Durbin Denounces Trump Administration’s Cuts To Medical Research

Durbin Denounces Trump Administration's Cuts To Medical Research

Durbin also criticized the Trump Administration for its mass deportation campaign which is preventing immigrants from filling essential medical research and health care roles, including across rural America

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, spoke out against the Trump Administration's continued cuts to medical research, which is delaying access to cures for patients. These chaotic cuts are compounded by the Trump Administration's mass deportation campaign, which is preventing immigrants from filling health care roles across the country.

President Trump's Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) budget proposal includes a 42 percent increase in military spending for the war in Iran while slashing billions of dollars in investments for biomedical research and disease prevention. Durbin has been an advocate for medical research and increasing the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget. Thanks to Senator Durbin and a bipartisan group of Senators, they grew the budget for NIH from $30 billion in 2015 to $49 billion today.

"Those are not just numbers on a sheet. That consistent [increase in funding] has meant new cures and treatments, we have developed new, more effective ways to deliver chemo drugs directly into brain tumors, breakthrough treatments for sickle cell disease, And continued progress in the fight for patients with dementia, Alzheimer's, ALS, and Parkinson's. Those reliable funding increases gave confidence to our researchers," Durbin said.

Last year, the President's budget sought to cut NIH's budget by 40 percent, or $18 billion. Thankfully, the Senate rejected that proposal and instead increased funding for the NIH. This year, the President offered a budget that seeks to cut $6 billion from the NIH and $3 billion from the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

Durbin continued, "HHS Secretary Kennedy struggled to defend his budget request last week. Why would he want to fund 4,600 fewer research grants? That is 4,600 [potential] cures. Those cuts would extinguish hope for patients, and devastate America's standing as the world's leader in medical research."

Durbin then spoke about the impact President Trump's mass deportation campaign and his attacks on the legal immigration system have on medical research.

Durbin said, "When you or a loved one have a medical emergency and go to the hospital, often times you'll see the nurses and staff from all over the world. The doctor's name-badge might indicate that they weren't originally from this country. That's not a coincidence. In fact, 64 percent of foreign-trained physicians practice in areas having a shortage of health care professionals. Thanks to the President's ongoing crackdown on legal immigration, this country has closed its doors on the bright young people who want to practice medicine in America. This Administration has indefinitely paused most immigration processing for high-skilled visa applicants from 39 countries. What's worse, the Administration has not provided any timeline or criteria for lifting these [processing] holds."

Durbin then spoke about Iranian doctor, Dr. Mehrnoosh Ebadi, who is a foreign medical graduate and research associate at Northwestern University working on advanced cancer therapies. She recently matched into a family medicine residency at the University of Illinois College of Medicine in Bloomington, but her residency position and legal status are at risk as a result of the Trump Administration's processing hold on people from 39 countries, including Iran. She says she came to the United States to "contribute to science and patient care," but she may not be able to begin her residency on time, if at all, which she described as "incredibly difficult."

Durbin said, "Does that sound like someone who is one of the 'worst of the worst?' Absolutely not. What's happening to her is happening in all states across the country-in blue states and red states. Especially at a time when Republicans' 'Big, Beautiful Bill' is making a trillion-dollar cut to Medicaid over the next several years which will be devastating to rural hospitals. What sense does it make to close the door to this doctor [Dr. Ebadi] we so desperately need? When we shut down legal pathways for qualified international students and professionals, Americans lose."

Durbin concluded, "What message are we sending to families and researchers by [undermining] medical research?... During Secretary Kennedy's testimony last week, he justified the proposed NIH cuts by saying, 'a lot of the money was wasted' on so-called 'insane' studies. Do you know who disagrees? The parents of a three-year-old in southern Illinois who have waited more than a year to enroll their daughter with an ultra-rare genetic disease into an NIH-funded clinical trial. The chaos of the Trump Administration has delayed the grant award and their daughter waits for this clinic trial."

Durbin concluded, "Medical research is vital to the safety, security, and prosperity of this nation. And we ought to encourage the best and brightest to aid us in these noble pursuits."

Video of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

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