{"id":3271,"date":"2025-06-12T15:18:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T15:18:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/healthyretirementnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/12\/senators-grill-nih-director-on-massive-budget-cuts\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T15:18:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T15:18:12","slug":"senators-grill-nih-director-on-massive-budget-cuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/healthyretirementnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/12\/senators-grill-nih-director-on-massive-budget-cuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Senators grill NIH director on massive budget cuts"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/action-bar\/instances\/cmbqogxmi003l26oycrw95pyq@published\" data-label-id-prefix=\"action-bar-start-of-article\" class=\"action-bar\" data-dynamic-breakpoint-placement=\"{&quot;extraLarge&quot;:{&quot;placement&quot;:&quot;.layout-article-elevate__left&quot;}}\" data-expand-conditions=\"{&quot;follow&quot;:{&quot;extraLarge&quot;:{&quot;alwaysExpand&quot;:true}},&quot;shareOptions&quot;:{&quot;large&quot;:{&quot;maxNumOfActions&quot;:1},&quot;medium&quot;:{&quot;maxNumOfActions&quot;:1},&quot;extraLarge&quot;:{&quot;withAction&quot;:&quot;follow&quot;,&quot;maxNumOfActions&quot;:2}}}\">\n<div class=\"action-bar__overlay\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"action-bar__action-sheet\">\n<div class=\"action-bar__action-sheet--header\">\n<div class=\"action-bar__action-sheet--header-title\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"action-bar__action-sheet--header-close\">                            <\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"action-bar__action-sheet--action\" data-title=\"follow\">\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/follow-topics-bar\/instances\/cmbqogxmi003p26oy4iv2ay9v@published\" data-unauth-redirect=\"\/account\/register\/follow\" data-embed-max-topics=\"\" class=\"follow-topics-bar follow-topics-bar_overlay follow-topics-bar--hide\">\n<div class=\"follow-topics-bar_overlay__inner\">\n<div class=\"follow-topics-bar_overlay__scroll-wrapper\">                  <button data-unselectable=\"true\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/chip\/instances\/cmbqogxmi003q26oyhy4xe6ip@published\" class=\"chip follow-topics-chip \" data-component-variation=\"follow-topics-chip\" data-component-name=\"chip\" data-zjs=\"click\" data-enable-interstitial=\"true\" data-override-success=\"\" data-label=\"Congressional news\" data-id=\"1b312755-3ccb-4bc0-b75c-527d4181e03d\" data-reset-on-log-out=\"true\">    <span class=\"chip__label\">Congressional news<\/span>    <span class=\"chip__icon\">        <span class=\"chip__icon--check\"><\/span>        <span class=\"chip__icon--add\"><\/span>    <\/span><\/button>        <\/div>\n<div class=\"follow-topics-bar_overlay__fade follow-topics-bar_overlay__fade--hide\"><\/div>\n<p>                      See all topics              <\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"action-bar__action-sheet--action\" data-title=\"share options\">\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/social-share\/instances\/cmbqogxmi003o26oycl17cyr8@published\" class=\"social-share_labelled-list\">\n<div class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share-links vossi-social-share_labelled-list\" data-type=\"share-links\">        <button class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dialog\/share?app_id=80401312489&amp;href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F06%2F10%2Fhealth%2Fnih-bhattacharya-budget-hearing&amp;display=popup\" data-type=\"facebook\" aria-label=\"share with facebook\" title=\"Share with Facebook\">                                <span class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share-links--label\">Facebook<\/span>        <\/button>        <button class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share\" data-url=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Check%20out%20this%20article%3A&amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2025%2F06%2F10%2Fhealth%2Fnih-bhattacharya-budget-hearing\" data-type=\"x\" aria-label=\"share with x\" title=\"Share with X\">                                <span class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share-links--label\">Tweet<\/span>        <\/button>                                        <span class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share-links--label\">Email<\/span>                <button class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share\" data-url=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/06\/10\/health\/nih-bhattacharya-budget-hearing\" data-type=\"copy\" aria-label=\"copy link to clipboard\" title=\"Copy link to clipboard\">                                <span class=\"social-share_labelled-list__share-links--label\">Link<\/span>        <\/button>        <\/p>\n<div class=\"social-share_labelled-list__copied\" data-type=\"message\">                        Link Copied!        <\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>    <button class=\"social-share_labelled-list__open\" data-type=\"open\" aria-label=\"open social share\" title=\"Open social share\">            <\/button>    <button class=\"social-share_labelled-list__close\" data-type=\"close\" aria-label=\"close social share\" title=\"Close social share\">            <\/button><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"action-bar__buttons\">            <button class=\"action-bar__button\" data-title=\"follow\">                                        Follow            <\/button>            <button class=\"action-bar__button\" data-title=\"share options\">                                <\/button>    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqogxmi003n26oy8db2e1p1@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya faced critical questions from both Republican and Democratic senators Tuesday as he sought to defend the Trump administration\u2019s sweeping plans to reorganize the agency and slash budgets for medical research.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqohsm900023b6ml3bh4ia8@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, swiftly criticized the current budget cuts and proposed changes, including a nearly 40% reduction to the National Institute of Aging\u2019s spending and 40% overall cuts to the agency\u2019s overall $48 billion budget.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqohsm900033b6mb1w28nqi@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cAs the senator representing \u2026 the oldest state in the nation, this is a particular concern,\u201d Collins said. \u201cI know personally what it means to so many American families.\u201d    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqohsm900043b6mldj03lcj@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The senator also said caps on indirect spending for universities are \u201cso poorly conceived\u201d and have harmed U.S. medical research. \u201cIt is leading to scientists leaving the United States for opportunities in other countries. It\u2019s causing clinical trials to be halted and promising medical research to be abandoned,\u201d Collins said.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqohsm900053b6mkvkoxrcz@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            A federal court has paused the 15% cap on payments for indirect costs, but the administration assumed savings from the change in its 2026 fiscal year budget.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqvcqeh00003b6mb03su5zo@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Collins pressed Bhattacharya to consult with Kelvin Droegemeier, a scientific adviser during President Trump\u2019s first term, who has proposed alternative models for university grant spending. Bhattacharya said he cannot discuss<strong> <\/strong>the current cost cap because of ongoing litigation, but is open to working with Congress on potential reforms to the grant spending system.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqohsm900063b6mgro31p1z@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The NIH director defended certain administrative changes while distancing himself from others, such as a pause on Northwestern University\u2019s grant funding, saying some terminations happened before he assumed his role.    <\/p>\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/related-content\/instances\/cmbqorqip000q3b6mehbwynvp@published\" data-component-name=\"related-content\" class=\"related-content-elevate related-content--article\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">\n<header class=\"related-content__title related-content__title-text\" data-editable=\"content.title\">Related article<\/header>\n<section class=\"related-content__body\">\n<div class=\"related-content__image image__related-content\">\n<div data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/image\/instances\/cmbock49z00lv27o0d6j52n2d@published\" class=\"image-elevate image__hide-placeholder\" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-name=\"GettyImages-2213974147.jpg\" data-component-name=\"image\" data-observe-resizes=\"\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image--eq-large&quot;: 660}\" data-original-ratio=\"0.6665\" data-original-height=\"1333\" data-original-width=\"2000\" data-url=\"https:\/\/media.cnn.com\/api\/v1\/images\/stellar\/prod\/gettyimages-2213974147.jpg?c=original\" data-editable=\"settings\">\n<div class=\"image__container \" data-image-variation=\"image\" data-breakpoints=\"{&quot;image--eq-extra-small&quot;: 115, &quot;image--eq-small&quot;: 300, &quot;image--show-credits&quot;: 525}\">           <\/div>\n<div class=\"image__metadata-container media__metadata-container\">\n<div class=\"image__metadata media__metadata\">\n<div class=\"image__caption attribution\">    <span data-editable=\"metaCaption\" class=\"inline-placeholder\">On Monday, NIH staffers published a letter of dissent they called the &#8220;Great Bethesda Declaration.&#8221;<\/span>  <\/div><figcaption class=\"image__credit\">Bill Clark\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc.\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"related-content__headline\">        <span class=\"related-content__headline-text\" data-editable=\"content.headline\">NIH employees publish \u2018Bethesda Declaration\u2019 in dissent of Trump administration policies<\/span>      <\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqohsm900073b6m3h0hgn2a@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            In answering Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin about overall cuts, Bhattacharya took responsibility for other sweeping grant cancellations. \u201cThere\u2019s changes in priorities at the NIH to move away from politicized science, I made those decisions,\u201d he said.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqohsm900083b6m26k9o02p@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The hearing room was filled with purple-garbed advocates for Alzheimer\u2019s disease research and representatives of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network dressed in light blue.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqohsm900093b6mh1l4z0z2@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Baldwin harshly criticized the proposed $18 billion reduction to the NIH\u2019s total spending, saying cuts will bite as the NIH funds 15,000 fewer medical research projects.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqohsm9000a3b6mardt79gg@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cWhile I think Congress will reject your budget request, it clearly shows the administration\u2019s intent,\u201d Baldwin said. \u201cHow is this proposal anything but intentionally sabotaging biomedical research?\u201d    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqohsm9000b3b6mcnkd3ffq@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Bhattacharya said he is \u201chappy to work with Congress\u201d on the budget and more flexible spending on medical research.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqvgdw900053b6mjro2gt76@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat from Washington, interrogated Bhattacharya on the number of NIH departures since mass layoffs and reorganization plans. The senator said that she spoke with Bhattacharya on the phone last week, but still, \u201cfor months\u201d has not received answers about how many people have left the agency since the initial Department of Government Efficiency shakeups began this February.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqvgz6s000j3b6my49hj1d3@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cOver the past few months, this administration has fired and pushed out nearly 5,000 critical employees across NIH, prevented nearly $3 billion in grant funding from being awarded, and terminated nearly 2,500 grants, totaling almost $5 billion for life-saving research that is ongoing, that includes clinical trials for HIV and Alzheimer\u2019s disease,\u201d Murray said.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqvgz6s000k3b6me5yy1k5j@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Bhattacharya said that 25 people in NIH\u2019s clinical center were laid off \ufeffas part of<strong> <\/strong>the reduction of force plan, but that he could not provide the full figure of how many people have left NIH since the reorganization started. Murray asked for those figures by the end of Tuesday.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqvgz6s000l3b6mkgt1kyfr@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Other Democratic senators questioned the rapid, mass terminations of hundreds of grants that included words like diversity, equity, race, disparity, and gender. Those March and April terminations total\ufeff, by some estimates, between at least $1.8 and $2.7 billion in funding.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqvgz6s000m3b6m10vdgw6g@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cI guess what I\u2019d like from you is an admission that that was too rough of a cut and you still have some work to do in untangling,\u201d said Sen. Brian Schatz, a Democrat from Hawaii.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqvgz6s000n3b6muxdq0do0@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Schatz added that by at least one expert\u2019s estimation, untangling the frozen and terminated grants could take 18 months.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqvgz6s000o3b6mfq9x3m2e@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            Bhattacharya said that he \u201cestablished a process for those grant terminations and decisions\u201d and \u201chundreds of people have appealed.\u201d    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqvgz6s000p3b6mlun88z1q@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            The NIH director was sworn into his role on April 1, after many of those DOGE-led terminations took place. But he said that appeals will move swiftly.    <\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph-elevate inline-placeholder vossi-paragraph\" data-uri=\"cms.cnn.com\/_components\/paragraph\/instances\/cmbqvgz6s000q3b6mlekpdnqm@published\" data-editable=\"text\" data-component-name=\"paragraph\" data-article-gutter=\"true\">            \u201cIt won\u2019t take 18 months. It\u2019ll take weeks to get through those appeals. We\u2019ve reversed many of them,\u201d he told the Senate panel. \u201cI mean, I didn\u2019t take this job to terminate grants. I took this job to make sure that we do the research that advances the health needs of the American people.\u201d    <\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div>This post appeared first on cnn.com<\/div>\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Congressional news See all topics Facebook Tweet Email Link Link Copied! 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