1. United States
2. Ore.
3. Letter

congress I am asking you to oppose efforts by the NIH to cut funding for scientific research. Scientific research is essential to the health and welfare of the American people. It is what allows us to understand diseases and discover cures and treatments for them. The National Institutes of Health recently announced drastic cuts in funding for indirect costs of research. Indirect costs for biomedical research are vital to research efforts. They are not merely administrative, but can include aspects of research such as proper handling of biohazard waste and maintaining facilities for studying hazardous pathogens. Instituting cuts to funding without warning and without adequate time to prepare for alternative budgeting will result in shutting down critical areas of research, loss of jobs, and an increase in time spent doing administrative paperwork. The argument made by the NIH announcement that the NIH should follow the standard set by philanthropic foundations for indirect costs is faulty at best because the foundation grants are only a small fraction of research funding and are meant to increase the productivity of research infrastructure that is paid for by federal funding. Although, the announcement by the NIH claims that the purpose of the reduction in funding is to ensure that money goes towards research, the reality is that this decision will cause a funding crisis that will have the opposite effect, in essence halting and impeding current research efforts. The end result is harmful to the welfare of all Americans who benefit from advancements in science and technology.