Senators warn NIH funding freezes, staff cuts and proposed 15% indirect cost cap threaten research pipeline
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Summary
Multiple senators told the Senate HELP Committee they were alarmed by reported NIH freezes on grant reviews, halted awards and job cuts; witnesses and senators said a proposed 15% cap on indirect costs would significantly reduce funding for research institutions.
Senators on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee said operations at the National Institutes of Health are at risk after reports of grant freezes, pauses to advisory meetings and personnel reductions.
Senator Patty Murray said recent press reports indicate about 1,200 NIH employees have been terminated — roughly 6% of the workforce — and that grant reviews and clinical trials have paused. Murray and others told nominee Jay Bhattacharya they expected a director to restore advisory committees and help ‘‘get that moving again day 1’’ if confirmed. Bhattacharya replied that he would assess personnel decisions immediately and ‘‘make sure that the scientists that are supported by the NIH have the resources they need.’’
Senator Collins described an administration proposal to cap indirect costs on NIH grants at 15% and called it "ill conceived and completely arbitrary," adding that appropriations language since 2017 prohibits unilateral change to the indirect cost formula. Collins said that cap would be unlawful and would cause severe disruption to institutions of all sizes and in all states.
Witnesses and senators gave specific examples to illustrate the potential scale: senators and witnesses told the committee that Stanford’s indirect cost rate is about 55%, and that a 15% cap could reduce Stanford’s recoveries by roughly $160 million per year. Senator Baldwin said the administration had halted $65 million in Alzheimer’s funding that affected 14 research centers and warned the centers could run out of funding by April without resumption of awards.
Committee members asked Bhattacharya whether he would follow existing law and consult with agency counsel; Bhattacharya said "absolutely" and promised to work ‘‘directly’’ with senators and counsel if confirmed.
The committee did not take formal action; senators sought commitments that clinical trials and ongoing research would not be left in limbo while appropriations and policy questions are resolved.
Provenance: topicintro excerpt: "Just say that right now, president Trump and Elon Musk are really putting a lot of life saving research at risk. We've had grant freezes, pauses on advisory meetings, pauses on clinical trials, mass firings being carried out by the so called doge." (block_id: block_3097.695) topfinish excerpt: "If confirmed, I absolutely commit to, to following the law, to addressing this issue very directly. I think that, this is 1 of these issues..." (block_id: block_3627.16)