Trump Administration Calls for Cutting NIH Budget

President Trump's fiscal 2020 budget proposal calls for a 12 percent reduction in the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget, and $100 million in user fees for the e-cigarette industry via a 12 percent funding boost for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), reports The Hill . The proposed NIH reduction would constitute a $5 billion loss. The Trump administration also is urging a new cap on Medicaid payments, with a general request for a 12 percent cut for the Department of Health and Human Services' budget. Congress is unlikely to grant Trump's funding request, which should further stoke Democrats' opposition to the GOP's healthcare agenda. "It is disheartening to see a budget that would dismantle so many programs that people rely on every day," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) on the House Appropriations Committee health panel. "It would be a cold day in hell before I helped pass a budget like this." Democrats also criticized Trump for his proposed Medicare spending cuts, although experts said most of those cuts would impact payments to healthcare providers that do not directly affect seniors.