1. United States
2. Ala.
3. Letter

With regard to the so-called Big Beautiful Bill, I urge you to read Dr. Michael Saag's guest editorial published June 18th on al.com. This UAB researcher details much of what stands to be lost here in Alabama if changes are not made in this bill. The health and well-being of countless Alabamians is at risk. A reduction in the economic engine that is UAB risks our state's economy. He states that the entire current NIH budget is only 0.7% of the federal budget. Restoration of the items in the proposed NIH cuts (direct and indirect) could be done with a small reduction in the tax cuts for billionaires in this bill. If you are truly concerned with the federal debt, that would allow restoration of NIH to be budget-neutral. Otherwise one can only assume that harming your constituents is not a problem for you. Favoring billionaires over the health of your constituents makes no sense. There is no evidence whatsoever that tax cuts for billionaires spurs the overall US economy. However, there is certainly evidence that these cuts contribute to the national debt (which rose dramatically after tax cuts in 2001 and 2017). I beg you to make the big budget bill a bit less immoral by restoring full NIH funding.