Durbin Slams Trump Administration For Cuts To NIH, Medical Research In Speech On The Senate Floor

Durbin Slams Trump Administration For Cuts To NIH, Medical Research In Speech On The Senate Floor

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) today spoke out against the Trump Administration's dangerous cuts to medical research. In his remarks, Durbin stressed that the President's decision to cut medical research funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will set back medical advancement by decades by disrupting research into cancer, brain diseases, mental health, drug development, and more.

Durbin began his speech by recalling his first time meeting Dr. Francis Collins, then-Director of NIH, who urged him to steadily increase NIH's budget year over year. Over the past decade, Durbin has pushed for annual, real five percent funding increases for NIH. Since Fiscal Year 2015 (FY15), because of Durbin's efforts, Congress has provided NIH with a 60 percent increase in annual funding, raising the appropriations level from $30 billion in FY15 to $48 billion today. However, President Trump continues to target NIH by cancelling hundreds of grant awards, firing or forcing out thousands of scientists, and freezing billions of dollars in research funding-which jeopardizes new breakthroughs that provide hope for patients.

"Ten years ago, I met with Dr. Francis Collins, then-Director of the National Institutes of Health, the world's premier biomedical research agency. I admired his work so much I asked what I could do to help. He said, 'if you could provide a five percent increase to NIH's medical research budget year after year, we'll light up the scoreboard,'" Durbin said. "With the help of colleagues on both sides of the aisle-[including] Republican Senators Roy Blunt, Lamar Alexander, and Democratic Senator Patty Murray-we increased NIH funding from $30 billion to $48 billion over those next ten years. [That was a] 60 percent increase in research; a 60 percent increase in cures, hope, and breakthroughs. But what took us 10 years to build, President Donald Trump has all but dismantled in less than 11 months."

Durbin then emphasized the consequences of these dangerous cuts. This year, the President and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) instituted a new set of rules at NIH that have resulted in 3,500 fewer grants going to researchers.

"Recent reporting from the New York Times shed light on the dire consequences of President Trump's medical research cuts…Funding for mental health was reduced by 31 percent, brain diseases by 26 percent, cancer research by 19 percent. All of these reductions are in real areas of opportunity, which we are walking away from under Trump. This is a fundamental blow to how America supports medical research, and it has real implications for the progress we've made," Durbin said.

While the Trump Administration has sought to formalize these funding cuts, the Senate Appropriations Committee has pushed back by including an increase in funding for NIH in Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26).

"I am pleased the Senate Appropriations Committee, on a bipartisan basis, rejected Trump's proposed cuts and actually provided an increase for next year [FY26]. But if the Administration ignores Congress' wish and continues to upend research funding, it could create irreparable harm," Durbin said.

Relaying his own experience as a once-uninsured father of a newborn with a severe heart condition, Durbin spoke about the hope that medical research provides for families facing a serious diagnosis.

"As the father of a child born with a severe medical condition, I know personally that families across this country depend on the hope and promise that research holds. Cures and treatments come from the National Institutes of Health, which funded the research behind 99 percent of the new drugs approved by FDA in the last decade," Durbin continued. "So, when Donald Trump handicaps NIH's work, he is telling patients: your cure can wait."

Durbin concluded his remarks by reminding his Senate colleagues that research institutions in both red and blue states will be harmed by the Trump Administration's crusade to cut funding for medical advancements.

"Our universities-not just in blue states, but great research institutions in Alabama, Kansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma-will be unable to pursue more cures. Our hospitals-already scaling back operations thanks to budget cuts in the President's so-called 'Big, Beautiful Bill'-will be forced to diminish services even more. The scientists and doctors of tomorrow may decide to forgo the profession entirely or bring their talents to other countries," Durbin said.

"As we fight to protect health care for millions of Americans, let us also not forget to fight for the research that fuels that care. We cannot stand for this assault on medical research funding… It's a matter of finding cures and drugs that will help people all around the world. That has defined America for decades. We cannot let the Trump Administration kill off medical research," Durbin concluded his speech.

This year, Durbin has twice 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 NIH. The resolution simply said that the work of NIH should not be subject to interruption, delay, or funding disruptions in violation of the law, and it reaffirmed that the NIH workforce is essential to sustaining medical progress. The first UC request was blocked by U.S. Senator John Barrasso (R-WY) and the second was blocked by U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-OK).

Durbin has long been a strong advocate for robust medical research. His legislation, the American Cures Act, would provide annual budget increases of five percent plus inflation at America's top four biomedical research agencies: NIH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense Health Program, and the Veterans Medical and Prosthetics Research Program.

Video of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

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