NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — So where do Tennessee's members of Congress stand on proposed cuts to medical research that could affect our community in such a drastic way?
For the most part, your lawmakers don't want to tell you where they stand on what has become a huge controversy.
Last week, NewsChannel 5 Investigates first obtained a letter in which Tennessee's big medical centers and universities warned that National Institutes of Health cuts being pushed by President Donald Trump and Elon Musk would "devastate biomedical research across the United States, including the significant presence we have built in Tennessee."
They also warned that the NIH policy change "will reduce research, limit clinical trials, close labs, cut jobs for established and early-career researchers, limit training opportunities for future scientists and risk America's leadership in biomedical science."
So we asked every member of Tennessee's congressional delegation if they would, as the letter writers urged, commit to calling on the Trump administration to rescind that policy?
Republican U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty — who is up for re-election next year — did not bother to respond, so we can't tell you where he stands.
Congressman Mark Green — who is a physician and whose district includes Vanderbilt, which stands to lose about $100 million a year — also did not reply.
We also didn't get a response from Reps. Tim Burchett, Chuck Fleischmann, Diana Harshbarger, Andy Ogles nor John Rose — all Republicans.
U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn's office responded with a statement from a spokesperson, saying: “The goal is to allow taxpayer dollars to go towards lifesaving research, not inefficient administrative costs.”
Of course, that doesn't really answer the question: does she support these proposed cuts or doesn't she?
GOP Congressman Scott Desjarlais — who is also a physician — told us, “Taxpayer money should be spent transparently, efficiently, and judiciously. I support efforts to rein in spending that is unaccountable while also supporting new plans that will allow funds for life-saving research to continue at institutions in Tennessee that allocate and spend them wisely. This does not need to be an either/or proposition — both goals can be achieved.”
The clearest response we got was from Democrat Steve Cohen in Memphis:
“NIH funding is critical to the economic health of Memphis and the Mid-South region. Due to the medical research at our medical school, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC), St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and the University of Memphis, among several other institutions, our community receives more than $100 million that supports physicians, researchers, and other support staff. This funding goes to peer-reviewed projects that have great potential to save lives and improve therapies. This is not the kind of cost-saving Americans want because it is sure to cause unnecessary harm. I join a chorus of medical research professionals in demanding that this short-sighted and dangerous policy be reversed immediately.”