Congressional members are seeking major organizational change at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), citing a need to streamline the number of Institutes in the network of research units and rebuild public trust in the agency following perceived failures in its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans are spearheading the calls for reforms in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.
In May, U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who is currently the Ranking Member on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, released a white paper entitled, “NIH in the 21st century: Ensuring Transparency and American Biomedical Leadership,” advocating for a comprehensive review and modernization of the agency's operations and practices. This initiative aims to address various aspects of NIH’s research and operations, including:
- Maintaining a balanced research portfolio,
- Streamlining the peer-review process,
- Tackling recruitment and retention challenges in the biomedical workforce,
- Fostering collaboration with other entities,
- Enhancing transparency and
- Establishing mechanisms for public feedback.
In June, the Chairwoman of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce, U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), issued a paper entitled, “Reforming the National Institutes of Health: Framework for Discussion.” The paper proposes reducing the number of Institutes and Centers in NIH from 27 to 15. This reduction would eliminate the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) and consolidate it within the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Eye Institute. Those would then be folded into the National Institute on Neuroscience and Brain Research—a new organization.
Any reform efforts impacting NIH could have a considerable impact on current and future medical and scientific research.
White papers can be read below:
- Senator Bill Cassidy’s White Paper, “NIH in the 21st century: Ensuring Transparency and American Biomedical Leadership”
- Representative Cathy McMorris-Rodgers’ White Paper, “Reforming the National Institutes of Health: Framework for Discussion”