Tammy Baldwin Confronts NIH Director on Devastating Funding Cuts to Biomedical Research

NIH Funding Cuts Threaten Lifesaving Research

• 🎯 NIH is accused of cutting off lifesaving research and dismantling the US biomedical research enterprise, which would be devastating for millions of American families.
• 💡 NIH research has been crucial for medical advancements, contributing to 354 out of 356 drugs approved by the FDA between 2010-2019, including cancer immunotherapies and overdose reversal medications.
• 🚀 The agency has funded research leading to miracles like the first successful personalized gene editing treatment for a baby with a rare genetic disorder.

Unprecedented Grant Terminations and Delays

• ⚠️ NIH has taken the unprecedented step of terminating 2,370 active grants and $4.9 billion in funding.
• ⏳ Significant delays in awarding new and continuation grants, and preventing institutions from accessing existing funds, are crippling scientific progress.
• 🔬 These actions are derailing research on critical diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, cancer, and diabetes.

Politicization of Scientific Funding Decisions

• 🧑‍🔬 Decisions on which medical research grants to fund or terminate are being made by political appointees with no scientific training, a historical first.
• 🚫 This politicization injects political interests over science, making American science less rigorous, credible, and competitive.
• 📊 Specific examples include delayed funding for Alzheimer's disease research centers, cancer center support grants, and rare disease clinical research network grants.

Budget Proposals and Future Implications

• 📉 The administration's budget proposes a $18 billion cut (40%) to NIH for the next year, alongside a plan to award 15,000 fewer grants.
• 🗣️ Senator Baldwin argues that these actions and budget proposals demonstrate that administration's promises to maintain US global leadership in biomedical research are "empty words".
• 🏛️ Congress must intervene to protect the biomedical research enterprise, which has been built over nearly 100 years and produces miracle cures, saves lives, and offers hope.