27 UNIHTED / NIH Vigils Newsletter 9/27/26
Hi NIH Vigilers and 27 UNIHTED Community,
Only good news this week! We will get back to the bad and ugly next week, but we wanted one good week. Many of us feel renewed and reinvigorated after a special “SOS for Health” NIH Vigil this week, where we heard from several members of the NIH community speaking in their personal capacity about topics ranging from the vital role of immigrants in our scientific workforce to the life-saving animal studies done at NIH to enable successful cancer treatments for all of us. We were also inspired by personal accounts from special guests Jeremy Berg and Sylvia Chou. Remember that everyone is welcome to attend our vigils every Saturday at 10 am, rain or shine, at the Medical Center Metro Station outside the NIH main campus in Bethesda, Maryland.
So, how is our research ecosystem faring this week? Here are the “good” highlights:
Vigil “Auntie” News
- The Good -
Trump backs down from executive order on NIH funding oversight “death panels”: Last week’s 27 UNIHTED Vigils newsletter discussed a possible new executive order to create an NIH Oversight Board that would include Office of Management and Budget head Russell Vought, giving him and other political appointees veto power over the awarding of NIH grants. After bipartisan pushback this week from senators including Susan Collins and Patty Murray, the Trump administration is backing off this plan. Murray stated that “whether lifesaving medical research gets funded or not should be determined by experts at the NIH—not a panel of lackeys chosen by Donald Trump and Russ Vought.”
Lawmakers urge pay increases for federal employees: More than one hundred lawmakers sent a letter to congressional leadership asking Congress to reject the Trump administration’s proposed pay freeze for 2027. They also asked for a pay increase for federal civilian employees of 3.8% or more to align with the administration’s own proposed increase for law enforcement. The letter argues that this is needed “to recruit and retain qualified employees throughout the federal government.” Such pay increases would help to ensure that research institutions like NIH can compete with other sectors to attract a talented and dedicated workforce. Most federal employees received a 2% raise in 2025 and a 1% raise in 2026, both below the rate of inflation.
COVID shots finally are available through Vaccines for Children program: After an unexplained month-long delay, on Wednesday the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced that COVID shots through the Vaccines for Children program are now available and being shipped to states for delivery to children without access to these vaccines through private insurance. Vaccines for Children provides free immunizations to the uninsured, those eligible for Medicaid, American Indians, and Alaska Natives, and would usually be able to order updated vaccines at the same time as pharmacies and doctor’s offices.
Republican Senator calls for doubling the NIH budget over the next five years: In a Washington Post editorial, Senator Dave McCormick (R-PA) wrote that the NIH’s budget should be doubled over the next five years. He argues that “basic medical research is a public good that private capital rarely funds,” and that every dollar of NIH funding generates $2.50 in economic activity. In addition, he states that American medical science needs additional funding so that it will not be overtaken by other countries such as China.
Leadership Watch
Heidi Overton faces bipartisan skepticism: President Trump’s nominee to head the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Heidi Overton, testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee on September 24. Overton currently serves as a White House adviser who has worked with Trump on, among other things, an executive order to change the formulation and dose schedule of childhood MMR vaccines, a proposal that had no scientific rationale or associated efficacy data. When that executive order was announced, she stood beside Trump in the Oval Office as he falsely said that the MMR vaccine could be “quite lethal.” In her testimony to HELP, Overton backtracked, saying that all vaccines on the market now are safe and effective. Sen. Bill Cassidy, chair of the HELP committee, pressed Overton about what she would do if asked by the President to act in a way not consistent with her testimony to the Senate committee. She responded that she would give Trump “her best advice.” Cassidy seemed unconvinced, given that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. “gave me guarantees, and he did not keep them.” Cassidy also stressed that “[t]his committee needs to know whether you will be radically honest, whether you will use your authority to stand up for sound science and protect children’s health.” Sen. Collins questioned the approval of fruit-flavored vapes, while Sen. Murray pushed Overton to clarify her views on mifepristone and concluded that Overton was refusing to say whether the FDA-approved drug was safe and effective.
Calls to Action
Wondering how to write a public comment for the Federal Register? Find commenting guidance at Regulations.gov.
REOPENED–DUE SOON Comment on OPM's “Promoting Employee Accountability” rule. OPM reopened the comment window on its proposed rule making it easier for agencies to remove employees for poor performance or misconduct, citing new agency data and an outside report. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) and Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB)'s proposed rule, “Promoting Employee Accountability” (docket OPM-2025-0012), would significantly shorten reply deadlines, scrap the mandatory factors determining discipline for a vaguer “totality of the circumstances” test, and restrict settlement agreements that let employees resolve disputes without a tainted personnel record. This is another opportunity for you to push back on a policy that will affect civil service protections. Comments are limited to addressing the newly released data and must be submitted through Regulations.gov or the Federal Register listing by September 29.
NEW Submit a comment about proposed changes to animal studies reporting.
NIH is seeking public input on the feasibility of the proposed changes for reporting live vertebrate animal numbers by species and pain and distress categories. Comments are due by December 21.
Submit a comment about proposed changes to NIH grant review reporting
NIH is seeking public input on the proposed change to report application categorization as “most competitive,” “competitive,” and “not discussed” in lieu of final overall impact score. Comments due by October 13.
Submit a comment on proposed policy change on sharing summary results. This new policy proposal would require summary level study results from NIH supported clinical research to be shared with participants of those studies. NIH is seeking public input on the implementation of this policy. Responses are due by October 26.
Weigh in on OPM's plan to shrink FEHB plan options. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has opened a request for information asking whether it should limit or restructure the health plan choices available through the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) program. Currently plans offer three options or two options plus a high-deductible option health plan. OPM is exploring whether to change the number or the types of health plans that will be offered. If you're a federal employee or in a fed family, please comment about what you do or don't like about the current FEHB system. Comments are due by November 16.
More actions you can take:
Sign on against the VA's Oracle records rollout. As covered in a recent issue of this newsletter, the cost of the Oracle contract to replace the Department of Veterans Affairs medical records system has ballooned from $10 billion to nearly $27 billion, with more than 11,000 lost orders and referrals, and at least one case where the system's failures were implicated in a veteran's cancer spreading undetected. Stop the Rollout tracks the damage and offers ways to take action.
Ask that your current institution or alma mater commit to America’s Compact for Higher Education. This is a declaration of academic freedom that commits to the pursuit of knowledge and the use of that knowledge for public good even in the face of political pressure to the contrary.
Upcoming Events
27 UNIHTED / NIH community events
Weekly NIH Vigil every Saturday at 10:00 am.
No Kings Vigil, October 17: Join us for a special Vigil as a part of the “No Kings Vote Early—America Belongs to the People” event!
Weekly peer empowerment call every Thursday at 6:00 pm.
Community Events
Dr. Kristian Andersen presents “On Viral Emergence and the Origins of Pandemics,” Tuesday, October 6, 2 pm, Building 40, NIH campus. Those without campus access who wish to attend, contact Lee Eiden for information on registering as a guest.
Crow’s Nest Baltimore is showing “22 Federal Workers”: a virtual exhibition of oil portraits by NIHer and artist “Paint Brains” honoring federal workers and their public-service contributions. On display online through October 10.
Wellness Weekly
Our somewhat serious community recommendations for self-care are:
Meet some people who are part of your community and talk to them IRL, face-to-face, preferably around a fire pit on a beautiful evening.
Start a new jigsaw puzzle.
Find Waldo (or Wally, if you prefer the UK version).
In solidarity,
27 UNIHTED and NIH Vigils