President Donald Trump’s administration has now staked its position on cutting funding for federal grants to health institutes. These grants are responsible for medical research, something we pride ourselves on as a nation, the infrastructure that previously made other countries envy us.
These cuts could be seen in our very own backyard. Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Health, both located 40 miles north of Keene, are on the chopping block, according to reporting from New Hampshire Public Radio.
Cuts to research grants could stop important medical research and advances done by New Hampshire institutes such as cancer treatments and Alzheimer’s research. Not only that, but it could also jeopardize rural healthcare.
Dean Madden, the vice provost for research at Dartmouth College, noted that the college is one of the few U.S. research institutes that are focused on rural health. This initiative allows access to health care services in rural communities that wouldn’t otherwise be offered.
Dartmouth was awarded $97 million by the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the 2024 fiscal year, and with the possibility of the cuts coming true, $24 million is at risk.
Dartmouth Institute wouldn’t be the only familiar health organization that would see cuts. Institutions like John Hopkins University in Baltimore would be on the chopping block too. Most of their research is reliant on grants the NIH gives, including research into a drug that helps with an intellectual disability found in kids that causes seizures, learning differences and sleep problems.
While this is all nerve-wracking, it’s important to note that a federal judge, Angel Kelley, did pause Trump’s proposed cuts for now, according to reporting from Forbes. This pause comes after 22 states sued the government to stop the change.
This is only a temporary pause, unfortunately. There will be a hearing about this case on Friday, Feb. 21.
Not only would these cuts affect medical research but jobs in the industry as well. Dartmouth Health is a major employer, with around 1,000 jobs partly leaning on those federal grants. We can’t assume that cutting that many jobs won’t have serious consequences, ones that you will most likely see on day one.
The question remains, why does the Trump administration go for this move? Until I wake up each morning and am relieved by the political news of the day, it will remain a question in my brain.
If it affects so many people, job-wise but most importantly health-wise, what really is the point of all this?
The administration says it wants to cut down on “administrative bloat” such as maintenance, utilities, support staff and new equipment.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai said, “The Trump administration is committed to slashing waste, fraud and abuse while increasing transparency of where limited taxpayer dollars from NIH are going and how exactly they’re advancing scientific research and development. Contrary to the hysteria, redirecting billions of allocated NIH spending away from opaque administrative expenses means there will be more money and resources available for legitimate scientific research, not less.”
After reading this, it’s okay to feel like you just lost some brain cells. What they don’t understand is the “administrative bloat” is the very reason health institutes are still up and running. That so-called “bloat” keeps all the equipment tuned, makes sure all labs are clean and organized, and all the administration staff happy and wallets full.
The looming doom of whether these cuts will actually take place leaves many institutes like Dartmouth College and Dartmouth Health in jeopardy. Will they be able to foot the bill?
Alice Whittemore can be contacted at
alice.whittemore@keene.edu
