NEW: Baldwin, Welch Announce Former NIH Director, Researchers, Clinical Trial Patients as Witnesses for Forum on Trump’s NIH Cuts
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Peter Welch (D-VT) announced the witnesses for their forum Wednesday, “Cures in Crisis: What Gutting NIH Research Means for Americans with Cancer, Alzheimer's, & Other Diseases.” The forum will feature former Director of the National Institutes for Health (NIH), Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, M.D., two Alzheimer’s disease researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Emory University, and two patients who have benefitted from NIH clinical trials. The panelists will testify in front of Senators on how deep cuts, staffing layoffs, and delayed funding at NIH will impact life-saving research and outcomes for patients battling cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, ALS, and other serious illnesses.
Below are details of the forum:
WHEN:
Wednesday, March 26, 2025, 2:30pm EST
WHERE:
SD-106, Livestream available here
WHO:
- U.S. Senators
- Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, M.D., former Director of the NIH
- Dr. Sterling Johnson, PhD, University of Wisconsin-Madison Professor and Associate Director of Wisconsin Alzheimer's Disease Research Center
- Dr. Whitney Wharton, PhD, Emory University Associate Professor and Alzheimer’s Disease researcher
- Dr. Larry Saltzman, M.D., retired physician living with leukemia and former Executive Research Director for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
- Mr. Jessy Ybarra, veteran living with ALS and Board of Trustees member for the ALS Association
“As Donald Trump and Elon Musk claim they want to ‘Make America Healthy Again,’ they are halting lifesaving research that gives Americans battling Alzheimer’s disease and cancer hope every day that they have a fighting chance at getting better,” said Senator Baldwin. “This week, we’re bringing together patients and researchers to spotlight who is impacted by their reckless cuts and encourage this Administration to immediately reverse course. Right now, we’re losing critical time we cannot get back for American families who are desperate for cures. It’s those families this Administration must answer to as they actively put the next generation of medical breakthroughs out of reach.”
Over the last two months, the Trump Administration has attacked, compromised, and gutted research at the NIH for lifesaving cures and treatments, including:
- Cutting Funding for Research Facilities: NIH announced last month that it was planning to arbitrarily cap indirect cost rates at 15%, which would slash billions of dollars in funding that helps research institutions, like the University of Wisconsin, operate their facilities and labs, pay staff, and buy equipment needed for groundbreaking work to find cures for diseases and treatments for patients.
- Stopping Funding for Alzheimer’s Disease: The Trump Administration is jeopardizing $65 million in funding for Alzheimer’s disease research at 14 research institutions across the country. 14 of the 35 Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers (ADRCs) have had their funding halted because the Trump Administration continues to cancel NIH Advisory Council meetings, which are the final required step in the grant approval process.
- Terminating Grants for Lifesaving Research: The Trump Administration stopped all grant funding at NIH for ten days in February and is continuing to block funding for lifesaving disease research, like finding a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. This halt in funding is despite two court orders directing the Trump Administration to end its unlawful efforts to freeze all federal grants. This is in addition to Elon Musk indiscriminately terminating hundreds of active NIH grants every week, in direct defiance of federal court orders to stop NIH funding changes amid ongoing litigation.
- Gutting Critical Staff: Mass layoffs at HHS under Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.’s direction are impacting everything from research to clinical trials, including scientists, nurses, pharmacists, and experts tracking disease spread. Reports show the NIH is expected to cut between 3,400 and 5,000 positions from its workforce of 20,000.
NIH funding contributed to research for roughly 99 percent of drugs approved between 2010 and 2019, including heart medications, according to the Center for American Progress. The advocacy group United for Medical Research found that in fiscal year 2023, funding from the agency supported more than 410,000 jobs, with 10,000 NIH-supported jobs in some states. In that same year, NIH-funded research fueled nearly $93 billion in economic spending. Overall, the economic benefit of NIH funding is more than twice the investment made through NIH appropriations. For a breakdown of how much funding each state receives from the NIH, click here.
###