House Democrats Renounce Trump Medical Research Cuts

House Democrats Renounce Trump Medical Research Cuts 

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s Administration is imposing a new policy to cap indirect costs for National Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants at 15 percent, which would cut billions of dollars in funding for life-saving research to develop cures and treatments for diseases. Under the leadership of House Appropriations Committee and Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro, Congress enacted a provision that has been included annually in appropriations bills since 2018 that explicitly prohibits any Administration from making these changes.

“Once again, President Trump and Elon Musk are acting in direct violation of the law. In this case, they are causing irreparable damage to ongoing research to develop cures and treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, ALS, Diabetes, Mental Health disorders, opioid abuse, genetic diseases, rare diseases, and other diseases and conditions affecting American families,” said Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro. “The Trump Administration is attempting to steal critical funds promised to scientific research institutions funded by the NIH, despite an explicit legal prohibition against this action.” 

In 2017, the first Trump Administration proposed to cut funding for NIH research by approximately $6 billion, or nearly 20 percent. President Trump’s proposal would have cut funding for cancer research by nearly $1 billion and imposed across-the-board cuts to every other area of life-saving research. Not surprisingly, the proposal was met by universal opposition, including opposition by Republicans as well as Democrats.

On October 24, 2017, the House Appropriations Committee held a congressional hearing on the topic of cuts to NIH-funded research institutions. The Committee invited experts from across the country—including Oklahoma, Connecticut, California, and the State of Washington—representing a range of research institutions that conduct biomedical research. In their congressional testimony, these experts laid out in meticulous detail the shared costs, known as “facilities and administrative (F&A) costs,” that are associated with world-class research that makes the United States the global leader in developing cures and treatments for diseases and other health conditions. These shared F&A costs are a necessary component of any world-class research program. They include costs for laboratories, scientific libraries, equipment, maintenance, utilities, security, and support staff. These are shared research costs that are not covered by funds provided in an individual research grant.