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To: House and Senate Appropriations Committees
Protect NIH Funds from Being Redirected to the Department of War
Dear Members of Congress:
We urge you to take immediate action to protect the integrity, independence, and congressional oversight of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) following the September 2026 interagency agreement between NIH and the Department of War (DOW) that establishes a mechanism for transferring NIH funds to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of War for Nuclear Deterrence, Chemical, and Biological Defense Policy and Programs.
This agreement raises profound concerns about the appropriate use of funds appropriated by Congress for biomedical research and public health. It should not be permitted to become a vehicle for redirecting NIH resources to Department of War priorities without clear congressional authorization, transparency, and accountability.
The agreement establishes a framework extending through 2036 without specifying a dollar amount and provides for subsequent transfers of NIH funds through interagency orders for contracts, grants, cooperative agreements, other transactions, and program-management activities.
We recognize the importance of biodefense and the need to develop effective countermeasures against biological, chemical, and emerging infectious threats. But the existence of a legitimate national-security need does not eliminate Congress's constitutional responsibility to determine how appropriated funds are used.
Congress—not an interagency agreement—must determine the purposes for which NIH appropriations are spent.
We respectfully urge Congress to:
1. Immediately require full disclosure of all planned and completed transfers. NIH and the Department of War should provide a complete accounting of every transfer made or contemplated, including the NIH account and appropriation involved, amount, recipient, purpose, statutory authority, period of performance, and applicable congressional notification.
2. Suspend implementation of any transfer that has not received clear congressional authorization. Until Congress determines that proposed transfers are consistent with the purposes of the underlying NIH appropriations, no NIH funds should be transferred to the Department of War pursuant to this agreement.
3. Require the Administration to identify the statutory authority for each proposed transfer. Congress should receive a legal analysis explaining why each transfer is permissible under the Economy Act and applicable appropriations law and consistent with the purposes for which Congress appropriated the NIH funds.
4. Protect NIH's civilian biomedical research and public-health mission. NIH appropriations should remain focused on purposes established by Congress, including basic biomedical research, prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and public-health preparedness. Military requirements should not displace civilian scientific priorities or reduce resources for investigator-initiated research and the nation's biomedical research infrastructure.
5. Prohibit the use of NIH appropriations for Department of War administrative costs unless explicitly authorized by Congress. Congress should ensure that NIH research appropriations are not diverted to build or sustain a separate military bureaucracy.
6. Require congressional notification and approval thresholds for significant transfers. Congress should establish clear reporting requirements and, where appropriate, prior congressional approval for transfers of NIH appropriations to other agencies, particularly transfers that materially alter the purpose, control, or administration of those funds.
7. Conduct immediate oversight hearings. Relevant congressional committees should require testimony from NIH and Department of War officials regarding the agreement's origin, intended scope, funding contemplated, programs affected, and safeguards protecting NIH's scientific independence and congressional appropriations authority.
8. Preserve transparency regarding research, data, intellectual property, and scientific findings. Congress should determine whether the agreement's provisions governing data, products, intellectual property, and access are consistent with NIH's civilian research mission and applicable federal policies.
This issue extends beyond any single agency or administration. It concerns a fundamental principle of democratic governance: Congress appropriates public funds for specified purposes, and executive agencies should not be permitted to substantially redefine those purposes through administrative agreements.
The United States needs both a strong civilian biomedical research system and a strong national biodefense capability. Those objectives are best served when each receives transparent, appropriately authorized, and adequately appropriated resources.
The fact that this agreement extends for a decade while leaving the amount of funding to subsequent transactions makes congressional oversight especially urgent. Congress should not wait until billions of dollars have been transferred to determine whether the underlying mechanism is appropriate.
America's biomedical research enterprise was built through sustained bipartisan congressional investment. It should not be redirected through an administrative mechanism that Congress did not specifically authorize.
The stakes are too high to wait for the consequences to become apparent. Congress must exercise its appropriations and oversight responsibilities now.
Why is this important?
NIH is one of America's most important national assets. Its research supports discoveries and advances in cancer, infectious diseases, mental health, addiction, chronic disease, child health, aging, and countless other areas of human health.
A new agreement between NIH and the Department of War creates a mechanism for transferring NIH funds to support Department of War activities. The agreement extends through 2036 without specifying a dollar amount, raising serious concerns about how much NIH funding could ultimately be redirected.
This isn't about choosing between biomedical research and national security. The United States needs both a strong civilian biomedical research system and a strong national biodefense capability. But those objectives are best served when each receives transparent, appropriately authorized, and adequately appropriated resources.
At its heart, this is also about who decides how taxpayer dollars are spent. Congress appropriates public funds for specified purposes, and executive agencies should not be permitted to substantially redefine those purposes through administrative agreements.
The fact that this agreement extends for a decade while leaving the amount of funding to future transactions makes congressional oversight especially urgent. Congress should act before potentially significant NIH resources are transferred and a precedent is established.
Protecting NIH means protecting a biomedical research system that benefits people and families across the country—and ensuring that taxpayer-funded research dollars are used for the purposes Congress intended.