NIH Funding Threatened by Traditional Values Coalition Hit List

In July of this year, a measure in the House to defund five studies on sexual behavior introduced by Rep. Patrick Toomey (R-PA) came within three votes of passing. More recently, a list of 157 researchers using grant money to study sexuality and HIV/AIDS has been circulated by the Traditional Values Coalition, which termed them a “total abuse of taxpayer dollars.” In response, NIH has contacted these researchers in an effort to “put the research into the context of the agency’s scientific mission.” Dr. Liana Clark, who received a $300,000 grant for a project about teenagers and birth control, says that last week she was contacted and asked to describe the usefulness of her project. Critics, including Representative Waxman of California, have questioned why this needs to be done given that every grant recipient passed a rigorous application and peer review process before receiving NIH funding in the first place.