Federal Research Update
Dear CUIMC community,
As you may have heard from news reports, earlier today the White House Office of Management and Budget released an outline of President Trump’s FY2026 budget proposal, with a more comprehensive budget request expected to be shared in coming weeks. This proposed blueprint is not law and is intended to illustrate the Administration’s spending priorities to Congress, which will be responsible for developing and enacting a final budget by October 1, 2025.
The budget proposal recommends significant reductions to discretionary spending by the Department of Health and Human Services. Columbia and CUIMC leadership will continue to speak out on behalf of investments in lifesaving biomedical and public health research, including in partnership with scientific societies, trade associations, patient advocacy groups, peer institutions, and many others. Research at Columbia and research institutions across the country is critical to training the next generation of leaders; to pursuing innovative scientific discovery; and to advancing excellence in patient care.
The budget proposal includes cutting the National Institutes of Health budget by approximately $18 billion, to $29 billion total from the FY2025 level of $47.1 billion, and reducing the Centers for Disease Control’s budget by more than half, to $4 billion from approximately $9 billion. The budget proposal would substantially cut funding for the Fogarty International Center; the National Institute of Nursing Research; the Health Resources and Services Administration; and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, among other proposed reductions. Recommendations also include eliminating funding for the NIH’s National Institute on Minority and Health Disparities and the CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.
The reductions described above impact discretionary spending, not mandatory spending, such as funding for Medicare and Medicaid. Congress is addressing those programs in a separate process known as budget reconciliation, which is also ongoing.
We will continue to update you on the progress of budget and spending bills. Please continue to visit the Office of the Executive Vice President’s Federal Research Updates 2025 webpage to stay abreast of the latest information and resources related to administrative actions. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to your Sponsored Projects Administration (SPA) program officer or department chair.
Ross A. Frommer
Vice President for Government Affairs
Columbia University Irving Medical Center