Tammy Baldwin Asks Doctor How Diabetes Research Could Be Affected By Delayed NIH Funding

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During a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Wednesday, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) spoke about delayed NIH funding.

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00:00Thank you, Madam Chair, and I want to thank you and Senator Shaheen for your long-term advocacy with the Diabetes Caucus.

00:09To our witnesses, thank you so much for being here to share your stories.

00:15And it's not often that the Appropriation Committee has a standing-room-only audience.

00:22I'll say hi to the people in the overflow area also.

00:26I know that we have so many here, and I just really appreciate the way you advocate for the Special Diabetes Program

00:35and the critical research on type 1 diabetes supported by the NIDDK.

00:40We have made tremendous progress on new and better treatments for type 1 diabetes,

00:47and every day we are closer to a cure.

00:50And that's because advocates like all of you here today who have pushed the Congress to increase funding for this research.

01:01And I was glad that Senator Durbin was here earlier to talk about the history of our efforts in Congress to increase funding for the NIH,

01:13but also to outline the threats that are faced right now.

01:17And I want to be very serious about those threats.

01:22Every month of this year, NIH is spending less on biomedical research than it did last year.

01:30And at the end of March, NIH had spent $1.7 billion less than through the same period last year.

01:39In mid-May, it was $3 billion less than the same period last year.

01:45And now, by the end of June, NIH has awarded nearly $6 billion less in grant funding.

01:54NIH has said that its plan is to award 40% fewer grants this year than last year,

02:03which lines up with less and less funding going out the door each month.

02:07Our witnesses here today have taken on tremendous challenges in their lives,

02:13so I have no doubt that you can handle a tough question.

02:17So I'm going to start, or just ask you, Katie, thank you again for being here.

02:21What would you like Congress to know as NIH plans to reduce the number of new research-granted awards this year by 40%?

02:33What do you think cutting research would mean for children with type 1 diabetes?

02:41That it will be longer until we have a cure and easier ways to manage this.

02:46The technology we have now has made it where I can sleep through the night,

02:50but it's still hard.

02:52And when there is a cure one day, that means I'll get to sleep through the night and not have to worry about it.

02:58That means I can go to training and not feel really terrible because of this.

03:05And I can go to competitions and not work harder than I've ever worked in my life for years

03:11to not perform because of this, because that's happened many times.

03:16And to get to show up and be fully me and get to show everybody all of the hard work that I've done.

03:23So it means getting to live an even fuller life than I am now

03:26and getting to achieve the goals that I have.

03:29And that's my everyday being a little less hard.

03:34Dr. Rogers, at a hearing last month with Dr. Bhattacharya,

03:38I pointed out a major change the administration has made to the way NIH is now proposing to fund grants

03:46by forward funding half of them in the first year.

03:51This scheme would dramatically reduce the number of grants NIH is able to fund

03:56by the thousands across the institute.

03:59NIH can do this unilaterally, effectively making billions more in cuts to research

04:07unless Congress steps in.

04:09That's why I've been raising the alarm now for months about delayed NIH funding,

04:14as I just described, because NIH is either going to not spend funds that Congress has appropriated

04:21or rush funding out the door through this new and haphazard scheme of forward funding

04:27that will result in devastating cuts to research funding this year and next year.

04:32So, Dr. Rogers, how will diabetes research be affected if NIDDK awards 40 percent fewer grants

04:40this year than last year?

04:43And what will that mean for patients with type 1 diabetes who are anxiously waiting for a cure?

04:50Well, Senator, thank you for your question.

04:52We are doing our best to spend all of the money that Congress has provided to us.

04:59And I would note that the budget for the special diabetes program is extended in the president's budget.

05:09Dr. Bhattachura, I have to say, is committed to ensuring that the U.S. remains the global leader in research.

05:16And as he pointed out when he testified to this committee, really the efforts that are underway

05:25in terms of the discussions that are ongoing with Congress to try to make adjustments

05:32and come up with final decisions is something that is going to take, you know, ongoing effort.

05:39And I really applaud him for what he's doing.

05:42Obviously, you know, more funds allows for us to do more, which is why the special diabetes program

05:50has been so effective.

05:51It's apart from our normal appropriations.

05:55But we, you know, are committed to do with what we have in as most efficient way as possible moving forward.

06:05Thank you, Madam Chair.

06:08Senator.

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