1. United States
2. Md.
3. Letter

I am horrified by the Trump Administration’s cuts to the NIH. These cuts are a major attack on our nation’s scientific medical research program, which has been, until now, one of the best in the world. I’m told that NIH is basically frozen right now - they are not receiving grants even though courts have said the Executive Orders against them were illegal. Career scientists are being fired. NIH staff is not communicating with scientists. Our ability to do cutting-edge medical research is under major threat. If career scientists and NIH staff leave now that will be decades of experience that we can never get back. This doesn’t just impact the NIH either. My sister works at a research university, studying infectious diseases (something that is critically important in the era of COVID and bird flu), and her research is being impacted by the funding freeze as well. This is unconscionable. Funding science has always been a non-partisan endeavor; the refusal to fund it is just plain dumb. Congress needs to get this funding restored now, please!