AT WHAT COST?
Since 2015, the $40 billion of annual NIH spending has been one of the American people’s smartest investments — saving millions of lives, creating millions of jobs, and producing hundreds of billions of dollars in economic prosperity.
Data from NIH REPORTER as of 4/7/25. Future awards projected by reducing average awards from 2015-2024 by 27%.
In just the last decade, NIH funding has meant:
Over one million lives saved from NIH-driven cancer research
Over 370,000 jobs supported each year
$750,000,000,000 in economic activity
Last year congress appropriated funding for NIH to continue this investment in critical, livesaving research. So far this year, the Trump administration has been holding over a quarter of this funding hostage. As of April 7th, the NIH has failed to spend $1,700,000,000 towards external research grants, a 27% decrease compared to 2015-2024. These cuts are already jeopardizing breakthroughs in cancer and chronic disease treatment, as clinical trials close down and experiments stop. If this 27% decrease continues, it will mean a $8,100,000,000 cut in NIH research investment by the end of the year.
What’s the cost of a 27% cut in NIH spending?
$202,500,000,000 economic loss by 2035
99,900 jobs lost each year
All 9000 clinical trials currently underway with NIH support are in danger
Hundreds fewer FDA-approved drugs over the next decade
Countless lives lost
Too many people confronting an aggressive cancer diagnosis or other deadly disease don’t have months or years to wait while funding is delayed – their only hope is advanced research now.