On September 15, 2016, a group of Republicans from the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee sent a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general, imploring that a “thorough and objective review” from the National Institute of Health is needed into whether the integrity of the process for awarding research grants is being upheld.
This letter comes after the NFL was accused of attempting to improperly influence the funding of a scientific study on the degenerative brain condition known as CTE. The lawmakers pointed to a report issued by the committee’s Democratic staff members that claimed the league had “inappropriately attempted to use its unrestricted gift as leverage to steer funding away from one of its critics.”
Moreover, the committee’s chairman and other GOP members of the panel stated that they do not have all of the facts needed to reach conclusions — but that does not detract from the need of an investigation. As explained by the lawmakers, much of the attention from the incident thus far has focused solely on the league and its advisors, rather than the National Institute of Health’s grant process.