NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

Congressional Record, Volume 171 Issue 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2025) [Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 39 (Thursday, February 27, 2025)] [Senate] [Pages S1441-S1442] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH Ms. BALDWIN. Mr. President, I rise today to sound the alarm about what is happening to our Nation's ability to advance lifesaving medical research in the first month of the Trump administration. As many of you know, I am a proud graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School. In many ways, I grew up at the university, where both of my grandparents, who raised me, worked. My grandmother ran the costume lab at the theater department, and my grandfather was a scientist. He was a biochemist who spent four decades unlocking the key to how our metabolism works--in large part thanks to funding from the National Institutes of Health. My grandfather and his colleagues pioneered breakthroughs that impacted biochemistry around the world, leading to all kinds of developments to keep our bodies healthy, from nutrition and diet to advanced drugs, to, really, so much more. I share my grandfather's story because it demonstrates why the NIH is so essential. As the world's premier biomedical research institution, the NIH invests in our health, our national security, our economy, and our future. These investments influence our Nation's competitive edge, patients' treatment options, and, simply put, American lives for generations to come. Research supported by the NIH has helped us find breakthroughs for treating diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, and substance use disorders. It is supporting clinical trials right now for patients battling terminal diagnoses for cancer. In fiscal year 2023, the NIH generated almost $93 billion in economic activity--nearly twice the Agency's budget. The engine behind all of it is, of course, researchers and scientists. They are dedicated scientists like my grandfather who right now are worried that their life's work--the work of keeping our loved ones healthy and saving lives--is in danger, all because Elon Musk and President Trump are firing nearly 1,200 critical staff across NIH Institutes and Centers, halting lifesaving research in its tracks, and indiscriminately and illegally freezing funding from going out the door to academic and research institutions across the country. Across the Department of Health and Human Services, Trump and Elon Musk have fired more than 5,000 public servants. We are talking about scientists, doctors, researchers, and so many others who are doing this critical work to keep us healthy. Musk and Trump are going so much deeper than firing the HHS workforce, which is damaging enough to research programs and puts Americans' lives at risk; they are throwing sand in the gears of the NIH--their basic grant-making operations--to prevent scientists from getting the resources they need to conduct lifesaving biomedical research in the first place. For instance, the President has unilaterally fired more than 130 employees at the National Cancer Institute--many of them scientists. Across the NIH, Trump and Musk have fired 160 program officers, grant management specialists, and other key administrators whose job it is to get grant funding out the door to universities and other research institutions across the country. Since President Trump took office, his administration has canceled more than 70 NIH study sections and advisory council meetings that are the final step in grant approval. This means that more than $1.5 billion in funding has been withheld so far--illegally and in blatant defiance of court orders--by this administration. The impact is already having ripple effects across the research community. [[Page S1442]] Take, for instance, Alzheimer's disease research. The Trump administration has stopped tens of millions of dollars from going out the door for Alzheimer's research, halting studies, clinical trials, and moving us further from a cure. The Trump administration is also terminating entire NIH training programs focused on supporting early career scientists from diverse backgrounds and folks who are underrepresented today in biomedical research. In its endless quest to cancel any program that even uses the word ``diversity,'' the Trump administration has even paused research involving women. Make no mistake, we will be feeling the impact of these cuts for decades to come. Universities are pausing graduate student admissions because they aren't sure they will have the funding to support the students they currently have enrolled. What is at stake is not just a generation of talent and our Nation's competitive edge; it is also the next breakthrough that could cure cancer or Alzheimer's disease. Thanks to Donald Trump's actions, the United States may lose its global competitive edge in biomedical research and cede it to China. In Wisconsin, our universities follow a long-held tradition known as the Wisconsin Idea. It is a pretty simple philosophy that says the work done at our universities should make an impact far beyond the classroom itself, and it does. From vitamin D, to human embryonic stem cells, to blood thinners and new treatments for Alzheimer's disease, Wisconsin universities and dedicated scientists like my grandfather have discovered breakthroughs that revolutionize the world of medicine and, more importantly, revolutionize how we keep our loved ones safe and well. So when President Trump and Elon Musk come after this funding and come after these public servants, they aren't just coming after scientists in classrooms and laboratories; the impact will spread far beyond those institutions. When they come after the NIH, they are coming after patients with terminal illnesses, who are right now being turned away from potentially lifesaving clinical trials because of these cuts. They are coming after the next breakthrough that could have helped your loved one battling Alzheimer's. They are coming after a young scientist who is living paycheck to paycheck who will not be able to pursue a research career developing treatments to help others get better. Now, you may be asking yourself: Why are Donald Trump and Elon Musk doing this? Well, the answer is pretty simple--so they can give tax breaks to billionaires. Why are they cutting off clinical trials and cancer research? So that people like Elon Musk don't have to pay their fair share. Why are they withholding funding to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease? So big corporations can pay less in taxes than the average American family. The cuts we are seeing right now will damage Americans' lives for the next generation--all so the wealthiest Americans can get wealthier. We must stand up to this illegal freeze on funding, this assault on the Federal workforce, and these billions of dollars in cuts that will take decades to undo. Our health and the health of our loved ones depend upon it. I yield the floor. The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington. ____________________