Call Your Lawmaker

We need your voice to urge Members of Congress to protect research funding, ensure open collaboration, and support biomedical innovation. The scientific enterprise is facing significant challenges – convey how these disruptions are affecting you to your represented officials today. A simple phone call to your lawmakers is a highly effective strategy to move support for your issue.

They need to hear from you on issues that matter.

Background: Urgent Need for Advocacy

Due to recent administrative policies that are severely limiting indirect grant costs, disrupting research funding, limiting communication with federal agencies, and delaying critical grant review processes, your advocacy is more important than ever. These changes are already having real and immediate impacts on labs, research institutions, and the broader biomedical innovation ecosystem.

On Friday February 7, 2025, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that it would institute a 15% cap on the Facilities & Administration costs (also known as “indirect” costs) provided to research institutions. This 15% cap is far below the amount institutions need to support NIH-funded research. While the courts issued a temporary nationwide restraining order on the cap, this decision is not permanent.

Uncertainty around federal research funding is having real, local effects. Disruptions to grant funding or review threaten jobs, workforce development and training, and the stability of the medical innovation sector.

Most Members of Congress do not fully grasp the impact of these changes—nor do they recognize how critical institutional operating funds are to enabling U.S. scientists to focus on cutting edge research. Sharing your story of how funding disruptions are affecting research and local jobs is critical.

Finding Your Representative’s Phone Number:

  1. Visit govtrack.us and enter your home address to find your Member of Congress or Senators. Their Washington, D.C. office phone number will be listed for each representative.
  2. When a staff member answers, introduce yourself with your name and address to confirm you are a constituent. If you get their voicemail, leave a message.
  3. Your conversation may be brief, as they may have to answer other calls. Clearly explain why you’re calling, what you want your representative to do, your research field, and mention any potential medical outcomes your research could have.
  4. Be courteous and respectful and offer to leave contact information for further follow-up.

Sample Call:

“Hello, my name is [name], and I live on [street and city]. I am a [type of researcher and institution or company], what I study [briefly describe your research]. This research is funded by the NIH and is crucial because [in one sentence explain why your research is important to the public].

The decision by the NIH to immediately reduce research funding will have a devastating impact on local jobs and will hurt American innovation.

Without the administrative support and the research facilities they provide, I could not do my research. [Add how the disruptions are affecting hiring and firing decisions and support for students, faculty, and/or company decision-making].

I am deeply concerned about the implications of this decision on my livelihood, on biomedical innovation, and the local economy.

I urge [lawmaker’s name] to take action to stop these reductions in federal research support. Thank you for your time, and I would be happy to discuss this further at any time.”