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University of California says federal grant cuts are halting research, harming students and patient care
Summary
UC provost told the Assembly subcommittee that recent federal actions have already canceled hundreds of millions in awards, threaten graduate support and clinical research, and could weaken California’s research-driven economy.
Katherine Newman, provost of the University of California, told the California State Assembly Budget Subcommittee on Accountability and Transparency that recent federal grant cuts and administrative actions are already disrupting UC research, student support and patient care.
"That whole enterprise is now on a starvation diet," Newman said, describing the federal suspension and termination of awards and program reductions that she said have cost the UC system "hundreds of millions of dollars" in federal research funding. Newman told the panel that in 2023–24 the university received nearly $4 billion in federal research grants and that cuts and paused awards are affecting ongoing projects, graduate student support, and clinical trials.
Why it matters: UC research feeds the state economy through inventions, start-ups and high-skilled jobs and supports clinical trials and safety-net care. Newman said the loss of grant support undermines graduate fellowships, training programs for underserved students, and programs that support clinical research and patient care. She also warned of changes in visa and immigration enforcement that are reducing the attractiveness of U.S. campuses to international students; she said UC enrolls about 36,000 international students.
Details cited in testimony and Q&A: - Newman said UC researchers average about five inventions per day and the system has produced more than 1,200 start-ups based on UC patents. - She said the Department of Energy moved to cut facilities and administration (F&A) rates for grants and that legal challenges temporarily blocked that action; similar proposed NIH reductions would have cut more than $600 million from UC if implemented. - Federal changes are shrinking graduate research fellowships, which Newman said will reduce paid opportunities for graduate students; she cited the National Science Foundation and other federal research programs being scaled back. - Newman said UC students receive roughly $500 million annually in Pell Grant funding and that the bulk of Department of Education processing staff reductions and organizational changes raise operational risks for student aid. - On health care, Newman said UCHealth is an important provider of Medi-Cal inpatient care and flagged that any cuts to Medicaid could be "devastating" to the university's safety-net hospitals.
Lawmakers pressed Newman for more detail on what clinical trials and programs have been interrupted and asked the university to provide lists and human-impact examples to aid legislative outreach. Newman said UC is pursuing legal challenges where possible, collaborating with other universities and industry partners, and continuing public communications about program impacts.
The committee heard that strategies to mitigate the damage could include state-level support, industry partnerships and, in discussion, possible bond or other financing mechanisms to sustain critical research, but no formal state action was adopted at the hearing.
