Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said there are no plans to increase funding to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to address a potential annual $65 million loss if a federal decision cutting research funding is implemented.
UW-Madison’s provost said Monday the university would need further state funding or an increase in tuition to cover the costs. But Vos told The Daily Cardinal Wednesday night “it would be impossible for the state [of Wisconsin] to replace federal funding,” citing the need to maintain a balanced budget.
“I think that a lot of the decisions that are being made in Washington to make sure that money is directed more toward research and less toward overhead might be a little painful in the short term, but they're going to be hugely beneficial in the long run as more money is directed into real research, and less money is directed into overhead,” Vos said.
Vos’s comments came on the heels of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) decision Friday capping indirect cost rates at 15%, which opponents argue would “devastate” research. NIH funding comprises UW-Madison’s largest source of federal support, and a reduction in UW-Madison’s indirect cost rate, which ranges from 26% to 55.5%, would eliminate $65 million in funding for 2025, with a comparable amount for following years.
Indirect costs fund everything from shared scientific equipment to lab and facility maintenance and construction. Researchers previously told the Cardinal “the entire scientific research enterprise is dependent on indirect costs,” and NIH’s decision would be “disastrous” to universities and science.
NIH’s decision is temporarily blocked in 22 states that filed a lawsuit suing President Donald Trump’s administration Monday, with states arguing the 15% cap represents an “arbitrary and capricious” change to agreed-on funding.
Vos said he didn’t know if the 15% cap is “the right number” but argued against “scare tactics” that predict a loss in research, adding there is no data to support claims that research grants are being cut.
Vos added the 15% cap “should be negotiated” but highlighted the need to “fix” the federal deficit.
When asked if the funding cut could discourage students from entering a research field, Vos said the opposite would be true.
“It's going to be more money goes right into research and less goes into overhead — they should be encouraged,” Vos said.
While the NIH decision is temporarily paused in 22 states that filed a lawsuit Monday, UW-Madison leaders said Monday if the cap is implemented students and taxpayers might have to bear the financial burden.
UW-Madison Dean of Students Eric Wilcots told the Cardinal after Vos’ moderated discussion there are no plans to raise tuition or cut faculty if the cap is implemented.
“That's not on the table,” Wilcots said. “We’re not firing anyone.”
However, it is unclear how the university would compensate for the loss in NIH funding.
Wilcots emphasized the cost of research isn’t changing, and while he acknowledged there were some things about the overhead rate “that should change,” the idea the cuts would lead to more overall research is untrue.
“What this shift will do is to say that now the overhead rate is lower, but I still have to charge the funding agency for the electricity,” Wilcots said. “I gotta pay for that somehow. That's the challenge — how do we accommodate that?”
Gavin Escott is the campus news editor for the Daily Cardinal. He has covered protests, breaking news and written in-depth on Wisconsin politics and higher education. He is the former producer of the Cardinal Call podcast. Follow him on X at @gav_escott.
