The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is a government agency focusing on scientific research and discovery that can save lives.
However, NIH has recently fallen prey to the Left’s radical diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ideology. Scientists and medical researchers should be hired for merit and excellence, not for how effectively they promote a leftist agenda in their findings. By obsessing over radical ideology for the sake of “inclusivity,” NIH has willingly welcomed the Trojan horse of DEI into its doors—and patients and taxpayers are suffering the consequences.
The primary vehicle for this agenda within NIH is the NIH Common Fund’s Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST) program. This program recruits “diverse” faculty who have “demonstrated a commitment to inclusive excellence” at research universities through the use of taxpayer-funded grants. The program focuses on hiring minorities in predominantly left-leaning states and cities. In other words, scientists are chosen not for their competence and commitment to excellence, but for their commitment to a left-leaning “inclusive” agenda.
The price tag? Tens of millions of taxpayer dollars.
The result? Colleges and universities are incentivized to further ingrain DEI priorities in their hiring practices and research projects. For example, the University of Michigan announced a $15.8 million investment from the NIH to hire “tenure-track faculty with a demonstrated commitment to equity and inclusion.” It should come as no surprise then that several of the projects funded through this program often have nothing to do with advancing medical research or finding cures for diseases.
Americans deserve a federal government that prudently stewards their hard-earned money and an NIH that is focused on advancing cures, not discrimination. DEI is a distraction, an unnecessary barrier for aspiring researchers, and an ineffective approach to promoting diversity.
Can this be stopped?
Yes, Congress holds the power over the NIH’s statutory authorization and funding. First, Congress could conduct rigorous oversight into how the NIH is using congressionally appropriated funds to pursue the radical DEI agenda. Additionally, Congress could ban funding for government taxpayer-funded grants that require DEI initiatives to be eligible for federal funding. Legislation to this effect would enable stewardship of taxpayer dollars in a more responsible manner and help stop the leftist agenda of the current administration.
