A Sign at a Monument Square Rally Recently in Portland.

Attorney General Aaron M. Frey and 21 other attorney’s general today sued the Trump Administration, the Department of Health & Human Services and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for unlawfully cutting funds that support cutting edge medical and public health research at universities and research institutions across the country.  The lawsuit was filed in US District Court for Massachusetts.

The coalition is challenging the Trump administration’s attempt to unilaterally cut ‘indirect cost” reimbursements at every research institution throughout the country.  These reimbursements cover expenses to facilitate biomedical research, like lab, faculty, infrastructure and utility costs.  Without them, the lifesaving and life-changing medical research in which the US has long been a leader, could be compromised.

Indirect cost reimbursements are based on each institution’s unique needs, negotiated with the federal government through a careflly regulated process, and then memoralized in an executed agreement.  The Trump Administration purports to toss those agreements aside, putting public health and medical advancements at risk.  The coalition’s lawsuit seeks to prevent that reckless and illegal conduct.”

“The NIH funds critical public health research throughout the country and right here in Maine,” said Attorney General Frey.  “While the disaster slashing of this funding is being branded an ‘overhead’ savings, it in fact threatens to cripple vital  research into areas that touch the lives of many Mainers, including cancer treatment, infectious diseases, neuromuscular disorders, aging and addiction.  The loss of NIH funds will also impact Maine based organizations that employ Mainers and attract new talent to our state.  For these reasons, I have joined other attorneys general in suing the Trump Administration to block its unlawful attempt to cut NIH funding.”