27 UNIHTED / NIH Vigils Newsletter 7/05/26
Hi NIH Vigilers and 27 UNIHTED Community,
This week we celebrated a special July 4th and America’s 250:
Remarks from the July 4th Vigil Program put together by NIH community members:
"This 4th of July and America's 250th Birthday, we would like to celebrate some of the history of the
NIH:
• 1887: NIH was first created as a one room bacteriology laboratory in the U.S. Marine Hospital Service, which later became the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS)
• 1930:Officially designated as the National Institute (singular) of Health
• 1937: Rocky Mountain Lab joined the NIH
• 1937: Dr. Lewis R. Thompson was the first “NIH” Director
• 1937:NCI was created as a separate branch of PHS and later joined NIH
• 1938: Congress approved construction of NIH facilities in Bethesda
• 1944: The Public Health Service Act moved NCI into NIH and established Advisory Councils
• 1946: NIH created an extramural funding program and adopted peer review, the pillars of the university-based system that powers U.S. biomedical science
• 1937 - 2011: NIH grew to 27 Institutes and Centers, the last being the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS).
“The idea of the United States of America – a country free from tyranny, with all men created equal and political representation linked to the obligations of citizenship – has always been more a goal than reality. Our history is deeply dark, but throughout, there has been a slow, steady effort to – as Martin Luther King, Jr. envisioned – bend the arc of history toward justice.
We have seen the end of chattel slavery, women's suffrage, gains in civil rights, and legalization of gay marriage. And after George Floyd’s murder, the nation woke up, and it is not going back to sleep. The current attacks on our federal government, institutions, systems, and the Constitution itself are the dying gasps of a world order that does not yet know it has passed.
We will get through this difficult time, not by weathering it with our heads down but by rising to the moment and leaning into the fight. The threats to the NIH and our democracy at large are a litmus test to the kind of citizen we will be in the new nation that we will rebuild from the ashes of this administration.
This is our time. We are here weekly, to fight for the next 250 years. Welcome to America's future. It will be what WE make of it."
Vigil “Auntie” News
- The Good -
House and Senate Democrats demand OMB rescind grants rule.
A July 1st letter sent to OMB Director Russell Vought insists he rescind the proposed rewrite of federal grants rules, calling it an unlawful power grab that would let the President weaponize grants for political reasons, and hands political appointees veto power over scientific decisions. At a House Appropriations hearing this week, Rep. DeLauro pressed Vought directly, citing a roughly 34% drop in new NIH grant awards.
- The Bad -
"Abolish the NIH," argues a Washington Post op-ed.
Hoover Institution fellow and former Trump COVID adviser Dr. Scott Atlas used a July 2 WaPo opinion piece to call for eliminating NIH entirely, reviving economist Milton Friedman's decades-old argument that the agency shouldn't exist. It's a sign of how mainstream the case for dismantling NIH has become in some policy circles. “When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time." - Maya Angelou.
- The Ugly -
Supreme Court strips job protections from independent agency leaders.
The Court overturned the 91-year-old precedent, ruling the president can fire commissioners of independent agencies like the FTC without cause. Justice Jackson dissented. Because similar “for cause” removal protections apply to other independent agencies, the ruling may have implications for leaders at the EEOC, MSPB, and Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Supreme Court upholds state bans on transgender athletes.
In a 6-3 ruling on June 30th (West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox), the Supreme Court held that state laws barring transgender girls and women from girls' and women's school sports teams don't violate Title IX or the 14th Amendment. The decision leaves bans in more than two dozen states in place, though the majority described it as narrow and left other transgender-rights questions for future cases.
OPM makes three moves to make it easier to fire federal employees.
A proposed rule caps performance-improvement periods at 30 days, removes reasonable constraints to penalties and bars some types of settlement agreements. This newest proposal comes just as the comment period has ended for another OPM rule proposal that would make refusal to sign a nondisclosure agreement a potentially fireable offense for government employees. These moves further unravel existing protections of civil service, and combined with other assaults, are devastating.
Science Interrupted
Reflection from the Community
"Our offices were the gateway between the world-class medical research happening in NIH labs and the companies/organizations that could use the resulting innovations to improve public health. These offices are running thin, so the public is getting less and less return on their investments in research, and have lost the ability to say that the NIH is the #1 research institution in the world."
- From a fired probationary employee respondent to the probationary survey
27 UNIHTED Weekly Substack Articles:
One Year After the Probationary Purge: How we Move Forward & Final Thoughts Pt 5 of the probationary project
Ignoring Ethical Standards at NIH Has Put Research Participants and the Public at Risk: Concern 3 of the Bethesda Declaration: One Year Later
Challenges Facing the Next Generation of Scientists: Fact Check, Part 6
What is Autism, why have rates risen, and how have Autistic people been impacted by the Trump Administration?
Political Control of NIH is About to Become the Law, but You Can Stop It
Upcoming Events
27 UNIHTED Events
Weekly peer empowerment call every Thursday at 6:00 p.m.
Community Events
NEW Camp Democracy: Camp Democracy
Tuesday, July 14, 9:30am - 1:30pm
This FREE camp will begin in the atrium of Hart, the Senate building.
9:30 am Donuts served
10:00 am Meet lawmakers
11:00 am Play Senate office bingo
12:00 pm Enjoy lunch
Enjoy some surprises, snacks and swag!
Sign up to receive a detailed schedule and “day of” tips for smooth entry and participation: https://forms.gle/Jq1JsG8HmK1tenQ48
NIH Small Business 101. NIH is hosting a free webinar series on small business funding opportunities (SBIR/STTR) on Tuesdays at 1:30 pm ET.
7/9 - America’s Seed Fund is Back
7/14 - Building Your Budget
8/18 - Managing Foreign Risk
OMB comment-writing workshops. The United States Association for the Study of Pain (USASP) is hosting a virtual comment-writing workshop on July 10 at 3 pm for researchers and patient communities affected by the OMB rule.
Calls To Action
Ending Soon Stop the political takeover of research and let scientists follow the science, by July 13
This is a 5-alarm fire! Comment on the proposed Federal Financial Assistance rule, individually and with specific detail. Former NIH Program Officer Liz Ginexi has drafted guidance on how to make your comments more effective. Federal Register OMB-2026-0034. Currently at 80,803 public comments.
Should NIH limit the number of simultaneously held research grants?
NIH has posted a new Request for Information notice that suggests limiting the number of simultaneous research project grants (RPGs) that an individual investigator can simultaneously hold. The intention is reasonable - to allow a larger number of researchers the opportunity to pursue their research ideas. The suggested limits are 2, 3, or 4. Importantly, the proposal does not indicate exceptions for small grants or multiple PI grants. Researchers’ feedback on this proposal seems to be mixed, so if you want to share your thoughts, submit your feedback by August 4.
Endorse the Bethesda Declaration - One Year Later
A year after the release of the original Bethesda Declaration, NIH staff remain concerned. The chaos of 2025 has been replaced with coordinated, systematic, institutionalized destruction in 2026. If you share these concerns, be counted as a supporter of the Bethesda Declaration: One Year Later. Learn more about the Bethesda Declaration Movement on 27 UNIHTED's Bethesda Declaration Hub.
Stand with EPA scientists
100+ EPA employees were fired for signing a Declaration of Dissent raising concerns about their working environment and recent policy changes. Sign the petition to support these silenced staff members who were retaliated against for speaking out to protect science and public health. Currently at 570 signatures.
Add your name (or anonymous voice) on the petition to urge Congress to impeach OMB Director Russell Vought for unlawfully dismantling government services Americans rely on. JUST SURPASSED THE 2,000 SIGNATURE GOAL!
Sign on for Scientific Integrity
The Union of Concerned Scientists has drafted a letter of support for the Scientific Integrity Act, which has been reintroduced to the Senate. Let our leaders know that evidence-based decision-making is important to you by signing The Momentum for Scientific Integrity Action here.
Stand up for the National Science Board
On April 25, the Trump administration dismissed all sitting members of the National Science Board, an independent advisory group for the National Science Foundation. Sign this open letter to Congress from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering & Medicine (NASEM), asking for the reinstatement of fired members and appointments for all vacant positions. 27 UNIHTED has added its organizational endorsement. Currently at over 3,481 public supporters.
Reach out to your members of Congressabout issues that matter to you.
Some possible topics:
Tell your congressional leaders you oppose the OMB rule "Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance"
Support impeachment of OMB director Russell Vought and Education Secretary Linda McMahon
Support the legally recognized NIH Fellows Union
Replace new Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee members with reputable, caring, competent people
Limit multi-year funding cuts at NIH
Help the NIH Community: Review a resume, host a job workshop, plan a happy hour, volunteer, and/or advocate with 27 UNIHTED. Check out the links on our website to take action and volunteer.
Wellness Weekly
Our somewhat serious community recommendations for self-care are:
Make a gratitude list
Thank the floor for all its support over the last few months you've been crying on it
Watch a film
In solidarity,
27 UNIHTED and NIH Vigils