TUE AM News: Tech Council urging federal lawmakers to push for reversing NIH cuts; Wisconsin joins multi-state suit challenging cap on administrative costs for federal research grants

February 11, 2025

— The Wisconsin Technology Council is urging the state’s congressional delegation to push for restoring National Institutes of Health funding and preventing similar cuts from being made elsewhere.

After the NIH on Friday announced cuts to grants that help cover indirect R&D costs for medical research institutions, the Tech Council sent a statement to Wisconsin’s federal lawmakers warning the move will “cause immediate and likely lasting harm” to biomedical research in Wisconsin and elsewhere.

The group is calling on the delegation to reverse the funding cut — which caps the indirect cost rate at 15% for NIH grants — and ensure similar cuts aren’t made to other agencies such as the National Science Foundation. The NSF provides funding for science and engineering research in all areas except medical, which is covered by the NIH.

“Not only will the reduction adversely affect Americans of all ages, but people around the world who also benefit from the U.S. biomedical research engine,” the Tech Council wrote. “It will weaken one of the nation’s biggest competitive advantages at a time when such edges help to set our economy apart.”

This appeal comes as Wisconsin is joining a multi-state settlement seeking to keep the Trump administration from “gutting funding for life-saving medical research,” Gov. Tony Evers’ office said yesterday. The announcement noted the impact in Wisconsin, focusing on UW-Madison and other Universities of Wisconsin campuses.

And it’s not just UW institutions that will be affected, the Tech Council notes. Other private institutions in the state that get federal R&D dollars include the Medical College of Wisconsin, Marquette University, the Milwaukee School of Engineering and Marshfield Clinic Health System.

The NIH in fiscal year 2023 put more than $35 billion toward nearly 50,000 grants, which collectively involve more than 300,000 researchers across 2,500 research institutions, according to the Tech Council’s statement. Of that total, $26 billion covered direct research costs while the other $9 billion went to overhead or “indirect costs” targeted by the funding cut.

“The change announced Feb. 7 means research institutions must quickly find billions of dollars from other sources to support laboratories, students and staff – putting projects at risk,” the Tech Council wrote.

— Gov. Tony Evers and AG Josh Kaul, in joining the multi-state lawsuit challenging cuts to medical research funding, slammed the Trump administration’s move and said it will undermine efforts to cure diseases.

“To think that the Trump Administration wants to gut funding to help find cures and treatments for things like cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and diabetes—it’s unconscionable,” Evers said. “The University of Wisconsin System is a national and global leader in helping solve real problems for people here in Wisconsin and the world over, and ensuring UW System’s success is a critical part of ensuring Wisconsin’s future economic success.”

According to the Department of Justice release, UW-Madison receives $513 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, primarily from NIH. The proposed NIH funding cuts would take away approximately $65 million for the current year. The indirect cost rate at UW-Madison, 55.5%, consists of 26% for administrative costs and 29.5% for facility costs.

UW-Milwaukee was not immediately able to provide an estimate of the impact for the school.

Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman in a thread on X in response to the cuts said “taking a meat cleaver to funding is wrong.”

And Kaul argued the cuts were motivated by future plans for tax cuts that would “disproportionately benefit the ultra wealthy.”

“Our health and well-being shouldn’t have to suffer so that folks like Elon Musk can get massive tax breaks,” he said, referencing the tech billionaire and Trump adviser.

State GOP spokesperson Anika Rickard in a statement knocked the lawsuit as “politically motivated.”

“Josh Kaul joined 21 other Democrats in this politically motivated lawsuit against President Trump’s Administration. Wisconsinites are tired of Josh Kaul’s political games,” Rickard said.

The 22-state lawsuit seeking to block the funding cuts argues they will “devastate critical public health research at universities and research institutions” across the country and harm each of the state’s citizens.

The lawsuit asserts the cuts violate the Administrative Procedure Act, federal regulations and a measure Congress approved during President Donald Trump’s first term to prevent cuts to research reimbursements he proposed.

— GOP lawmakers are circulating a bill that would create an individual income tax deduction for psychniatry work.

Rep. Paul Tittl, R-Manitowoc, and Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, recently sent a co-sponsorship memo to other lawmakers with details on the legislation.

It would create a deduction up to $100,000 for income earned in Wisconsin by a psychiatrist or psychiatric or mental health nurse practitioner for providing related services. That would rise to $200,000 for those practicing in a federally defined medically underserved area, the memo shows. The bill would also create a five-year limit for claiming the deduction, among other provisions.

The lawmakers reference the state’s mental health crisis, noting alcohol- and drug-related deaths were rising more quickly in Wisconsin than the national rate before COVID-19, and the pandemic “only accelerated” the trend.

Meanwhile, the memo says 55 of the state’s 72 counties have a significant shortage of psychiatrists, citing a report from the UW Population Health Institute. That study found 31 counties need more than two extra full-time psychiatrists to meet demand.

“These shortages, along with increasing mental health and substance abuse disorders, are creating access disparities across the state, especially in rural areas,” the lawmakers wrote, adding their bill “seeks to address this issue.”

The co-sponsorship deadline is noon Friday.

See more details in the memo.

— The state Department of Administration is rolling out $11.8 million to help four communities buy 15 new public transit buses.

The agency yesterday announced the dollars from the State of Wisconsin Transit Capital Assistance Grant Program, which is funded by a court settlement related to Volkswagen violating the federal Clean Air Act. The state is getting $67.1 million over a 10-year period from the settlement.

Under the program, Wisconsin can replace older buses with new “diesel, alternate fueled or all-electric” alternatives, according to the release. Old buses are scrapped under the federal settlement’s terms.

Grants announced yesterday are going to Beloit, Green Bay, Janesville and Wausau. This is the third round of funding from the program.

See the release.

— Lobbying firm Husch Blackwell Strategies has hired Robert Marchant, who will lead the company’s Madison-based Wisconsin state advocacy team.

Marchant, appointed managing principal and director of growth for HBS, joins the firm after spending a decade at Michael Best Strategies. He helped establish that consulting firm in Madison and was most recently serving as partner and chief client officer, according to the announcement.

“This move makes a lot of sense to me and already feels like home. HBS has smart people that are committed to doing the best job and doing it right,” Marchant said in a statement. “HBS is special and I am excited to do my part helping build something great together.”

See the release.

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