A letter released from more than 150 NASA employees on Monday called on agency officials not to make deep budget cuts proposed by the White House, saying that they would have “serious” consequences.

“We are obliged to speak when our leadership prioritizes political momentum above human safety, scientific progress and effective use of public resources. These cuts are arbitrary and are enacted contrary to the Congress Act,” their letter states.

“These cuts are arbitrary and are issued in contravention of the Congress Awareness Act. The consequences for the agency and the country are severe.”

The White House budget proposal reduces NASA’s total budget by 24 percent, including a reduction by almost half the scientific agency. Politico reported in early July that as many as 2000 employees of the NASA under early retirement, buying out and other pushing can leave to reduce staff.

The Monday letter is addressed to acting NASA administrator Sean Duffy, who is also the head of the Department of Transport. In addition to 156 nominatories, it contains 287 current or former employees who have withheld their names for fear of retaliation.

Federal employees at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have written similar letters to their agencies in recent months, with mixed results.

The EPA placed nearly 150 staff members after signing a letter from division against the Trump administration’s treatment of the agency.

NIH director Jay Bhattacharya, meanwhile, said he welcomed the ‘reverent division’.

The letter from NASA employees will follow a dual letter from lawmakers to Duffy on Friday and warns that it would be illegal to act on Trump’s proposed cuts before the congress approves the budget.