{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-slams-trump-administration-for-pouring-money-into-the-defense-department-as-it-continues-to-cut-lifesaving-nih-funding", "Durbin Slams Trump Administration For Pouring Money Into The Defense Department As It Continues To Cut Lifesaving NIH Funding", "2026-09-17", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "Senate", "IL", "Richard J. Durbin", "D000563", "www.durbin.senate.gov", "durbin", "https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases", "scraper", "The agreement between DoD and NIH could transfer as much as $2 billion from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases\n\nWASHINGTON \u2013 Following an announced agreement to transfer funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to the Department of Defense (DoD), U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) slammed the Trump Administration for their misplaced priorities by seeking to divert lifesaving funding from the NIH to the Pentagon.\n\n\u201cThere are a lot of issues that come before us in Congress, and there are a lot of political opinions on those issues. What I have found over the years is that there are few issues that transcend politics\u2014medical research is one of those issues. It\u2019s a situation where I don\u2019t care if the researcher, scientist, or doctor is a Democrat or Republican, or even votes. I want to know if they are doing worthwhile research that can lead to cures [and] can save lives,\u201d Durbin said.\n\nOver the past decade, Durbin has pushed for annual five percent funding increases for NIH. Since Fiscal Year (FY) 2015, because of Durbin\u2019s efforts, Congress has provided NIH with a 60 percent increase in annual funding, raising the appropriations level from $30 billion in FY2015 to $49 billion today. Last year, the President\u2019s budget sought to cut NIH\u2019s budget by 40 percent, or $18 billion. Thankfully, the Senate rejected that proposal and instead increased funding for the NIH. Unfortunately, due to President Trump\u2019s continued attacks on medical research, this funding remains in jeopardy.\n\nDurbin said, \u201cThe agreement sets up a path for the Department of Defense and the NIH to collaborate on chemical and biological defense research and development. That\u2019s a good thing, isn\u2019t it? Of course it is. But who is going to pay for it? Who\u2019s going to pay for this research? The Department of Defense that has $1 trillion annual budget, or is it the NIH, an agency that struggles at $49 billion to fight off cuts in the budget proposed by the President? If you guessed the NIH, you\u2019re right.\u201d\n\nThe so-called agreement could direct as much as $2 billion from the NIH, specifically the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases [NIAID].\n\n\u201cLet\u2019s be honest about what this is: a move to siphon funds away from the nation\u2019s premier medical research agency, which struggles to fund lifesaving research, to bankroll the Pentagon, the most heavily funded agency in our government. By implementing this agreement, the Trump Administration will once again undermine the NIH when they should be boosting it,\u201d Durbin continued.\n\nPresident Trump has been adamant on gutting the NIH and medical research. For years, it was the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases that navigated our country through infectious disease threats and prevention. Unfortunately, this proposed plan to transfer as much as one-third of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases\u2019 budget over to the Pentagon would undermine this important mission and leave us vulnerable to future infectious disease threats.\n\nThe Pentagon received nearly $840 billion in the FY2026 appropriations bill and another $150 billion from the Republican reconciliation bill, which also gave the Department extraordinary discretion over how to spend the funds. Compared to DoD, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases received barely $6.6 billion in the FY26 appropriations bill.\n\nDurbin concluded, \u201cFor years, this investment in research at NIH has been worthwhile. This proposal to transfer one third of the agency\u2019s [NIAID] budget on infectious diseases is a mistake. DoD is increasing its investments in medical research, and that\u2019s a good thing\u2026 But we need to be committed all the way when it comes to funding NIH.\u201d\n\nVideo of Durbin\u2019s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.\n\nAudio of Durbin\u2019s remarks on the Senate floor is available here.\n\nFootage of Durbin\u2019s remarks on the Senate floor is available herefor TV Stations.\n\n-30-", 1, "2026-09-23T09:45:16Z", "2026-09-23T09:46:14Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.durbin.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/durbin-slams-trump-administration-for-pouring-money-into-the-defense-department-as-it-continues-to-cut-lifesaving-nih-funding"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.165483310818672, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}