A bipartisan duo who spearheaded major health research legislation last year is urging the Trump administration to not cut funding for the National Institutes of Health.
Reps. Fred Upton, R-Mich., and Diana DeGette, D-Colo., wrote an op-ed Wednesday saying Trump’s proposed cuts of $1.2 billion for the remainder of fiscal 2017 and $5.8 billion in 2018 are far too drastic.
“These cuts might make sense on a spreadsheet, but they don’t accurately reflect the critical and often unprecedented work this agency actually does,” the two lawmakers wrote in Morning Consult.
DeGette and Upton spearheaded the 21st Century Cures Act, which was signed into law by former President Barack Obama in December 2016. The law gave the NIH $4.8 billion in new funding over the next five years and adopted several reforms aimed at speeding up development of new cures.
“President Donald Trump’s proposed budget cuts throw many of these initiatives into turmoil,” the lawmakers wrote.
They already sent a letter to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget.
Other lawmakers have sought to preserve NIH’s funding, such as Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who helped shepherd cures through the Senate, and Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., who sits on the House Appropriations Committee.
