“Congress voted in February to maintain funding for the federal agencies that fuel the scientific partnership between the federal government and American research universities. That partnership produces research that supports American jobs and America's scientific primacy. But in recent months, the federal research engine has sputtered, with far fewer new grants awarded or made available than in years past.
One of us leads a private research university on the East Coast. The other leads a public university in America's heartland. One sits in a reliably blue state, the other in a reliably red one. But our researchers all serve the public good, by translating federally funded scientific discoveries that contribute to cancer therapies, treatments for cardiovascular disease, solutions for the farmers who feed the country, and other innovations that enrich Americans and improve their lives. That research is now in jeopardy.
More than halfway through fiscal 2026, the National Institutes of Health has allocated only 33% of the $26 billion it normally awards to universities. One NIH institute warned it could leave as much as $500 million unavailable to researchers. The National Science Foundation is moving at 20% of its normal pace, threatening basic research in computing, energy, advanced engineering and other fields.
Nationally, new awards from NIH to universities are down 46%, and awards supporting our next-generation scientists training in the nation's laboratories are down 75%. This tracks with what we're experiencing. Johns Hopkins reported in February that its multiyear federal research portfolio had declined by more than $500 million in 2025. Three quarters into this fiscal year, Kansas is experiencing a year-over-year drop of $182 million, or a 55% decline in new awards.
The consequences reach beyond any single campus. NIH research funding supports around 400,000 jobs annually across all 50 states and generates more than $94.5 billion in new economic activity each year.
Free markets require a functioning pipeline of basic research. The biotechnology companies, semiconductor makers, pharmaceutical innovators and defense contractors that drive private-sector growth build products predicated on publicly funded scientific discoveries.
When the federal government delays releasing money that was already approved, it transfers the cost onto the private sector, states and ultimately American families, who wait longer for new treatments, technologies and solutions.
American universities hold their position at the frontier of global science because the federal government has historically made it possible.
We're asking agencies to honor what Congress appropriated and President Trump affirmed: that federally funded research is the foundation of American competitiveness. Release the funds, restore normal grant timelines, and let the science proceed.
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Mr. Daniels is president of Johns Hopkins University. Dr. Girod is chancellor of the University of Kansas.” [1]
1. Get the Federal Science Money Flowing. Daniels, Ron; Girod, Doug. Wall Street Journal, Eastern edition; New York, N.Y.. 21 May 2026: A15.
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