Boston (February 8, 2025) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass), top Democrat on the Primary Health and Pensions Subcommittee of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement after the Trump administration announced significant cuts to National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to support hospitals, universities, and research institutions conducting lifesaving research. The drastic limits on this funding would reduce the amount that these institutions are able to spend on researchers, laboratories, and students.  

“Last night, Trump and Musk took drastic steps to make it harder to find a cure for cancer, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, heart attacks, strokes, and other debilitating diseases that devastate millions of American families by illegally cutting National Institutes of Health funding.  

“NIH funding is the lifeblood of Massachusetts’ innovation economy, creating jobs and fueling the engine for delivering lifesaving care and treatment across the country, and this is a direct attack on the Bay State. NIH isn’t just the National Institutes of Health, it’s the National Institutes of Hope, giving hope to patients and families for lifesaving medical discoveries.  

“Instead of working to keep the American economy on the cutting edge, the Trump administration is bullying the Bay State and hamstringing U.S. leadership in medical research. Trump and Musk are cutting the research to cure the diseases that will soon overwhelm our ability to pay for treating millions who will be afflicted by these very same diseases. That’s not efficiency, that’s stupidity.  It’s not just bad values, it’s bad budgeting.   

“This budget cut action is illegal. With billions in NIH funding going to both red and blue states, I urge all of my colleagues to join in opposing this overstep of presidential authority — driven by and for unelected billionaires – and not let these cuts stand.” 

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