Attorney General Kwame Raoul has taken a leading role in a coalition of 22 attorneys general challenging the Trump administration's decision to cut funding for medical and public health research. The lawsuit opposes the reduction of "indirect cost" reimbursements from the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which are essential for supporting biomedical research at universities and institutions nationwide.
Raoul stated, "The funds the Trump administration is proposing to cut support lifesaving medical research." He emphasized that these cuts could severely impact Illinois, hindering universities' ability to make significant discoveries.
On February 7, the NIH announced plans to reduce indirect cost rates to a uniform 15%, a figure lower than what is needed for advanced medical research. These reimbursements are usually tailored to each institution's requirements through agreements with the federal government. Raoul and his colleagues argue that ignoring these agreements endangers public health advancements.
The coalition claims this move violates federal law, referencing Congress's previous directive during Trump's first term that prevents such sweeping changes to reimbursement policies. The proposed cuts were set to take effect on February 10, leaving institutions little time to adjust financially. This sudden change threatens clinical trials, research programs, jobs, and laboratories.
In Illinois alone, the cuts would significantly affect universities receiving NIH funding. The University of Illinois System could face an annual loss of $67 million, while Southern Illinois University might lose $4.5 million annually.
The NIH is crucial for U.S. medical research funding, having contributed to numerous scientific breakthroughs and Nobel Prize-winning work. Illinois universities rely on this support for developing treatments for diseases like cancer and Alzheimer's.
Attorney General Raoul is co-leading this legal effort with Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Other states involved include Arizona, California, Connecticut, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.