Trump's health research cuts would cost Utah millions of dollars and hundreds of support jobs
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Utah stands to lose millions of dollars and hundreds of jobs due to the Trump administration's planned cuts to indirect funding by the National Institutes of Health, per the Science & Community Impacts Mapping Project.
Why it matters: Much of the discourse around the cuts has focused on the impact to state budgets or individual universities. But this data compiled from a consortium of universities shows just how widespread the effects of the cuts would be at the local level, researchers tell Axios.
Catch up quick: In February, the Trump administration said it would cap the indirect cost rate on all new and current grants at 15% of the total cost.
- That affects funds for administrative support and overhead costs like lab space, data processing, and safety measures for human subjects.
- Nearly two dozen states sued in February, earning a temporary freeze on the cuts for the states that participated in the suit. An additional 16 states have since filed their own legal challenge.
By the numbers: Utah would lose at least $126 million and 545 jobs, per the project's analysis.
How it works: The researchers — from the Universities of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Utah, and Oregon, along with Georgia Tech — used a variety of data points, including commuter information.
- The goal was to show a more comprehensive picture of the potential economic impacts.
Zoom in: Salt Lake County — home to the University of Utah and health departments covering the state and its largest county — would suffer $86 million in economic losses from the cuts.
- But the map shows neighboring counties, some which have smaller colleges and universities, may also lose millions.
- Davis County, for example, has no major research university but would lose $11 million, the report found.
Zoom out: More than 500 counties nationwide would lose more than $6.25 million in funding, their data shows.
What they're saying: The pain isn't confined to elite institutions on the East and West coasts, the researchers said.
- "I don't think people have a sense of the extent to which the NIH funding is embedded in communities, big cities, regional hubs, small towns all across the U.S.," Joshua Weitz of the University of Maryland told Axios.