NIH issued 3,081 new grants between January 1 and May 10—roughly half the 6,544 awards averaged over the same window across the prior five years, according to a bipartisan letter sent this week to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Signed by 39 members of Congress led by Representatives Sharice Davids (D-KS-03) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA-01), the correspondence ties the slump to a shortage of grants management specialists (GMSs) and warns that four months remain in fiscal year 2026 to disburse congressionally approved funds.

What do the delays mean for active labs?

For principal investigators and R&D managers, the slowdown translates directly into delayed project starts, deferred hiring, and extended timelines for first-in-human studies.

The letter explicitly names oncology, Alzheimer's and dementia, diabetes, and rare-disease programs as research areas affected.

"These delays are not abstract," the lawmakers wrote. "When grants stall, so does progress toward new therapies and potential cures."

How deep is the funding gap at the institutional level?

The University of Kansas illustrates the downstream impact. Chancellor Douglas Girod has reported a $182 million decline in research funding three quarters into FY2026—a shortfall large enough to disturb multi-year studies already underway.

NIH still operates against a $48.7 billion congressional appropriation, and the agency continues to support 400,000 jobs and $94 billion in annual economic activity based on FY2025 figures cited in the correspondence.

What did Congress ask HHS to provide?

The letter sets a June 15, 2026 deadline and submits five quantitative questions:

• How many GMSs fall below current NIH needs, broken out by institute and center?
• Of the 12,000 staff HHS plans to hire, how many will sit inside NIH, how many of those will be GMSs, and by what date will onboarding finish?
• Are NIH staff or researchers being temporarily reassigned to GMS duties, and for how long?
• Will NIH fully execute FY2026 award funding in line with congressional intent, and if not, what percentage will be left unobligated?
• How is HHS communicating award timelines to recipients?

Where does the administration stand on staffing?

In April 2026, Kennedy told the Senate Appropriations Committee that HHS is hiring 12,000 staff to "right size" the department.

The letter neither endorses nor rejects that figure. It presses instead for a granular breakdown showing how many of those positions will reach NIH's extramural grants operation, and when those hires will become capable of processing new awards.

What happens next for R&D managers?

If HHS leaves a portion of its FY2026 appropriation unobligated, the balance could roll into subsequent budgets or become a target for rescission on Capitol Hill.

For R&D leaders weighing hiring, equipment purchases, and subaward commitments tied to NIH awards, the answer to the letter's fourth question carries direct portfolio consequences.

The June 15 reply—and the headcount breakdown it should contain across NIH's institutes—will determine whether principal investigators see normalized award timing by the first quarter of 2027 or face another stretch of extended proposal-to-award cycles.