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Wisconsin Watch partners with Gigafact to produce fact briefs — bite-sized fact checks of trending claims. Read our methodology to learn how we check claims.

Yes.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded almost $5 billion less in research grants to U.S. institutions in the 2025 fiscal year than the year prior, a 13.6% reduction, according to an Association of American Medical Colleges report released in August. 

The NIH committed $30 billion for research from July 2024 through June 2025, down from the $34.7 billion it obligated from July 2023 to June 2024. More than $3.5 billion of that funding difference was specifically in medical research and development while another half-billion was lost in career training for scientists.

Wisconsin’s share dropped by $84.4 million, or about 14%.

Disruptions in NIH research support have caused most states to lose tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars. They have also halted multiple clinical trials and research projects, including studies on post-tuberculosis lung disease and reducing infectious diseases spread by water.

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Sreejita Patra joined Wisconsin Watch as a statehouse reporting intern in June 2025. She is currently pursuing a journalism major at UW-Madison’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where she is a rising junior. Sreejita works for Madison's student newspaper The Daily Cardinal and freelances for various Madison-based newspapers. She hopes to one day pursue investigative or features reporting, particularly on the South Asian diaspora.