Alarming ASM Public Policy and Advocacy Update

From: Amalia Corby <ACorby@asmusa.org>

Sent: Wednesday, May 14, 2025 9:22 AM

Subject: 5/14 ASM Public Policy and Advocacy Update

Trump Administration Issues Executive Order Pausing Gain of Function Research Last week, the Trump Administration issued an executive order suspending “gain of function” research for 120 days to allow for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and other agencies to strengthen top-down enforcement and accountability policies. ASM issued a statement in response to the Trump administration's executive order, requesting further clarity regarding implementation deadlines, definitions, and coordination with existing guidelines. ASM also condemns the pausing of research while new policies are developed, which will stifle our ability to address major health challenges. Furthermore, strong biosafety and biosecurity measures require state-of-the-art facilities and a highly trained workforce. The executive order was introduced at a time when the president is proposing to cut the NIH budget by 44% making it virtually impossible to make such investments.  

Following the executive order, NIH released guidance stating their intention to suspend ongoing funding for gain of function research. The guidance explains that all awardees should review ongoing research activities to proactively identify potentially dangerous gain-of-function research, identify safe actions to halt such research, and to effectively comply with guidance once established. This Thursday, PSAC members and other ASM members with expertise in biosecurity and biosafety will be on Capitol Hill to discuss the implications of this executive order on scientific research and public health. ASM is also reaching out to the White House and NIH to discuss implementation of the executive order.  

Trump Administration Releases Budget Request 

On May 2, President Trump sent his FY2026 budget proposal to Congress. ASM immediately issued a statement urging Congress to reject the Trump Administration’s budget that proposes significant cuts to science and public health including at NIH, CDC, USAID, DOE Office of Science, NSF, and USDA research. It is important to note that this is only the opening salvo in the FY2026 funding process. Congress holds the power of the purse, and the ASM Public Policy team will be working closely with Congress as they draft their FY2026 appropriations bills. We encourage you to reach out to your Congressional delegation to let them know how these proposed cuts will affect your work and your communities via this ASM Action Alert. Thank you to those who have already sent the action alert to their members of Congress! Here are a few proposals that impact research. 

National Institutes of Health: 

The budget proposes cutting the National Institutes of Health to $29.2 billion, a decrease of $17.9 billion from FY25. The proposal also mentions that NIH has been involved in dangerous gain-of-function research and failed to adequately address it, which further undermines public confidence in NIH. While NIAID is not mentioned specifically, the substantial budget reduction may lead to decreased funding opportunities for microbiology research, affecting studies on infectious diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and emerging pathogens. 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: 

The budget proposes cutting the CDC to $5.6 billion, a decrease of $3.6 billion from FY25. The request prioritizes refocusing CDC’s mission on core activities such as emerging and infectious disease surveillance, outbreak investigations, and maintaining the Nation’s public health infrastructure. 

USAID and State Funding: 

The President’s Budget request proposes an 83.7% cut to the State Department and international programs. This includes a $2.462 billion cut to the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and State Department operations and reorganizing the USAID into the State Department. The administration requests a $6.233 billion cut to global health programs but preserves funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief for current beneficiaries. 

Department of Energy’s Office of Science: 

The FY26 budget request proposes cutting the DOE Office of Science to $7.1 billion, a decrease of $1.1 billion from FY25. The Budget reduces funding for climate change research and prioritizes maintaining U.S. competitiveness in areas such as high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, quantum information science, fusion, and critical minerals. 

National Science Foundation: 

The administration proposes cutting the National Science Foundation by $4.9 billion, a more than 55 percent cut to the agency’s overall budget. The cuts target grants for climate, clean energy, social, behavioral and economic science research and “programs in low priority areas of science.” The administration also cuts NSF programs to broaden participation in STEM.  

USDA Research: 

The FY26 budget request proposes cutting the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to $498 million, a decrease of $602 million from FY25. The budget proposes a reduction in funding for climate change, renewable energy, and promoting DEI in education. The budget reduces funding for formula grants and focuses on the merit-based Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. AFRI was funded at $445.2 million in FY25.  

Updates on the NIH 

As NIH Director Jay Bhattacharya settles into the job, the agency announced a flurry of policy changes: 

·                The agency will no longer renew or issue subawards to researchers and institutions outside the US starting October 1, 2025. A statement from Bhattacharya says that this change is necessary to improve the transparency of NIH research and protect national security. The change will likely disproportionately affect infectious disease research, which requires studying infectious diseases where they are endemic and areas with the highest burden. 

·                NIH is establishing an Office of Research Innovation, Validation, and Application (ORIVA) within the agency’s Office of the Director. The new office will coordinate NIH-wide efforts to develop, validate, and scale the use of non-animal approaches across biomedical research. This announcement follows an FDA initiative to reduce animal testing in drug development. 

·                NIH is moving up the effective date of its public access publishing policy, which requires NIH funded research to be uploaded to PubMed Central upon publication, from December 31, 2025 to July 1, 2025. This change will not impact ASM journals, which are already in compliance with US government public access requirements through the Subscribe to Open model. 

·                The Department of Health and Human Services announced a $500 million investment from the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Agency to the NIH intramural program to develop a universal flu vaccine. This initiative, called Generation Gold Standard, will replace the Biden Administration’s Project NextGen, a partnership between NIH and BARDA to develop new Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics.  

Senate Appropriations Committee Hearing on Biomedical Research 

On April 30th, the Senate Appropriations Committee conducted a hearing on biomedical research. Members at the hearing discussed the NIH announcement capping indirect costs at 15 percent and how the cap negatively impacts scientists’ ability to conduct lifesaving research. In addition, members highlighted the obstructive effect of current program cuts and funding freezes on biomedical innovation, clinical trials, and treatment safety. Witnesses also warned of the personal and global ramifications of a 44% funding cut in FY2026 for the National Institutes of Health currently proposed by the Trump Administration's budget request.  

NSF Caps Indirect Cost Support at 15% 

On May 2, the National Science Foundation announced that it will limit financial support of indirect costs to 15 percent. This is in line with the NIH announcement in February and the Department of Energy announcement in April. A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order halting the cap on indirect costs at the Department of Energy and a lawsuit was recently filed regarding the National Science Foundation announcement. If you have not done so already, please contact your members of Congress regarding the danger of capping indirect costs for research. ASM has an action alert here for members to contact their Senators and Representatives. 

ASM and Scientific Societies File Amicus Brief Supporting Funding Restoration 

On May 2 the American Society for Microbiology, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the American Society for Cell Biology, and the Federation of American Societies of Experimental Biology filed an amicus brief asking the court to hold recent executive orders resulting in termination of grants supporting young scientists as unlawful and to order the National Institutes of Health to restore funding.  

The organizations are partners in the NIH Maximizing Opportunities for Scientific and Academic Independent Careers (MOSAIC) grant program, an initiative that helps promising scientists from a wide range of backgrounds make the transition into research-intensive career positions. The American Institute of Biological Sciences, the American Sociological Association, the Association for Women in Science, the Ecological Society of America, the Gerontological Society of America, the Infectious Diseases Society of America, and the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry of North America also signed on in support of the amicus brief.   

National Climate Assessment Authors Dismissed 

Nearly 400 scientists were dismissed from their work as authors of the Sixth National Climate Assessment, which was scheduled for release in 2028. The National Climate Assessment provides a lay summary of the state of climate science and is Congressionally mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990. The National Climate Assessment is critical to prepare both the public and private sector for the current and future impacts of climate change as well as mitigating challenges. Without this assessment, policies, budget requests, climate change education, and other key programs and decisions are unable to account for the broad effects of climate change. 

In response to the dismissals, House Science Committee Ranking Member Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) wrote to Office of Science and Technology Policy Director Michael Kratsios expressing concern that the dismissal of scientists violates the law and requested further information about the stop work orders.  

Advocating with our Partner Organizations on the Hill 

On Wednesday April 30th, ASM participated in the Alliance for a Stronger FDA Congressional Fly In. Alliance members from throughout the country, which include patient and consumer advocates, biomedical research companies, health professional societies, and industry and trade organizations participated in the event, which focused onthe importance of the FDA having the necessary resources to support food safety and nutrition, overseeing innovation in the pharmaceutical and medical product space, and ensuring the U.S. remains a leader in science. We also highlighted the importance of funding the FDA and emphasized the importance of the different centers and their respective work including the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, the Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, and the Center for Veterinary Medicine.  

ASM also participated in the National Coalition for Food and Agricultural Research Hill Day on May 6. We spoke with congressional staff to talk about the importance of agricultural research at the USDA, including funding for the Agricultural Research Service, the Agriculture and Food Research Initiative, and the Agriculture Advanced Research and Development Authority. The USDA plays a crucial role in advancing the microbial sciences, contributing to the understanding of microorganisms and their interactions within agricultural, environmental, and food systems. ASM strongly believes funding cutting-edge agricultural research will help our nation’s farmers and ranchers succeed in the 21st century. This includes supporting research to understand and combat antimicrobial resistance, as well as research to increase our understanding of plant, soil, and animal microbiomes to boost productivity and improve plant, soil, and animal health.  

Support Federal Scientists by Keeping them Out of Schedule F 

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is proposing a rule that would make it easier to remove federal employees—including career scientists—who are found to “undermine the democratic process by intentionally subverting Presidential directives.” If implemented, the rule would have a devastating effect on scientific integrity in government agencies, impairing scopes of research and threatening the livelihood of dedicated public servants. Submit your comments on the rule by May 23, 2025. 

ASM Supports Environmental Microbiology Programs  

ASM joined other scientific societies and universities in requesting $876 million for the EPA Science and Technology Account in fiscal year (FY) 2026. This includes $40 million for the Science to Achieve Results program, which is the EPA’s primary competitive scientific grants program. EPA scientific funding has declined over the past 15 years – the account received $846 million in FY2010 and $758.1 million in FY 2024. The Trump administration's skinny budget proposes cutting the EPA’s Office of Research and Development by 50%. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin wrote in a Newsweek op-ed that as part of a reorganization, the agency’s scientific functions will spread across program offices and the agency will create a new Office of Applied Science and Environmental Solutions. Current EPA Office of Research and Development employees were given a week, starting May 2, to either find a new position within the agency or to accept a deferred resignation. ASM also joined a letter opposing the elimination of the US Geological Survey’s Ecosystems Mission Area, which includes the agency’s environmental health and contaminant biology programs. 

In brief: 

• The NIAID Advisory Council will meet June 2. This will be the council’s first open meeting since September 2024. 

• The FDA’s Vaccines Related Biological Products Advisory Committee will meet May 22 to make recommendations regarding the selection of the 2025-2026 Formula for COVID-19 vaccines for use in the United States. 

Amalia Corby

Director, Federal Affairs

American Society for Microbiology

202.942.9357 direct | acorby@asmusa.org