In the months since the second Trump administration began, Connecticut has already lost just under 4,000 jobs and more than $900 million in federal health support as a result of funding, policy and leadership decisions made by the administration, according to Science Impacts.
Data compiled by Science Impacts, including comparing the proposed federal National Institutes of Health budgets with previous budgets and reviewing Census and economic activity data, just since January 20, Connecticut has lost 3,900 jobs and seen $907 million in total economic loss related to NIH funding.
The lion’s share of those funds represent $651 million in federal support pulled from Yale University, with the UConn School of Medicine losing $72 million and UConn Storrs losing $48 million. Much of the rescinded funding supported important health research. More than $225 million supported research into aging, cancer and infectious disease research.
Neighboring states have seen similar slashes to available funding under current budget proposals. Massachusetts is slated to lose at least 17,000 jobs and just under $4 billion in funds; New York would similarly lose 18,000 jobs and $4.1 billion in federal funding. Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont will lose anywhere from $88 to $314 million and another 3,800 jobs combined.
These cuts come as a recent poll about federal funding for scientific research found the American public strongly opposes research funding cuts at American universities. The survey from The Economist and YouGov found that just 13% of respondents felt federal funding for scientific research should decrease, with 39% calling for it to increase and 31% thinking it should stay the same.
Members of the public also disapproved of requiring universities to pay large fines by the Trump administration, a growing practice, with 57% of citizens in the survey disapproving – that includes 88% of Democrats, 62% of Independents and 21% of Republicans. Few Americans feel the federal government should impose increased requirements on federal funding and other aspects of higher education.
