SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (WCIA) – A group of Democratic attorneys general, including Illinois’ Kwame Raoul, is challenging President Donald Trump over his decision to slash funding for medical research across the country.
The Trump administration announced Friday that the National Institutes of Health is now implementing a standard indirect rate of 15% across all grants they fund. This means only 15% of a given award can go towards the facilities and administration needed to carry out the grants.
Before the rule, each grant was negotiated with government officials separately on their indirect rate. This universal rule is set to take effect Monday.
“The United States should have the best medical research in the world,” part of the notice from the NIH reads. “It is accordingly vital to ensure that as many funds as possible go towards direct scientific research costs rather than administrative overhead.”
Attorneys General representing 22 states—including Illinois—filed a lawsuit Monday to get a temporary restraining order against the new rule for their states. They point out Congress has included language in appropriations law that forbids NIH and the Department of Health and Human Services from making universal changes to indirect cost reimbursements.
In a news conference Monday, Raoul described the move by the Trump administration as “an enormous and unprecedented shift.”
“This change would force universities to cut back on critical medical research activities now, and prevent students from gaining the skills necessary to become effective researchers in the future,” Raoul said.
Across the country, the move would cut $4 billion to universities, NIH officials said. And $67 million of that alone would head to the University of Illinois system, Raoul said.
He added that the research whose federal funding has been cut included developing new treatments for cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and diabetes.
“This recklessness will hurt public health and put America’s status as a world-leading innovator at serious risk,” Raoul added.
The full lawsuit can be found here.