Kare 11

By Danny Spewak 

MINNEAPOLIS — The University of Minnesota hosted both of the state's U.S. senators on Thursday for a tour of the Cancer and Cardiovascular Research Building, in an effort to call attention to the impact of the Trump administration's proposed caps on portions of National Institutes of Health grants. 

The visit by Sen. Klobuchar and Sen. Smith came after a judge temporarily blocked the White House from implementing the move, which aims to limit so-called "indirect" research costs at 15 percent. University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham said the proposal could cost the school more than $100 million in funding annually if it moves forward. 

Minnesota was among the nearly two dozen blue states that sued to stop the Trump administration from capping NIH indirect funding, which involves overhead costs like lab equipment, utilities, and other research needs.

"This proposal was put on hold for very good legal reasons," Sen. Klobuchar said, "but now we have to make sure that continues, and then go into the next budget and make our case."

In a social media post, the NIH said limits on indirect costs would save $4 billion, and the White House and Congressional allies have defended the measure as a way to put more resources into direct research funding. Sen. John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, told reporters this week that "this rhetoric that NIH grants are going to end and that the world is gonna spin off its axes, that's all a bunch of nonsense."

However, University of Minnesota researchers say that these indirect costs are vital to conducting life-saving research and that any proposed cap on this portion of NIH grants would threaten the viability of their work.

Dr. David Largaespada, a professor of pediatrics and deputy director of the Masonic Cancer Center, said the Trump administration's move could put his lab research at risk. His indirect costs include not only lights and heating for the building where his work is conducted but also other critical lab infrastructure and materials for clinical trials. 

"I have 14 people working in my lab, and I thought, if this goes through, that number is going to shrink. We won't be able to do as many projects, we won't be able to bring as many therapies to the clinic," Largaespada said. "Indirect costs that we get from NIH are an essential part of doing research here at the U of M."

Klobuchar and Smith said they plan to go back to Washington with the information they gained at the U of M on Thursday, although ultimately the courts will decide if the White House proposal is legal.