Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) visited Fred Hutch Cancer Center to highlight the damage the Trump administration’s proposed cuts to medical research funding would have to Washington’s health care ecosystem and the harm it would have on patients.

Immediately after taking office, President Trump froze federal grants pending an unspecified review process. These were funds approved by Congress in a bipartisan way and cannot be withheld solely by the White House. A federal court temporarily blocked the freeze, but many organizations receiving federal grants have experienced payment delays or are unclear when the funding will arrive. 

The administration is also trying to drastically cut medical research funding at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the world’s leading medical research organization, by limiting the amount of a research grant that can go to laboratory upkeep and other administrative costs. These proposed cuts would create major budget gaps in federally funded projects at research institutions. This could force independent research institutions like Fred Hutch, academic medical centers, and universities to cut potentially groundbreaking discoveries and clinical trials, depriving patients across the country of access to hope and lifesaving care. This proposed cut was temporarily halted by a federal judge, but uncertainty still harms research efforts.

“Washington conducts world-class medical research that saves lives every day. President Trump is putting that all at risk with these illegal cuts. As a former researcher, I know the devastating impacts losing funding or even the threat of it being cut off can have on research institutions and their patients,” said DelBene. “The president must stop this senseless attack on science and let researchers get back to developing the cures and treatments of tomorrow.”

“Cuts to federal biomedical research funds will stifle foundational science, cancer research, clinical trial access for patients, and future innovation and cures,” said Fred Hutch President and Director Thomas J. Lynch Jr., MD. “NIH support enables Fred Hutch to translate research from our labs into care at patient bedsides and ensures we can continue to provide world-class therapies to over 40,000 patients each year. Cuts to federally funded research will harm the scientists who find the discoveries that fuel Fred Hutch’s innovation, support the Puget Sound Region’s biotech industry, and ensure the continued discovery of life-saving cures.”

The biggest recipients of NIH funding in Washington include Fred Hutch, the University of Washington, Virginia Mason, and Seattle Children’s Hospital. In Fiscal Year 2024, Washington researchers were awarded nearly $1.3 billion in NIH grants and contracts that support 12,000 jobs in the state.

Last week, DelBene urged the NIH to rescind these cuts and asked the administration to provide answers on how this decision was made, and what future threats might come to the United States’ long-standing dominance in science.

Fred Hutch Cancer Center is an independent, nonprofit, unified adult cancer care and research center. Translating discoveries into cures, Fred Hutch’s groundbreaking research has saved hundreds of thousands of lives worldwide over our 50-year history. Innovative cancer research, clinical trial access, and future cures can only be achieved by continuing strong and stable federal investments in biomedical research. Federal investments in the NIH are critical to the future health of generations of Americans and will ensure that institutions like Fred Hutch can continue to cover the total cost of research.

Fred Hutch’s mission relies on federal funding to eliminate cancer and related diseases, with approximately 70 percent of Fred Hutch’s current research funding coming from federal competitive grant awards.  Fred Hutch stands to lose $125 million of topline revenue annually with the recently announced NIH guidance on indirect costs.

NIH awards grants to more than 300,000 researchers at more than 2,500 institutions. Every dollar in NIH grants spurs $2.09 in economic activity, and every $100 million in investment leads to 78 patents and $598 million in further research, according to N.I.H.