Republican lawmakers demand OMB Director Vought release NIH funds

Republican lawmakers wrote to OMB Director Russel Vought demanding the release of Congressionally appropriated NIH funds.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, July 30, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In the Bethesda Declaration, National Institutes of Health (NIH) employees spoke out against the multi-pronged effort to interfere—through grant terminations, shifting policies and calculated delays—with the NIH's mission to support patients and public health research across the globe. Last Friday, 14 Republican lawmakers led by Senator Katie Britt (R-AL) wrote to Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russel Vought demanding the release of Congressionally appropriated NIH funds. In their letter, Senators warn that protracted funding delays will "jeopardize trust" and "hinder progress" at the NIH.

The Senators' letter follows the administration's and the OMB's unprecedented actions to influence and cut back the NIH's work. The Bethesda Declaration highlights these efforts to undermine academic freedom and scientific excellence and sets forth straightforward solutions and safeguards.

OMB's tactics have involved administrative procedures that redirect congressionally appropriated funds away from scientific research. These decisions threaten to cede the United States' global leadership in public health innovation. The Bethesda Declaration warns that this is part of an effort that "politicize[s] research by halting high-quality, peer reviewed grants and contracts." In a CBS interview over the weekend, Vought pushed back on the Republican lawmakers' letter and justified decisions to withhold NIH funding as "the same process [...] that we did with education."

The whistleblower scientists warn that these funding delays, presented as a "careful review" or "a process", will have the effect of suspending critical work and irreparably damaging the agency. In their letter, the Republican senators recognize the devastating impact and demand that the OMB "fully implement the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, including funds appropriated for the National Institutes of Health (NIH)."

In doing so, they stand firmly with the scientists of the Bethesda Declaration and U.S. District Court Judge William Young, who described similarly-motivated terminations of grants at NIH as "capricious and illegal." These 14 Republicans have made their priorities clear: support NIH science by following the law and implementing Congress' budget. Stand Up for Science welcomes these Republican lawmakers as champions for science.

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About Stand Up for Science: Stand Up for Science is a grassroots Washington, D.C. based 501(c)4 non-profit organization mobilizing the fight for science and democracy. We formed Stand Up for Science within days of executive orders breaking down federal science agencies. Weeks later, on March 7th, our first National Day of Action, we mobilized over 50,000 people at 170+ events across the world in support of science. Stand Up for Science has captured widespread national and international media attention, and federal scientists across multiple agencies (i.e., NIH, EPA and NASA) have chosen Stand Up for Science as the platform for their dissent against this administration. An opinion piece written by our founding leadership team is also available in Nature Human Behavior: “Why we organized ‘Stand Up for Science.’”

Brian Lovett
Stand Up for Science
media@standupforscience.net

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