A medical technologist in the molecular diagnostic lab extracts DNA from milk samples for testing at the Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University on Dec. 10, 2024 in Ithaca, New York. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
"Most private foundations that fund research provide substantially lower indirect costs than the federal government, and universities readily accept grants from these foundations. For example, a recent study found that the most common rate of indirect rate reimbursement by foundations was 0%, meaning many foundations do not fund indirect costs whatsoever," NIH's announcement, released Friday evening, stated. "In addition, many of the nation’s largest funders of research—such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation—have a maximum indirect rate of 15%. And in the case of the Gates Foundation, the maximum indirect costs rate is 10% for institutions of higher education."
Some universities responded to the new, indirect cost cap with confusion and backlash.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison put out a statement arguing the new indirect cost cap will "significantly disrupt vital research activity and daily life-saving discoveries." It added that the move will also "have an inevitable impact on student opportunities to engage in research activities."
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The National Institutes of Health under President Donald Trump put a cap on indirect costs associated with agency research grants, as part of a wider move to reduce wasteful government spending. (Alamy/Getty Images)
"Can you believe that universities with tens of billions in endowments were siphoning off 60% of research award money for ‘overhead’?" Musk also posted on social media. "What a ripoff!"
"Contrary to the hysteria, redirecting billions of allocated NIH spending away from administrative bloat means there will be more money and resources available for legitimate scientific research, not less," added White House spokesperson Kush Desai in a statement to Fox News Digital.
The NIH declined to comment for this story.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/what-ripoff-trump-sparks-backlash-after-cutting-9-billion-overhead-costs-from-nih-research-grants