[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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