This article is a part of Every Voice, Every Vote, a collaborative project managed by the Lenfest Institute for Journalism with lead support from the William Penn Foundation, and additional funding from Lenfest, Comcast NBC Universal, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Henry L. Kimelman Family Foundation, Judy and Peter Leone, Arctos Foundation, Wyncote Foundation, 25th Century Foundation, Dolfinger-McMahon Foundation and Philadelphia Health Partnership. This article was created independently of the project’s donors.
As federal research dollars remain in limbo, Pennsylvania lawmakers say it will take more than state government to keep Philly’s innovation economy alive.
In Pennsylvania, federal funding for scientific programs fuels innovation and economic growth. As the Trump administration continues to revoke funding for research, STEM education and other innovation grants, Pennsylvania state Reps. Mary Isaacson, Christopher Rabb and Tarik Khan gathered at a Science Town Hall hosted last week by Philadelphia Science Action to explain their plans to keep the ecosystem funded in Philadelphia.
Their answers call on stakeholders well beyond the 253 members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, including the universities and established startups.
The level of collaboration between government, academia and business that made Philly the city of “eds and meds” is also what’s needed for the industry to get through the current turmoil, the representatives said at the event hosted by Philadelphia Science Action at the Science History Institute.
“If you’re part of this legal system, this industry, eds and meds and doing all these things, and you feel insulated because you were able to raise a ton of money through venture capital,” Rabb warned, “those days are over.”
Less money to support research and education means fewer budding scientists coming to Philly to skill up and, eventually, join the talent market. It’s also causing more established local workers to change careers, according to Khan, who said there’s only so much the General Assembly can do about it.
“There are things we can do on a state level, but let’s be honest,” Khan said, “the money that is being taken away, in no world can our state dollars make up for that.”
Why research funding doesn’t float to the top
Many of the challenges the Trump administration has posed around federal grants can only be settled in the courts.
Both Gov. Josh Shapiro and Pennsylvania universities have sued over the funding issues, and representatives at the town hall said constituents should pay attention to local judicial races to have their voices heard on the topics.
“It doesn’t mean that we’re not trying to do things to assist where we can,” Rep. Isaacson said, pointing out that state-level electeds can’t, for example, intervene in immigration law largely controlled by the federal government.
With very narrow Democratic control of the Pennsylvania House, the representatives also say they have to pick their battles — and science funding usually does not make it to the top of the list.
“Our first and firstmost has to be taking care of those who have nothing,” Isaacson said, referencing people who “depend on food stamps, SNAP, Medicaid, Medicare.”
On top of calling on the private sector to look beyond their own institutions to support the ecosystem at large, Rabb also said several academic institutions in Pennsylvania have their own access to cash that could make up for some cuts — which would help avoid dipping into state funds.
Pennsylvania universities raked in hundreds of millions in investment returns on their endowment funds in 2024. The University of Pennsylvania, for example, is sitting on one of the largest endowments in the US at $22.3 billion. Yet it has instructed faculty to halt work on projects funded by $175 million in federal research grants.
Rabb described his view of the situation in characteristically blunt fashion.
“What’s the point of having ‘fuck-you money’ if you don’t say fuck you?” Rabb said. “These universities have endowments. Use them with moral courage when you need the most.”
