Scientists Warn Trump's NIH Cuts Will Drop 'Atomic Bomb' On Health Research

LOADING ERROR LOADING WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump’s drastic cuts to National Institutes of Health funding will cripple biomedical research, stifle innovation and eliminate thousands of jobs, including in red states that voted for the president, scientists warned this week. Known generally as “indirect costs,” they include things like rent for space, utilities, internet access, payroll, equipment and other intangible benefits, like free research assistants. “Now is not the time to cut back on research or, as suggested by, put a moratorium on infectious disease research.” Trump’s allies, like billionaire Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency who’s been empowered by the president to unilaterally slash federal spending, have complained about elite universities with large endowments “siphoning” grants with high rates of indirect costs. “Further, the institutions that are going to be hurt the worst by this policy will be the public universities, particularly those in ‘red’ states, which will have devastating impacts on public education and on the local economies.” Red states with multiple major research universities will lose a tremendous amount of federal funding under the new NIH grant formula, including Texas, Ohio, Tennessee, Missouri, Florida, Indiana, Alabama, Utah, Iowa and South Carolina. “Every cent of hard-earned taxpayer money should be spent efficiently, judiciously and accountably — without exception,” Britt told the outlet, before going on to say that “a smart, targeted approach is needed in order to not hinder lifesaving, groundbreaking research at high-achieving institutions like those in Alabama.” Sen. Susan Collins also said Monday that the “poorly conceived” NIH cuts would be “devastating” to health institutions in her state.