Sen. Cassidy’s Plan to Modernize NIH Includes Focus on ORI

Congress should consider whether the HHS Office of Research Integrity (ORI) needs more authority and could work with the agency’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), similarly to the way the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) OIG—which investigates and makes findings of research misconduct—operates.

This is among the recommendations included in NIH in the 21st Century: Ensuring Transparency and American Biomedical Leadership, a white paper issued last month by Sen. Bill Cassidy, R. La., ranking member of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee. The announcement said the paper contains “new proposals to modernize NIH.”[1]

“Congress has not thoroughly reviewed NIH operations and practices since the 21st Century Cures Act passed in 2016, nearly a decade ago,” Cassidy’s office said in announcing the paper. The paper incorporates feedback from stakeholders Cassidy solicited in a 2023 request for information (RFI).

Respondents “raised concerns over NIH’s grant funding priorities, including directing funding away from early-stage research in favor of supporting more late-stage research,” according to the announcement.

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