As NIH and NCI funding is negotiated in Congress, Paul W. Thurman felt compelled to crunch some numbers. He compared the U.S.’s cumulative funding for NCI to the funding slated for ICE—the latter of which vastly outweighs the former—and asked whether the funding priorities of the federal government are properly representing the nation’s mortality. 

“I think the way a government or the way a people spends its money talks not only about its priorities, but about its morality,” Thurman says in this episode of In the Headlines. “And I would argue that perhaps we're losing a bit of our moral compass by appropriating in this disproportionate way towards something that does not cause nearly the death and destruction and psychological damage that a disease does. And when you start reducing the number of cancer researchers that can be hired…” 

Thurman is a professor of management and analytics at the Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health of Columbia University Medical Center appeared on the podcast as a special guest to discuss the editorial he wrote for last week’s issue. 

In this episode of In the Headlines—the first since The Cancer Letter’s August publication break— The Cancer Letter’s editorial staff talks about the three major events covered in last week’s jam-packed issue: 

1. The House subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education and Related Agencies reported out its version of the spending bill for FY26, which would provide $46.9 billion for NIH’s base, representing a $99 million (0.2%) increase over the FY25 level of $46.8 billion, 

2. The appearance of HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before the Senate Finance committee, where he was questioned about his changes at the CDC, and 

3. The meeting of the National Cancer Advisory Board, at which NIH Director Bhattacharya made a rare appearance and fielded questions from oncology leaders about funding, political oversight in scientific grant review processes, and DEI. 

In the podcast, Paul Goldberg, editor and publisher of The Cancer Letter, Jacquelyn Cobb, associate editor, and Claire Marie Porter, reporter, debrief about what these events mean for the oncology community. 

Stories mentioned in this podcast include:

• Bhattacharya fields NCAB’s questions about funding, political involvement in grant review, DEI, animal testing 

• House committee’s FY26 spending bill increases NCI funding by $48M, NIH by $99M House joins Senate in rejecting Trump’s proposed 40% NIH cuts 

• Lowy: Forward-funding policy forced NCI to drastically reduce RPG awards funded for FY25, 10% of NCI staff has been lost

• With CDC in free fall, RFK Jr. faces bipartisan rebuke at Senate hearing Kennedy calls CDC “the most corrupt agency at HHS and maybe the government.”

• Curing cancer or curbing immigration: A question of national morality and priority

• Knight Cancer Institute receives record-setting $2B gift from the Knights—and self-governance within OHSU Brian Druker returns to executive role as president of the new Knight Cancer Group

• The departure (and return) of Vinay Prasad

A transcript of this podcast is available: https://cancerletter.com/podcastc/20250910-NIH-funding/