President Trump is
proposing to cut the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget by $6 billion – or about one-fifth of the total agency budget. A cut to the NIH budget will almost certainly impact funding for biomedical research into Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME).
Bipartisan members of Congress are circulating a
letter that opposes this cut, and, instead, recommends that funding for the NIH should be at $2 billion above the 2017 level to adjust for inflation and the rising costs of biomedical research. The letter requests that the NIH be funded at $36 billion for 2018.
The letter describes the members’ value for the “critical role played by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in better health outcomes, job creation, education, and economic growth.
“At a time of unprecedented scientific opportunity, it is critical that the United States make forward-thinking investments that promote medical breakthroughs as well as our international leadership in biomedical research.”
Call your House representative and ask them to sign the bipartisan letter that supports funding for the NIH. Your representative must sign the letter
by March 31st by emailing
zach.bunshaft@mail.house.gov.