14 Republican senators urge White House to release delayed NIH funds
The Republican senators stressed in their letter they shared Vought's 'commitment to ensuring NIH funds are used responsibly and not diverted to ideological or unaccountable programs.'
They also expressed their confidence in Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and NIH director Jay Bhattacharya, writing, 'Our shared goal is to restore public trust in the NIH precisely because its work is focused on results, accountability, and real-world impact.'
But, they added, 'Withholding or suspending these funds would jeopardize that trust and hinder progress on critical health challenges facing our nation. Ultimately, this is about finding cures and seeing them through to fruition.'
The NIH is the top funder of biomedical research in the country. The University of Alabama is also major recipient of NIH funding and is the top employer in Britt's home state.
Among the signers of the letter is Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins of Maine and several other appropriations subcommittee chairs: Sens. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Jerry Moran of Kansas and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.
Other signatures are Sens. John Boozman or Arkansas, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Dave McCormick of Pennsylvania, Dan Sullivan of Alaska, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Todd Young of Indiana.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
a minute ago
- The Hill
Lutnick says tariffs set in place Aug 1: ‘No extensions. No more grace periods.'
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday that President Trump would not grant any further extensions to countries wishing to negotiate trade deals ahead of the Aug. 1 deadline. 'No extensions, no more grace periods. Aug. 1, the tariffs are set,' Lutnick said in an interview on 'Fox News Sunday.' 'They'll go into place, customs will start collecting the money, and off we go,' Lutnick continued. Lutnick added, however, that the president would be open to continuing to negotiate even once the tariffs are in place. 'Obviously after Aug. 1, people can still talk to President Trump,' Lutnick said. 'I mean, he's always willing to listen.' The president will also continue to talk to other countries before the Aug. 1 deadline, Lutnick added. 'Whether they can make him happy is another question,' Lutnick said. 'But the president's definitely willing to negotiate and talk to the big economies for sure.' The interview came shortly before Trump announced a trade deal with the European Union, setting tariffs at 15 percent for European goods, including automobiles. The EU agreed to purchase $750 billion worth of energy from the U.S. as part of the deal, Trump announced on Sunday, and to invest in the U.S. $600 billion more than the current investments for other goods. The agreement is lower than the 30 percent tariff Trump had threatened to impose on the EU, which was set to take effect on Aug. 1, and avoids a trade war with the U.S.'s largest trading partner. Trump earlier this month posted letters to social media sent to more than a dozen countries vowing to impose steep tariffs on their imports starting Aug. 1. An initial round of tariffs unveiled in April were paused for 90 days to allow time for negotiations, and the president then pushed the deadline for the tariffs to take effect back by another couple weeks — to Aug. 1.
Bloomberg
2 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Big Take: Tariffs Risk $2 Trillion Hit to Global GDP
For months, the impact of President Trump's aggressive trade policy has largely felt theoretical. But with an Aug. 1 tariff extension on the horizon and a consequential week ahead for the president's broader economic agenda, the cracks are beginning to show. On today's Big Take podcast, Bloomberg senior economic writer Shawn Donnan joins David Gura to break down the tariff fallout hiding in plain sight, and which sectors and countries are being hit the hardest.
News24
2 minutes ago
- News24
Trump and EU's Von der Leyen announce deal hours before deadline
US President Trump and EU chief Von der Leyen announced an agreement just before the 1 August deadline that would have triggered across-the-board 30% US tariffs on EU goods. The deal sets a uniform 15% tariff on EU exports to the US. As part of the agreement, the EU committed to purchasing $750 billion worth of US energy and investing an additional $600 billion in America. US President Donald Trump and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday announced they had reached a deal to end a transatlantic tariffs standoff and avert a full-blown trade war. The agreement came as the clock ticked down on an 1 August deadline for the European Union to strike a deal with Washington - or face an across-the-board US levy of 30%. 'We have reached a deal. It's a good deal for everybody,' Trump told reporters following a high-stakes meeting with Von der Leyen at his golf resort in Turnberry, Scotland. Trump told reporters the deal involved a baseline levy of 15% on EU exports to the United States - the same level secured by Japan - including for the bloc's crucial auto sector, which is currently being taxed at 25%. 'We are agreeing that the tariff straight across, for automobiles and everything else, will be a straight across tariff of 15%,' Trump said. READ | Trump complains EU not offering fair trade deal, Japan being 'tough' too He also said the bloc had agreed to purchase '$750 billion worth of energy' from the United States, as well as $600 billion more in additional investments in the country. Negotiating on behalf of the EU's 27 countries, Von der Leyen's European Commission had been pushing hard to salvage a trading relationship worth an annual $1.9 trillion in goods and services. 'It's a good deal,' the EU chief told reporters, sitting alongside Trump following their hour-long talks. 'It will bring stability. It will bring predictability. That's very important for our businesses on both sides of the Atlantic,' she said. No carve-outs The EU has been hit by multiple waves of tariffs since Trump reclaimed the White House. It is currently subject to a 25% levy on cars, 50% on steel and aluminium, and an across-the-board tariff of 10%, which Washington threatens to hike to 30 in a no-deal scenario. Brussels has been focused on getting a deal to avoid sweeping tariffs that would further harm its sluggish economy - with retaliation held out as a last resort. But the deal, as outlined by Trump, appeared to fall short of EU expectations. The bloc had been pushing hard for tariff carve-outs for critical industries from aircraft to spirits, and its auto industry, crucial for France and Germany, is already reeling from the levies imposed so far. Any deal will also need to be approved by EU member states - whose ambassadors, on a visit to Greenland, were updated by the commission on Sunday morning. They were set to meet again after the deal struck in Scotland. Trump said pharmaceuticals - a key export for Ireland, which the bloc has lobbied to shield - 'won't be part of' any deal. 'We have to have them built, made in the United States,' the president said. This month, Trump suggested the possibility of a 200% tariff on drugs imported into the United States, which would deal a crushing blow to the sector in Europe. The EU had also hoped for a compromise on steel that could allow a certain quota into the United States before tariffs would apply, but Trump ruled that out, saying steel was 'staying the way it is'. Auto sector While 15% would be much higher than pre-existing US tariffs on European goods, which average around 4.8%, it would mirror the status quo, with companies currently facing an additional flat rate of 10%. Had the talks failed, EU states had greenlit counter tariffs on $109 billion (93 billion euros) of US goods including aircraft and cars to take effect in stages from 7 August. Brussels was also drawing up a list of US services to potentially target. Beyond that, countries including France say Brussels should not be afraid to deploy a so-called trade 'bazooka' - EU legislation designed to counter coercion that can involve restricting access to its market and public contracts. Trump has embarked on a campaign to reshape US trade with the world, and has vowed to hit dozens of countries with punitive tariffs if they do not reach a pact with Washington by 1 August. US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick had said on Sunday the 1 August deadline was firm and there will be 'no extensions, no more grace periods'.
