SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – The interim board chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, with researchers by her side on Monday, pushed to change minds on when it comes to cutting funding for the National Institutes of Health.
"We are here today to sound the alarm on the devastating cuts and disruptions to the National Institutes of Health,” Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, Interim Chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, said. "This is not just about test tubes and microscopes. It's about families and health and our economy and our future."
Lawson-Remer said the proposed cuts, which are at least 40%, would result in a $500 million loss to the local economy and put more than 3,000 local jobs at risk.
"We have a workforce we can't build up, and we have a pipeline of discoveries that we can't afford to interrupt,” Dr. Corinne Peek-Asa, Vice Chancellor for Research at UC San Diego, said.
The Trump Administration announced the cuts earlier this year.
"It'll cut the number of cancer research projects. It'll cut the number of clinical trials. It'll delay the development of new therapies for cancer,” Dr. Keith Marek, Chief Business Officer at Sanford Burnham Prebys, said.
The NIH is responsible for conducting and supporting medical research and provides federal research grants to universities and research institutions.
At Monday’s press conference, Lawson-Remer said that next month, on June 3, she would bring a resolution to be voted on to formally ask Congress to ensure the NIH gets all of its funding.
"Do not turn your back on science. Do not gut our future,” Lawson-Remer said.
There’s hope that the soon-to-be proposed resolution will make an impact.
"I think they're looking for the public to stand up and for people to speak about what these devastating cuts will do to science, to the health of the country,” Marek said.
Lawsom-Remer had a medical issue during the press conference. As a precaution, she was taken to the hospital for evaluation. A spokesperson told ABC 10News she's doing well.
