A trio of Democrats on Monday referred to as on the Trump administration to revive full operations on the Nationwide Institutes of Well being (NIH) warning that the halt within the company’s grant course of might trigger “disastrous” penalties domestically and overseas.
Democratic Maryland Sens. Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) wrote to performing Well being and Human Service (HHS) Secretary Dorothy Fink about their considerations relating to disrupted NIH analysis.
Final week, the NIH canceled conferences important to the fellowship and grant-approval course of. This got here quickly after the Trump administration froze many federal well being company communications, although it stays unclear if these two actions are linked.
The Trump administration has additionally ordered all divisions of HHS to cease exterior communications till Feb. 1.
“Without quick corrective action, the consequences of further disruption could be disastrous for both medical progress in America and our nation’s overall standing and competitiveness on the world stage,” the lawmakers wrote.
“We therefore urge you to restore full operations at NIH, including by promptly ending the external communications freeze across the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and resuming federal advisory committees, study sections, patient engagement, and travel for staff at NIH.”
The letter was first reported by The Washington Put up.
The pause within the grant-making course of has alarmed researchers within the U.S. who’ve warned that the assembly course of for NIH grants just isn’t simply rescheduled and will threaten future research.
“The HHS-wide communications freeze is currently in place through February 1, 2025, and we are deeply troubled by the consequences of any further delays in the NIH research award process, trainings, patient outreach and engagement, and other external communications beyond that date,” the Democratic lawmakers wrote Fink.
They requested that the NIH shortly resume regular operations as a way to finish the “administrative chaos.”
