1. United States
2. Ore.
3. Letter

I'm writing to you today to ask you to speak up to protect public health, science, and local industry here in Oregon. You may recall last summer's attempt to shut down the Oregon National Primate Research Center. The ONPRC conducts life saving research on diseases like COVID, TB, HIV, Yellow Fever, and more. It provides hundreds of jobs, both in areas that have attracted brilliant scientists from across the world, and also jobs that provide training and career opportunities to the local community. Although last year's bill failed to pass, there are still ongoing threats to the center and its essential work. Recently, the NIH offered to use taxpayer money, which Congress designated for use in biomedical research, to turn the center into a sanctuary. A sanctuary not only wastes this money with no benefit to taxpayers, but would have much less oversight. Currently, the ONPRC is overseen by the USDA, but a sanctuary would not be. These levels of oversight promote animal welfare and accountability. A sanctuary would cost Oregon millions to run and would not be better for the animals. Opponents of the ONPRC argue that researchers should focus on more human based methods. Let me remind you of the history of human based research: James Marion Sims founded gynecology by conducting experimental surgery on enslaved women without anesthetic. Eduard Wirths conducted many research studies in Nazi concentration camps on Jews, disabled individuals, and gay men. The US Public Health Service and CDC denied Black men medical care for syphilis in Tuskegee. These are all horrific human rights violations that generated new medical treatments which we still use today. You may think I'm paranoid for thinking that this is the direction that these 'activists' and our government want to take our country. But they already have. The CDC gave $1.6 million to a study on newborns in Guinea-Bissau, to compare how children develop with a vaccine vs without one - instead exposing them to the deadly hepititis B virus with no protection. The government of Guinea-Bissau has denied the study, but the 68,000 detainees in ICE centers do not have that luxury. With this administration creating its own concentration camps, funding unethical human research, and our country's history of violence and dehumanization, I would not be surprised if similar human rights violations are already happening. Responsible animal research is the only alternative to develop safe, effective treatments for human disease. Alternative methods are developing, but they are not always reliable and still need to be validated. In fact, the ONPRC is a leader in developing these new methodologies. Shutting down the center will prevent these advances, not encourage them. Furthermore, the US Supreme Court ruled on Friday, Feb 20 that the executive branch's tariffs were unconstitutional, thereby reaffirming the separation of powers and Congress's financial authority. The recent offer from the NIH came from its director Jay Bhattacharya, without informing other employees at the NIH - let alone Congress. This is another example of unconstitutional executive overreach, which can and should be challenged. I ask that you stand with science, stand against human rights violations, and stand with the constitution. Please support the ONPRC and speak out against the misinformation campaign that has influenced many of Oregon's politicians. Thank you for your time,