AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges) Chief Public Policy Officer Danielle Turnipseed, JD, MHSA, MPP, issued the following statement on the preview of the president’s budget request:
“If enacted, the preview of the president’s budget request released today would yield to cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and other health threats facing Americans by dismantling federal support for medical research, public health, and health professions education that keeps the country healthy. Retreating on health issues where we have made progress and where so many depend on their government to offer promising cures is not the American way.
The stunningly impractical proposed cut to the National Institutes of Health is incongruent with decades of bipartisan support for investment in biomedical research funded by the agency. This commitment has made the United States the world leader in medical advancements that not only have helped all Americans remain healthy but also generated economic development in communities nationwide.
This budget proposal would gut the nation’s biomedical research infrastructure and cede leadership in the field to global competitors like China. If the administration and congressional leaders are truly focused on making America first, now is not the time to settle for anything less when it comes to our nation’s health. The American people deserve better, and recent polls demonstrate that they expect better from their government.
While we await the full budget request, the massive $1 billion proposed cut to the Health Resources and Services Administration health workforce programs is shortsighted in the face of health professions shortages in the nation’s rural and urban communities. Additionally, proposed funding reductions for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are concerning given the pervasive public health challenges our nation must address.
The AAMC urges lawmakers to reject these dangerous cuts in any fiscal year (FY) 2026 appropriations bills and instead develop bipartisan FY 2026 spending bills that include robust investments in programs supporting patients, physicians, medical students, health professionals, researchers, and the health of all communities.”