The Federal Budget Cuts That Will Hurt Penn and Temple University

There are some policy choices that announce themselves with fireworks—think tax cuts or healthcare overhauls—and then there are those that slip in under the radar, quietly reshaping the future before most people realize what’s happened.

The proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) budget proposed by Trump and Elon’s Musk Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) fall squarely into the latter category.

If the NIH slashes billions from its budget, as Elon and Trump have proposed, the ripple effects will be felt across the country. But nowhere will they land harder than in cities like Philadelphia, where institutions like the University of Pennsylvania and Temple University rely heavily on federal research funding.

The NIH is, by design, one of the quiet engines of American innovation. Unlike flashy, venture-backed startups, which generate a lot of buzz but often collapse before achieving meaningful breakthroughs, the NIH funds the kind of slow, methodical science that saves lives.

Penn and Temple are two of the biggest recipients of NIH grants, which fuel groundbreaking work on cancer treatments, gene therapy, and public health initiatives that help millions.

These aren’t just academic concerns. NIH funding is the financial backbone of a major portion of Philadelphia’s economy. Penn alone received more than $700 million in NIH funding in 2023, supporting thousands of jobs. Temple, a public university with a hospital that treats many of the city’s most vulnerable patients, relies on this funding not just for research but for sustaining its broader healthcare mission. If these cuts go through, the impact won’t just be felt in labs—it will be felt in layoffs, in stalled medical advancements, and in the diminishing role of Philadelphia as a center for scientific discovery.

There’s a real cost to this kind of political vandalism. When NIH funding dries up, it doesn’t just mean fewer studies published in academic journals. It means fewer treatments making it to patients. It means fewer clinical trials at Penn Medicine. It means fewer breakthroughs that could save lives a decade from now.

It also means brain drain. Scientists don’t stick around when funding collapses; they leave the cities they live in for institutions that still prioritize research. That’s what happened during the early 2000s when NIH budget stagnation pushed some of America’s top scientists to Europe and China. If these new cuts take effect, Philadelphia could lose the very researchers who have made it a global leader in medicine.

And then there’s the broader economic hit. The healthcare and life sciences industries are one of Philadelphia’s biggest employers. If NIH funding shrinks, private investment won’t automatically fill the gap. Medical research isn’t like Silicon Valley—it doesn’t run on venture capital in the same way. The result will be fewer jobs, less economic growth, and a Philadelphia that is weaker, not stronger.

It’s easy to take institutions like Penn and Temple for granted. They’ve been here for centuries. They have enormous endowments and large student populations. They feel permanent. But the reality is that their ability to lead in medicine and science is directly tied to federal funding. If NIH grants disappear, Philadelphia’s medical ecosystem will suffer.

For years, Penn has been at the forefront of cutting-edge science, from developing mRNA vaccines to advancing gene therapy. Temple, meanwhile, plays a crucial role in delivering healthcare to some of the city’s poorest communities. Both institutions depend on steady, reliable research funding to sustain their missions. Cutting NIH support doesn’t just undermine science—it threatens the economic and healthcare lifeline of the city itself.

There’s still time to stop this. The NIH budget fight isn’t over, and there are members of Congress—Republicans included—who understand the stakes. But Philadelphians can’t afford to stay on the sidelines. If this funding is gutted, the damage won’t be reversible. The city’s scientific infrastructure, once weakened, will take years—if not decades—to rebuild.

If you want to make your voice heard on how health research budget cuts could hurt the city of Philadelphia, please call your Pennsylvania Senators:

Senator John Fetterman: 202-224-4254

Senator David McCormick: 202-224-6324