{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.slotkin.senate.gov/2026/08/17/slotkin-joins-colleagues-in-demanding-rfk-jr-reverse-cancelations-of-lifesaving-research-grants-for-michiganders/", "Slotkin, Joins Colleagues in Demanding RFK Jr. Reverse Cancelations of Lifesaving Research Grants for Michiganders", "2026-08-17", "2026", "2026-08", "Democrat", "Senate", "MI", "Elissa Slotkin", "S001208", "www.slotkin.senate.gov", "slotkin", "https://www.slotkin.senate.gov/newsroom/", "scraper", "U.S. Senators Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) joined Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), and 26 of their Democratic colleagues in the Senate in demanding that Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. reverse the Department\u2019s destructive cancelations of lifesaving health research grants administered by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).\n\nThe cancellation of these grants ended life-saving research on surgery-related infections, maternal and children\u2019s health, and the health consequences of COVID-19 in Michigan.\n\nIn a letter sent today to Kennedy, the Senators raised concerns about the impact of HHS\u2019s mass cancelations of these research grants.\n\nThey called on Kennedy to immediately restore full funding to research projects affected by the cancelations and full funding is obligated as required by law: \u201cAt a time when medical errors kill hundreds of thousands of Americans annually, when healthcare costs are crushing family budgets, and when we face unprecedented health challenges, your department has chosen to sabotage the very research designed to solve these problems. This is not leadership\u2014this is sabotage of public health. And it must end, immediately.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe American people deserve a healthcare system informed by the best available evidence. They deserve research that makes their care safer, more effective, and more affordable. Congress has provided the resources to support this vital work. It is your responsibility to ensure these resources are used as intended,\u201d the Senators concluded.\n\nThe letter was signed by also signed by U.S. Senators Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Tina Smith (D-MN), Jack Reed (D-RI), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Gary Peters (D-MI), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n (D-NM), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Mark Warner (D-VA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).\n\nFull text of the Senators\u2019 letter is available here.\n\n###", 1, "2026-08-18T05:27:41Z", "2026-08-18T05:29:06Z"]], "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.slotkin.senate.gov/2026/08/17/slotkin-joins-colleagues-in-demanding-rfk-jr-reverse-cancelations-of-lifesaving-research-grants-for-michiganders/"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7458750624209642, "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"}