Van Hollen: Trump’s Budget Would Hurt Research in Maryland

Today U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committees, released the following analysis of some of the impacts that the Trump budget would have on research institutions in Maryland:

"The United States is the world leader in innovative research, and I'm proud to say much of that work takes place in our great state. The role of the federal government is to foster that research, not attack it," said Senator Van Hollen. "Whether it's finding cures for diseases that impact every single family in our county or bringing clean technology into our homes, the research happening in Maryland is improving lives. Just today, I met with a six-year-old girl whose life was saved by NIH research on tuberculous. President Trump's budget turns its back on this work, and I will fight it at every step."

The Trump budget proposal would gut the budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), slashing it by $5.8 billion or nearly 20 percent. Twenty-six of the 27 NIH institutes and centers call Maryland home, and every one would be impacted. Senator Van Hollen has toured NIH and talked in detail with Director Francis Collins, who explained the negative hits our nation would take if their budget is scaled back.

Dr. Elizabeth M. Jaffee, Deputy Director of The Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins, said, "At a time when I have never seen more excitement and tangible progress in the field of cancer research, the Trump Administration's proposed cuts to the NIH in FY 2018 are shocking and simply unthinkable. Our country's federal investment in medical research is the reason we are saving and improving more lives from this devastating disease that affects millions of Americans and their loved ones. Now is not the time to roll back funding for this vital research but rather, now is the time to accelerate our efforts through robust, sustained, and predictable increases in funding for the NIH, and to move forward with transformative initiatives such as the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot."

Medical research isn't the only area that would be hurt by this proposal. The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy - which currently supports 12 projects in Maryland - is eliminated in this budget. That would end innovative energy research at places like Johns Hopkins and University of Maryland.