In Senate Floor Speech, Durbin Announces Resolution With Van Hollen, Alsobrooks, Other Senate Democrats To Support Critical Work At NIH As Elon Musk, President Trump Continue To Slash Funding
Durbin asked for unanimous consent from the Senate to pass a resolution in support of NIH; Republicans rejected it
WASHINGTON – Today, in a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) asked for unanimous consent (UC) to pass a resolution he introduced with U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), as well as 21 other Senators, that would pledge support for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as President Trump and Elon Musk continue to illegally cut funding and resources at NIH. The resolution simply says that the work of NIH should not be subject to interruption, delay, or funding disruptions in violation of the law, and it reaffirms that the NIH workforce is essential to sustaining medical progress. U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) rejected Durbin’s UC request.
“All the progress we have made [at NIH], all the progress we hope to make is in danger because of Donald Trump and Elon Musk. That’s right—these two men promised to bring down the price of eggs, gasoline, and make housing more affordable. None of that has happened. Instead, they are carrying out an unprecedented and devastating campaign to cut research funding for cancers, ALS, Alzheimer’s, dementia, and infectious diseases,” Durbin said. “Instead of making life better for Americans, they want to slash research funding for the National Institutes of Health.”
Durbin continued, “NIH funding is why people are beating cancer, why babies are being spared from preventable illnesses, why HIV is no longer a death sentence, why progress is being made on dementia and other neurological diseases.”
Since the start of this Administration, the White House has unleashed a lawless, chaotic attack on everything from funding for farmers to biomedical research.
“Let me tell you this—there is nothing to cheer about when it comes to [cutting] medical research. It was this bizarre memo from the Office of Management and Budget that illegally froze federal grant funding. They even prohibited the recipients of federal grants and medical research from physically meeting in the same place... The cuts that were announced by this Administration were quickly halted by a federal judge… but it seems even though the Court made a ruling, this Administration is still holding up funding, in violation of the court’s order. As a result, NIH has delayed awarding approximately $1 billion in grant funding—delaying research at institutions nationwide,” Durbin said.
Durbin spoke about how the Administration’s cuts to NIH is harming one of his constituents, Dr. Timothy Koh—a Professor of Kinesiology and Nutrition at the University of Illinois Chicago. For 15 years, Dr. Koh has been researching why people with diabetes develop wounds that do not heal, as well as researching treatments to address these wounds. While having steady federal funding for his research through the years, Dr. Koh was recently informed that his NIH grant application is on hold because of the federal funding freeze. His current grant is scheduled to end on Friday, and if his grant is not renewed, he will have to lay off lab staff and will see major setbacks in his research. Dr. Koh recently said, “It’s going to potentially put an end to my research career, and we won’t be able to develop these new therapies for diabetic [patients].”
“Make no mistake: under the Constitution, Congress is supposed to have the ‘power of the purse’ and over the past decade, bipartisan members of Congress have worked on a bipartisan basis to [increase] NIH’s funding [by 60 percent]… We did this because we know that NIH funding leads to new cures and treatments for patients in need, it supports well-paying jobs nationwide, and it cements our global leadership,” Durbin continued.
Illinois universities and hospitals receive approximately $1.2 billion in NIH funding—which supports 14,000 jobs in the state and $3.5 billion in economic activity. Reports indicate that 1,200 NIH employees have been fired so far under President Trump and Musk’s direction—from experienced vaccine researchers to the next generation of scientists, to the Acting Director of the NIH’s Alzheimer’s and dementia program. Further, President Trump and Musk have reportedly ended a popular trainee program that brought 1,600 young scientists just out of college to the NIH’s world-renowned campus in Maryland to help run labs.
Durbin concluded, “NIH research leads to the new cures and treatments that extend, improve, and save lives which is why I am introducing a resolution today to simply say of Senators on both sides of the aisle: let’s pledge support to make NIH an exception. Let’s not let wanton cuts stop something very valuable. This resolution is straight-forward—it says that the work of NIH should not be subject to interruption, delay, or funding disruptions in violation of the law, and it reaffirms that the workforce of the NIH is essential to sustaining medical progress… This is not controversial—Americans get sick on a bipartisan basis—shouldn’t we support medical research on a bipartisan basis? For as long as I can stand, for as long as I can speak, I will fight to protect NIH and the medical research it supports… I hope my Republican colleagues wake up and join me before it’s too late.”
Van Hollen and Alsobrooks—whose state is home to NIH’s campus—helped lead the introduction of today’s resolution with Durbin. Along with Durbin, Van Hollen, and Alsobrooks, today’s resolution was cosponsored by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tina Smith (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Chris Coons (D-DE), Peter Welch (D-VT), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Angus King (I-VT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Ed Markey (D-MA), and Jack Reed (D-RI).
“The dedicated civil servants at NIH work tirelessly on behalf of the American people to develop medical advancements that save lives. Donald Trump and Elon Musk’s reckless efforts to attack the agency are not only throwing this critical work into chaos, they’re also flat-out illegal. It’s disgraceful that Republicans refuse to join us in defending what has been a long record of bipartisan investment in biomedical research that helps Americans live longer, healthier lives,” said Van Hollen.
“The Marylanders who work at NIH are contributing to lifesaving research and medical advancements. To stop this work will literally cost lives. The President and this Administration are no longer just targeting civil servants—they're targeting the American people,” said Alsobrooks.
Video of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here.
Audio of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here.
Footage of Durbin’s remarks on the floor is available here for TV Stations.
Text of the resolution can be found here.
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