The report, released Aug. 5, reinforces what many research advocates have argued for months.
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The Trump administration has violated federal statute by withholding pre-appropriated grants from the National Institutes of Health, according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office Tuesday.
As a nonpartisan legislative agency, the GAO’s findings reinforce what higher education institutions, academic associations and Democrats in Congress have been arguing for months.
The report cites the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which “allows the President to withhold funds from obligation, but only under strictly limited circumstances and only in a manner consistent with that Act.”
“The ICA was enacted to ensure that legislation passed by Congress and signed by the President is faithfully executed,” the report reads. “Unless Congress has enacted a law providing otherwise, executive branch officials must take care to ensure that they prudently obligate appropriations during their period of availability.”
According to the GAO, the Trump administration was in violation of the ICA when the NIH terminated more than 1,800 grants and, from February to June, committed almost $8 billion less to research than the government had during the same time period the year before. Trump officials argue the cuts are an effort to align federal investment with the president’s priorities.
The GAO said it shared the report with the Department of Health and Human Services, whose officials claim they have lifted the pause on applications for future grants. The department did not say anything, however, about the status of existing appropriations for this year, according to the GAO.
Multiple higher education groups have sued the NIH over the funding freeze, and so far both district and appellate courts have ruled in their favor. The courts’ conclusions have been similar to those of the GAO—that the Trump administration overstepped its executive powers in freezing congressionally approved funds.
The accountability office “is aware of ongoing litigation involving the termination of NIH grants in which HHS has taken the position that it was authorized to terminate the grants,” the report said. “If a court makes relevant findings of fact relating to NIH funds, we will update this decision as necessary.”
