The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is one of the most revolutionary medical research centers in the world, with a yearly budget of $37 billion. Every year, the NIH sponsors 300,000 scientists' groundbreaking research. Founded in 1887, the NIH has been essential in the evolution of healthcare, and has accomplished things like the creation of rapid COVID-19 tests, lowering of cancer rates, and disease prevention research. But now, President Donald Trump has announced massive budget cuts for NIH. According to the Trump administration, the rationale for this is cutting U.S. spending. But, cutting the spending of an incredibly important and innovative institute like the NIH will have detrimental effects on the world. There must be preventative legislation passed that will protect the NIH and prioritize medical research.
After Trump's latest statements, the NIH announced that their new budget will ideally be $4 billion per year rather than their typical $35 billion. While these cuts are related to indirect administrative costs, which may be less harmful than things like grants and research, the sudden and spontaneous cuts to basic necessities could prove to be detrimental, and is leaving many researchers worried. Not only that, but indirect costs deeply affect a big source of medical research — universities. Roughly 45 percent of medical research has occurred at universities over the last couple of years. These research-centric colleges largely rely on indirect costs to maintain their facilities — using funding as reimbursement to continue their valuable research.
Researchers are even more worried about the possible ramifications on public health these funding cuts could have. Specifically, it's indicated in Trump’s proposal that an astounding one billion dollars could cut funding for cancer research, as well as budget cuts to research for other dangerous diseases. The NIH, which just helped the world navigate a global pandemic, is being crippled by the federal government. “It’s honestly scary to see the research department being cut because that is where our future will come from,” Rebecca Seid, the President of the Berkeley High School Medical Club wrote in an email to the Jacket, “We may not see any more research-based opportunities for students or opportunities that allow students to fully explore their research interest.”
Every year, the NIH does incredible work that has saved millions of lives from many different kinds of health hazards. In a world that is still dealing with the impacts of the recent health crises, cutting costs on the very institution that made such positive strides during the pandemic is not only detrimental to public health and welfare but to morale as well. People believe in organizations like these to ensure their safety and create new medical innovations. The NIH is invaluable, and it needs to be protected as such. The Trump administration must recognize this, and change its course before it's too late.