Text of US HR 1437 (2026)

IV 119TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. RES. 1437 Recognizing that equity, diversity, and inclusion in federally funded health research is necessary to enhance scientific excellence, and ensure equi- table outcomes for patients in the United States. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JULY 16, 2026 Mrs. DINGELL (for herself, Mr. COHEN, and Ms. NORTON) submitted the fol- lowing resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce RESOLUTION Recognizing that equity, diversity, and inclusion in federally funded health research is necessary to enhance scientific excellence, and ensure equitable outcomes for patients in the United States. Whereas, on May 29, 2026, the White House Office of Man- agement and Budget published a proposed rule that would expand their authority in policymaking for Federal agencies and allow the Office of Management and Budget to circumvent congressional authority; Whereas the proposed rule builds off an Executive Order signed by President Donald J. Trump in August 2025, which directed Federal agencies to give political ap- pointees oversight of grants to ensure that they ‘‘advance the President’s policy priorities’’; VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:10 Jul 16, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1437.IH HR1437 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HRES 1437 IH Whereas the proposed rule would expand the authority of the Office of Management and Budget, politicize control of Federal grants, de-emphasize peer review, place more re- strictions on meeting attendance for grant holders, limit collaborations between federally funded United States sci- entists and overseas colleagues, and restrict Federal fi- nancial support for the publication of results by United States scientists in scientific journals; Whereas more than 230 research universities and affiliated academic medical centers and research institutes, said that ‘‘the proposed changes would effectively dismantle a framework that has supported basic and applied research in the United States and add unnecessary restrictions, requirements, and substantial burden that will hamper United States leadership and competitiveness’’; Whereas the proposed rule would, for all Federal agencies, prohibit Federal funds for bilateral or multilateral col- laborations, agreements, programs, or activities with cer- tain foreign countries or entities; Whereas the proposal would disallow researchers from using Federal grants to cover costs associated with publication, ‘‘including article-processing charges, fees that many journals charge authors to make articles freely available’’; Whereas existing policy requires all federally funded research to be made free to read as soon as it is published; Whereas, historically, United States research grants have been managed by career civil servants, many of them sci- entists, who conducted peer reviews alongside expert sci- entists from recognized organizations including acad- emies, scientific and professional societies, and academic institutions; VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:10 Jul 16, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1437.IH HR1437 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HRES 1437 IH Whereas, according to the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the peer-review system is a rig- orous process intended to ensure that applications for funding are based on scientific merit and innovation; Whereas the proposed rule would require senior political ap- pointees to review every discretionary grant before it is awarded, and would forbid political appointees from rou- tinely deferring to peer review recommendations by pan- els; Whereas the proposed rule would codify and expand the au- thority of Federal agencies to terminate active grants mid-award if they are deemed ‘‘inconsistent with program goals or agency priorities’’; Whereas agencies would not be required to provide a process for researchers to appeal a termination; Whereas the proposed rule would prohibit the use of Federal funding for research on diversity, equity, and inclusion, as well as gender, disproportionately impacting funding for projects that focus on underserved and underrep- resented communities and for scientists from these back- grounds; Whereas the Trump administration’s fiscal year 2026 budget request proposed eliminating has indicated its intention to remove the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, which focuses on groups that tend to have poorer health outcomes; Whereas, according to data from the United States Census Bureau, women make up approximately 50.5 percent to 51.1 percent of the population of the United States; VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:10 Jul 16, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1437.IH HR1437 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HRES 1437 IH Whereas, until the 1990s, nearly all health research was con- ducted on men, as women were excluded from most clin- ical trials; Whereas researchers had previously assumed that they could apply the results of their male-only study to females, which overlooked fundamental differences between women and men, such as the vast majority of studies on aging that fail to account for the impact of menopause on age- related conditions; Whereas cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among women, yet women have historically been under- represented in cardiovascular research and are more like- ly to experience delayed or missed diagnoses because di- agnostic criteria, symptom recognition, and treatment ap- proaches were largely developed based on male popu- lations; Whereas people of color have historically been underrep- resented in clinical trials and other medical development research; Whereas individuals with lighter skin have historically been the default baseline for assessing medical devices and treatments, as evidenced by multiple studies that found pulse oximeters, which help guide essential care decisions, overestimated oxygen saturation to a greater degree in Black patients than in White patients; Whereas disparities in access to medical advancements can lead to disparities in health outcomes and life expectancy; Whereas the National Institutes of Health Policy and Guide- lines on the Inclusion of Women and Minorities as Sub- jects in Clinical Research requires racial and ethnic cat- egories to be used when reporting population data; VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:10 Jul 16, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR1437.IH HR1437 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HRES 1437 IH Whereas health disparities have economic costs for the entire Nation, and a 2018 study found that racial health dis- parities alone cost $421,000,000,000 to $451,000,000,000 in excess medical care expenses, lower labor force productivity, and premature death; Whereas Black, LGBTQ, and women patients routinely expe- rience discrimination from health care providers; Whereas more representation in the health care workforce may contribute to the research and training of health professionals who contribute to the overall health of the United States, and restricting federally funded research related to diversity is likely to reshape the health of all Americans; Whereas high-quality research on communities most impacted by health disparities is necessary to close gaps in health outcomes for these communities; and Whereas the purpose of clinical research is to understand how the human body works, and in order for research to be useful it should reflect all of the populations it intends to help, regardless of their background, gender, religion, ethnicity, sexuality, disability, or socioeconomic status, has access to opportunities to contribute: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) recognizes that equity, diversity, and inclu- 2 sion in federally funded health research is— 3 (A) necessary to enhance scientific excel- 4 lence, and ensure equitable outcomes for pa- 5 tients in the United States; and 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:10 Jul 16, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR1437.IH HR1437 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HRES 1437 IH (B) essential to address the full range of 1 health challenges we face in the United States; 2 (2) recognizes and is committed to addressing 3 systemic barriers in federally funded research 4 projects for underserved and underrepresented com- 5 munities such as bias in funding, publication, and 6 representation; 7 (3) opposes arbitrary and politically motivated 8 efforts to impede the science-based, meritorious re- 9 view process of federally funded research projects 10 that has made the United States the leader in health 11 innovation for decades; and 12 (4) urges the administration to maintain the 13 longstanding, apolitical, science-backed peer review 14 process. 15 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:10 Jul 16, 2026 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR1437.IH HR1437 kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB