Cnn
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A federal judge interrupted discounts on Monday that the Trump administration had made to finance public health research, issuing a temporary prohibition order which applies only in the 22 states led by the 22 which brought an action in justice contesting the reduction in financing.
American district judge Angel Kelley ordered More information in the case, with an audience scheduled for February 21.
Democratic prosecutors of 22 states alleged in the trial Deposed Monday that the newly announced discounts “will signify the sudden loss of hundreds of millions of dollars who are already determined to use tens of thousands of researchers and other workers, which has ended countless research initiatives Health and advanced technology that lives life and advanced. . “”
“Not only that, but the sudden reduction in funding will have training effects in the private sector because it disrupts many partnerships with private institutions,” said the trial, deposited at the Federal Court of Massachusetts.
The complaint added to the stack of judicial procedures which move rapid contesting the aggressive remodeling by the president of the president Donald Trump of the federal government.
As part of the contested plan, the financing of the National Institutes of Health known as the indirect cost rate would be capped at 15%, against an average of more than 27%. Certain research institutions, including Harvard, have rates above 60%, according to the NIH, which said in a position on X last week that policy would save more than $ 4 billion per year.
These rates aim to cover the various general costs – such as the costs of the installations, regulatory compliance and administrative support – that research institutions must take their research into account. If the administration’s plans to reduce these rates are not interrupted, “advanced work to heal and treat human diseases will stop,” said the trial.
“This is an attempt to eliminate funding that supports medical and public health innovation in each research institution in the country,” said Massachusetts attorney, Andrea Campbell on Monday. “The recent administration directive would suddenly cap the indirect costs at 15%, which is significantly lower than that is necessary to carry out advanced medical research. Administration knows this.
Campbell noted that the Trump administration had proposed similar cuts in 2017, “and the congress controlled by the Republican at the time adopted a law requiring continuous stable funding for medical research. This law is still in force, whether the president thinks or not. »»
The attorneys who bringing the case declared that they expected the private research institutions to intend their own trial contesting the administration’s plans, because the trial of the States would cover public research institutions.
The NIH parental agency, the American Ministry of Health and Social Services, has the power to bring these changes, its communications director Andrew Nixon, told CNN by e -mail – and estimates that it could even Impose them retrospectively “for current subsidies and demand that the beneficiaries return the excess general costs they have already received, but we have currently chosen not to do so to facilitate the implementation of the new rate; However, we will continue to assess this choice of policy and if it is in the best interest of the American taxpayer. »»
“Our administration wants to help America to have the best research in the world, and we think that by ensuring that more hundred on each dollar go directly to science and not in administrative heard, we can do another step in this direction “Said Nixon.
Asked comments on the trial, the White House defended the new policy.
“Unlike hysteria, redirect billions of expenses allocated to NIH far from administrative bloating means that there will be more money and resources available for legitimate scientific research, no less. The Trump administration is committed to reducing the chalet industry built on waste, fraud and abuses in our gigantic government while prioritizing the needs of daily Americans, “said spokesman Kush Desai.