Staff Reports
The House Energy and Commerce Committee is looking into the spending of the Biden administration on medical research to see if any of it is still going to Russia against the White House’s orders. The probe comes after a report by The Washington Times last year uncovered research done by a Russian lab using U.S. money that involved decerebrating cats and making them walk on a treadmill.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, a Washington Republican and chair of the committee, wants to make sure that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is following the White House policy punishing Russia for its war against Ukraine. She and two subcommittee chairs wrote a letter to NIH asking for information on 240 potentially problematic instances of research collaborations funded by the NIH.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee said Tuesday that it is probing the Biden administration's medical research spending to see if any of it is still going to Russia in defiance of a White House order. https://t.co/9vBV6seDIc
— The Washington Times (@WashTimes) April 30, 2024
Recent years have seen criticism of NIH’s funding for projects abroad, with concerns that American researchers are using foreign labs to bypass regulations in the U.S., such as animal welfare. Amid the probe, it has come to light that a Russian lab received funding for a project to study spinal cord injuries and body motion, despite the White House order to curtail funding for Russian research after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Additionally, concerns have been raised about the transparency of the government’s tools for tracking spending, with discrepancies between USASpending.gov and NIH’s grant reporting system regarding the funding for the Pavlov Institute’s cat project. As of this week, no Russian labs are listed on NIH’s chart of institutions certified to carry out animal testing using U.S. money.
The controversy over U.S. funding for foreign research extends beyond Russia, with China also coming under scrutiny after the Wuhan Institute of Virology’s alleged involvement in the coronavirus pandemic. The Wuhan lab was removed from NIH’s list of approved animal testing facilities, while 28 other Chinese labs remain on the list.
In conclusion, the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s investigation into the Biden administration’s medical research spending reflects concerns about the proper use of taxpayer money and adherence to White House directives on foreign research funding.
