Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield, along with attorneys general from 21 other states, are attempting to block the latest Trump administration plan to cut federal funding to universities.

Ten days ago, the Trump administration attempted to halt all federal funding, an effort that was quickly blocked by a judge and withdrawn.

The latest action came last Friday when the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a new agency policy to cap “indirect costs” funding for its research grants to 15%. Indirect costs are often associated with expenses that support medical research, like the cost to maintain labs, the cost of utilities such as gas and electricity and the cost of support staff. The average indirect cost rate hovers around 28%, according to the agency.

Over the weekend, higher education leaders across the U.S. denounced the funding rate change, saying the move could halt life-saving medical research occurring at universities. NIH grants fund research for cancer treatments, vaccine development and cures for infectious diseases, among other things.

“The key part critical to this is that those costs are real costs,” said Richard Tankersley, vice president for research and graduate studies at Portland State University. “And they are reimbursement for costs that we’ve already incurred.”

In the lawsuit, filed Monday, plaintiffs said the policy would have “immediate and devastating” effects.

“Medical schools, universities, research institutions, and other grant recipients across the country have already budgeted for the specific indirect cost rates that had been negotiated and formalized with the federal government through the designated statutory and regulatory legal process,” wrote the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “This agency action will result in layoffs, suspension of clinical trials, disruption of ongoing research programs, and laboratory closures.”

“President Trump’s disdain for science has been long evident, but these cuts represent a dangerous culmination of years of undermining trusted public health expertise,” Rayfield said in a press statement. “It is clear this administration has no concern for the well-being of Americans, especially those who rely on this research to improve their quality of life and protect their health.”

A federal judge in Massachusetts granted a temporary restraining order blocking the government’s action to cut the funding Monday afternoon. The judge asked NIH to submit a response to the lawsuit by Friday.

The potential impact of the NIH funding change would cut deeply into the budgets of some of Oregon’s largest research institutions.

Oregon received about $388 million in NIH funding last year, according to federal data. More than 70% of that funding, $277 million, was awarded to Oregon Health & Science University.

The NIH’s policy change would have a substantial impact on OHSU’s bottom line. The university’s current negotiated rate for indirect costs is 56%, according to the lawsuit filing. The suit estimates OHSU could lose about $80 million in NIH funding with the 15% cap.

“That loss of funds would have an immediate impact on OHSU’s ability to fund critical facilities, research compliance and animal care,” said the lawsuit. “It would also compromise OHSU’s ability to carry out ongoing clinical trials and could immediately and directly impact patient care.”

An OHSU spokesperson said the university filed a declaration in support of the lawsuit and is working to evaluate the potential impacts of the NIH policy.

“The research conducted at OHSU leads to life-saving therapies and technologies and contributes to the global effort that seeks to improve human health and well-being,” OHSU Interim President Steve Stadum said in a statement. “Research is a foundational pillar of what makes us an academic health center, and we must do all we can to protect it.”

The state’s big three public universities — Oregon State University, Portland State University and University of Oregon — also received a large chunk of money from NIH last year.

UO was awarded more than $40 million in NIH research grants in 2024, the second-largest amount in the state behind OHSU.

“University of Oregon representatives have come together to consider plans and changes that may be necessary in response to new rules, guidance, or laws,” said a UO spokesperson in an emailed statement. “Our guidance at this time is to continue our important research as normal and support our university community.”

A spokesperson for Oregon State, which received about $21 million in NIH funds last year, said the agency is an important research partner with the university. But OSU said, “Any across-the-board reduction in funding threatens research advances of the utmost importance to Oregon, the nation and the world.”

PSU’s Tankersley said cutting federal funding to help cover the indirect costs would significantly impact the university’s research efforts. Last year, PSU was awarded more than $4.5 million in NIH research grants. Before the policy change, the university’s negotiated rate with NIH was set around 50% for indirect costs.

“[PSU] would have had a 70% decrease in the amount of money available to support our research,” said Tankersley. “That’s a huge decrease. And that’s not just felt by us, but by every institution across the country.”

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/02/10/oregon-university-science-funding-trump-research-attorney-general-dan-rayfield-national-institute-nih/