A resolution expressing the sense of the Senate that the operations of the National Institutes of Health should not experience any interruption, delay, or funding disruption in violation of the law and that the workforce of the National Institutes of Health is essential to sustaining medical progress.
This is a Senate resolution (S. Res. 93) introduced in February 2025, stating the Senate’s sense that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) should operate without interruptions, delays, or funding disruptions that would violate the law. It emphasizes that NIH’s workforce—scientists, researchers, and medical professionals—are essential to sustaining medical progress and that interference with NIH work would undermine lifesaving treatments and the broader biomedical research enterprise. The resolution expresses broad support for NIH to continue its work, including research on specific diseases such as childhood cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, heart disease, infectious diseases, and ALS, among others. It is a nonbinding statement of opinion (a “sense of the Senate”) rather than a law or funding authorization.
Key Points
- 1Type and purpose: A nonbinding sense-of-the-Senate resolution expressing opposition to any interruption, delay, or funding disruption to NIH that would violate the law; it emphasizes the importance of uninterrupted NIH operations.
- 2Protected areas: NIH research across a broad range of diseases, including childhood cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, heart disease, infectious diseases, ALS, and other conditions.
- 3Workforce emphasis: Asserts that NIH’s scientists, researchers, and medical professionals are essential to medical progress and that interfering with their work harms treatment development and public health readiness.
- 4Policy signal: Introduces a formal congressional stance intended to influence future budget and policy discussions around NIH funding and operations, though it does not itself authorize funds or change law.
- 5Legislative status: Introduced in the Senate by Senator Durbin (with numerous co-sponsors) and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP); it remains a resolution, not binding legislation.