Johns Hopkins University President Ron Daniels and University of Kansas Chancellor Douglas A. Girod co-authored an op-ed published in The Wall Street Journal on Thursday urging federal agencies to release congressionally approved funding that powers the nation's research enterprise.
Though this research funding was authorized by Congress in February, awards to America's research universities have declined significantly over the past year, jeopardizing "cancer therapies, treatments for cardiovascular disease, solutions for the farmers who feed the country, and other innovations that enrich Americans and improve their lives," Daniels and Girod write.
More than halfway through the federal government's fiscal year, the authors note, the National Institutes of Health has distributed just 33% of the $26 billion it typically awards to universities annually. The National Science Foundation has allocated just 20% of what it typically awards. New awards from the NIH to universities are down 46% year over year, and awards supporting next-generation scientists are down 75%.
"The consequences reach beyond any single campus," Daniels and Girod write. "NIH research funding supports around 400,000 jobs annually across all 50 states and generates more than $94.5 billion in new economic activity each year.
"Free markets require a functioning pipeline of basic research. The biotechnology companies, semiconductor makers, pharmaceutical innovators, and defense contractors that drive private-sector growth build products predicated on publicly funded scientific discoveries. When the federal government delays releasing money that was already approved, it transfers the cost onto the private sector, states, and ultimately American families, who wait longer for new treatments, technologies, and solutions."
