Pentagon sought to divert NIH funds for defense use, top House Appropriations Democrat says

The Pentagon is attempting to divert billions of dollars from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to bolster the agency’s budget, according to the top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) in a statement Thursday said Trump administration officials only recently disclosed to Congress that the Defense Department signed an interagency agreement that could give the Pentagon access to billions of dollars meant for biomedical research.

“This secretive attempt to siphon research funds away from NIH is outrageous. The interagency agreement needs to be terminated immediately,” DeLauro said in a statement.

“Circumventing Congress to divert money intended to help Americans who are exposed to HIV, influenza, tuberculosis, and other deadly diseases—and directing those funds to the Department of Defense—is beyond the pale,” DeLauro added.

The Democrat said the agreement would pull from the NIH’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), its leading institute for infectious-disease research.

DeLauro did not say the NIH signed the agreement.

The NIH and the Pentagon “explored potential avenues of collaboration to support the development of medical technologies, such as therapeutics, diagnostics, and personal protective equipment (PPE), to protect against infectious diseases [and] other health risks that Americans face,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement to The Hill.

A partnership between the NIH and the Pentagon “would enable nimble multi-agency resources to collaboratively respond to public health emergencies, such as the recent Ebola outbreak,” the spokesperson added.

It wasn’t clear how much money the Pentagon was seeking or what it would be used to fund. The Pentagon did not immediately return a request for comment.

According to Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, the agreement establishes a framework for the Pentagon to “potentially tap billions of dollars in funding.”

Both Murray and DeLauro said the agreement was not proactively shared with Congress. According to DeLauro, it was only disclosed after House Democrats pressed NIH officials.

DeLauro accused the Pentagon of attempting to make up for shortfalls caused by the war in Iran. The agency is awaiting congressional approval of a $95 billion supplemental funding request that would mainly go toward the war.

“It is no secret that the Department of Defense is facing enormous financial pressure because of President Trump’s war of choice with Iran. But the Trump administration cannot make American patients, families, and scientists pay the price,” DeLauro said.

Patient advocates were quick to condemn the potential arrangement. “Congressionally-appropriated funding for NIH research to save lives and improve the health of Americans should not be treated like a slush fund,” Erika Sward, executive director of United for Cures, said in a statement. “We call on Congress to investigate this and ensure money appropriated for lifesaving research is used as intended.”