U.S. Senator Katie Britt Leads Republican Colleagues in Advocating for Critical NIH Research Funding

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Katie Britt (R-Ala.), a member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS), led 13 of her Senate Republican colleagues sending a letter to Russell Vought, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB), advocating for the disbursement of appropriated funds for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in order to advance President Trump’s goals of curing diseases and making America healthy again.

Specifically, the letter requests that the administration implement the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, which President Trump signed into law earlier this year. This legislation contains critical funding to support NIH initiatives across a range of critical research areas, including, but not limited to, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and rare pediatric disorders.

“We are concerned by the slow disbursement rate of FY25 NIH funds, as it risks undermining critical research and the thousands of American jobs it supports. Suspension of these appropriated funds – whether formally withheld or functionally delayed — could threaten Americans’ ability to access better treatments and limit our nation’s leadership in biomedical science. It also risks inadvertently severing ongoing NIH-funded research prior to actionable results,” wrote the Senators.

The Senators continued, “We share your commitment to ensuring NIH funds are used responsibly and not diverted to ideological or unaccountable programs. We are confident Secretary Kennedy and Director Bhattacharya are well positioned to uphold gold standard research by ensuring that NIH awards are grounded in transparency, scientific merit, and a clear alignment with national interests. Our shared goal is to restore public trust in the NIH precisely because its work is focused on results, accountability, and real-world impact. 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.”

Senators John Boozman (R-Ark.), Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Dave McCormick (R-Pa.), Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Jerry Moran (R-Kans.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Tim Scott (R-S.C.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.) cosigned Senator Britt’s letter.

Full text of the letter can be found here.

Senator Britt has been a strong advocate for ensuring the NIH remains the gold-standard of research and innovation across the nation and the world. She has continued to express the need for taxpayer dollars to be spent efficiently, judiciously, and accountably, which includes funding life-saving, groundbreaking research at high-achieving institutions like those in Alabama. “I know President Trump and his team want the United States to lead the world in innovation and achieve the impossible. State-of-the-art facilities, equipment, and technology—along with the best and brightest people—are needed to fulfill President Trump’s vision,” Senator Britt stated earlier this year.

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