AGE Statement on NIH Facilities & Administration Cost Reductions

The American Aging Association (AGE), representing researchers dedicated to understanding and combating the biological mechanisms of aging, expresses grave concern regarding the administration's decision to i pose immediate cuts to Facilities and Administration (F&A) costs for National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants. As outlined in Notice NOT-OD-25-068, the reduction to a flat 15% rate represents a greater than 50% reduction in standard F&A costs for many research institutions.

This significant policy shift will have broad ranging impacts the biomedical research enterprise in the United States. F&A costs support essential research infrastructure including core facilities, equipment purchase and maintenance, administrative support, and biosafety compliance, including the proper management of biohazardous materials. The proposed cuts may force research institutions to reduce technical and administrative staff, limit core facility operations, and scale back vital research support services. Beyond these direct negative impacts on our research capabilities, these changes will lead to losses in jobs and economic vitality in every state in the nation. Most concerning is that these cuts will directly compromise the position of the United States as the premier country in the world for biomedical research and severely restrict the recruitment and retention of intellectual capacity. In doing so, they will immediately limit our competitive advantage globally on therapeutic advances while having a generational impact on those performing research to improve the health and quality of life both in the United States and worldwide.

While we recognize the administration's goal of maximizing research dollars, this approach was made without considering the real and necessary expenses required to conduct cutting-edge research. The cuts will affect researchers across all career stages, particularly those that represent our next generation of scientists. We join other leading scientific organizations in urging the administration to reconsider these cuts and engage in a thoughtful dialogue with research institutions, funding agencies, and policymakers to develop sustainable approaches for supporting the essential infrastructure that enables scientific discovery.