    [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.

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