McCormick says he wants more NIH funding amid report of White House cuts

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(The Center Square) – During a visit to Penn Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania alongside National Institutes of Health Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya on Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., touted the impact the agency has had on the Keystone State and called for increased funding. 

“It's a huge benefit to Pennsylvania and benefit to the country that Pennsylvania is a big recipient of NIH funding,” McCormick said on Tuesday. 

Pennsylvania is the fourth largest recipient of NIH funding in the nation, according to McCormick’s office, with the state receiving $2.27 billion in federal research funding in FY2025. The investments from NIH support more than 21,000 research jobs and generates $5.31 billion in economic activity.

Despite this impact, Roll Call reported on March 27 that President Donald Trump is expected to ask Congress to cut NIH spending by 20% in his fiscal 2027 budget request.

McCormick, when responding to a question from the Center Square about that report, said he wasn’t going to get into hypotheticals, but assured his support for NIH funding. 

“I will be a strong advocate of maintaining and increasing NIH funding and reforming NIH, as the director has laid out, in a way that makes sure that those dollars have the highest impact for the country and for Pennsylvania,” McCormick said. 

NIH, according to Roll Call, received $48.7 billion in fiscal 2026, which was a $415 million increase over the previously enacted level, although the Trump administration last year proposed $29.3 billion for fiscal 2026. 

McCormick said that for every dollar invested in NIH research, $2.56 flows back into Pennsylvania. His office also said that NIH-driven innovation has helped launch thousands of businesses and nearly 100,000 biopharmaceutical jobs across the state. 

“It's a real driver of innovation, but even more important, it's saving lives in an incredible way, because we have these remarkable institutions,” McCormick said.

Tuesday was not the first time McCormick has called for increased NIH funding, seemingly putting him at odds with the Trump administration on the issue.

During a telephone town hall in June, McCormick said he expressed concern to Department of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and others about potential NIH cuts for grants from the Department of Government Efficiency.

“I think that the likelihood of NIH funding declining is not high,” McCormick said on Tuesday. “And I think that there are many people in Congress that will continue to support keeping NIH funding where it is or even growing.”

Bhattacharya acknowledged on Tuesday that fewer grants were awarded during the first year of the Trump administration, but said those that were "were “funded at higher levels.” 

The University of Pennsylvania, according to McCormick’s office, is consistently among the top recipients of NIH funding nationwide, receiving $723 million in support in FY2025, ranking fifth nationally. Penn’s NIH-funded research spans critical areas including cancer, neuroscience, cardiovascular disease, aging, population health, and health services research, as well as leading work in genomics, gene and cell therapy, and bioengineering.

Tuesday was the second part of a two-day visit for Bhattacharya with McCormick in Pennsylvania to meet researchers, clinicians, university leaders, and innovators to “highlight how NIH-supported research is driving medical progress and strengthening Pennsylvania’s life sciences ecosystem.”

Their visit on Tuesday included a tour of a CAR-T cell therapy laboratory, where they met with Dr. Carl June and discussed the groundbreaking work in this personalized cell therapy - in which patients' own immune cells are engineered to fight their cancers - pioneered at Penn, according to McCormick’s office. 

They also participated in a roundtable discussion to conclude their day with regional partners focused on the future of biomedical innovation, including how federal research partnerships can continue to accelerate discovery, support biotechnology commercialization, and expand access to life-saving treatments.

“The point I want to make with this visit and with the director being here is that this is an area that’s changing dramatically, the pace of change is enormous, it’s going to change the future of America and the future of humanity,” McCormick said. “And Pennsylvania is uniquely positioned to play this enormous leadership role.”