Today, more than 2,100 NIH grants — totaling roughly $9.5 billion — and $2.6 billion in contracts were abruptly terminated under President Donald Trump’s budget-cutting agenda.
Scientists based in Bethesda, Md., released the “Bethesda Declaration,” accusing the administration of politicizing peer review, halting critical COVID-19, climate health, and health disparities research, and slashing indirect cost rates to 15%.
They warned that the cuts waste years of work — including a $5 million study canceled at 80% completion — and jeopardize participant safety and public trust.
They decried frozen payments for diversity, inclusion, and sexual health research and said firing essential staff is slowing down life-saving trials.
Backed by federal law requiring NIH to address health disparities, the scientists argue that dissent is the essence of science, urging NIH and HHS leadership to restore merit-based funding, protect academic freedom, and maintain global research collaborations.
Click play to listen to the report from AURN White House Correspondent Ebony McMorris. For more news, follow @E_N_McMorris & @aurnonline.
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