challenge, but this is not only a China story. Europe, the United Kingdom, India, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and other partners and competitors are deliberately organizing capital, talent, infrastructure, standards, and policy around the next generation of strategic technologies. Global tech leadership is more and more about who trains the workforce, owns the equipment, sets the standards, controls supply chains, and translates discovery into deployment most effectively.
Dr. Isler will argue that the United States has scientific ingenuity, entrepreneurial talent, capital, and motivated workers. What it too often lacks is a coherent system for connecting them toward a common goal. Congress can help build that system by aligning research, talent, standards, supply chains, public finance, procurement, and government capacity around clear national objectives. That is how the United States can turn discovery into products, companies, jobs, strategic advantage, and technological progress that benefits all Americans for the next 250 years.
Additionally, the U.S. must establish – or support existing – safeguards to protect researcher independence in pursuit of discovery. For example, Dr. Isler will urge the Committee to guard against political interference and interrupted access to federal funding, data, labs, and other publicly-funded resources.
FAS Role in the Science and Technology Ecosystem
The Federation of American Scientists approaches technology competitiveness from a science-first perspective. FAS was established 80 years ago by Manhattan Project scientists who understood that technological innovations must also be governed by those who understand the scale of its impact. Today FAS works on a broad suite of contemporary issues where science, technology, and innovation policy can deliver transformative impact, and seeks to ensure that scientific and technical expertise have a seat at the policymaking table. FAS continues to bring scientific rigor and analysis to address national challenges. More information about FAS’s work at fas.org.
More About Dr. Jedidah Isler
Dr. Isler joined the executive leadership team at FAS after serving as a Principal Assistant Director in the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy and as interim deputy director for the Science & Society division. There she helped develop, support, and advance numerous policy initiatives, including codification of public access to federally funded research, STEM education, research security, R&D infrastructure, equitable engagement, open science, and artificial intelligence. In particular, she conceptualized and helped deploy the nation’s first national strategy to address structural barriers for people interested in or pursuing STEM disciplines, including the development of public-private partnerships and commitments of over $1B.
Previously, she served on several large-scale organizational reviews for the American Institute of Physics, the National Academies of Science, Engineering & Medicine, and the Agency Review Team for NASA.
Before turning her attention to science policy, Dr. Isler was a member of the Physics & Astronomy faculty at Dartmouth College, where she pursued her award-winning research on hyperactive, supermassive black holes. She is a proud graduate of Norfolk State University and Fisk University and received her Ph.D. at Yale University. She held research fellowships at Harvard University, Vanderbilt University, and Syracuse University and was supported by the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the Ford Foundation. Her research, advocacy, and expertise in science communication have won numerous professional recognitions and have been highlighted in various television, social and print media features.
###
Called today to speak on behalf of U.S. science and technology, Dr. Jedidah Isler, astrophysicist, educator, strategist, policy-maker, and science communicator, will provide constructive, nonpartisan feedback to the House Committee’s hearing “American Global Competitiveness at 250: Legislative Proposals to Secure U.S. Technology Leadership.”
“Federal data and access to it is not a partisan issue. It is a people issue. Our country cannot achieve greatness without access to the data that measure what we value, who we are, and where we’re heading.”
The United States’ biosecurity governance system is structurally incapable of detecting and responding to certain classes of threats. U.S. biosecurity tools have not kept pace with technological advancements or a changing threat landscape.
The United States has never lacked for scientific ambition. What we need now is a renewed civic commitment to ensuring that talent is harnessed for the benefit of all people. Science can work for everyone. Join us as we build a broader coalition committed to that vision.