"The right to criticize government is also an obligation to know what you are talking about."

-Lent Upson, first director of Citizens Research Council

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April 23, 2025

Michigan has Options to Respond to Cuts to Federal Research Grants

Over the last few months, the Trump Administration has taken a number of actions aimed at cutting federal spending on medical and scientific research. These actions include attempts to reduce the maximum amount federal grantees may spend on “indirect costs,” termination of swaths of existing grants, and broader reduction in grants received by specific institutions.

Given the fluidity and scope of the cuts, understanding the exact tangible effects is a challenge. Still, some efforts exist to quantify the impact. Institutions in Michigan receive about $1 billion per year in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grants, accounting for an economic impact about $2.5 billion. Data on the federal cuts indicates as much as $180 million of that funding could be in jeopardy so far, which could amount to an economic impact of $456 million and 2,000 jobs. In addition to NIH grants, institutions in Michigan receive about $240 million annually from the National Science Foundation (NSF), which is another large source of research funding currently being evaluated for cuts. The Department of Energy (DOE) is trying to cap indirect costs, and while comprehensive data on state grants was not available for the entire department, Michigan State University says it received $165 million last year – $32 million of which is now in jeopardy. 

IN A NUTSHELL

 -- The federal government is pursuing several policies that are likely to lead to less funding for medical and scientific research.

 -- Federal cuts to research and development will hurt Michigan’s economy and lead to fewer life-improving breakthroughs that help the state’s residents.

 -- Michigan has options to address both the short-term disruption caused by the cuts and the long-term impact of reduced spending on medical and scientific research, and the state should evaluate those options as soon as possible.

Block Granting Federal Education Funding Offers

Policymakers Opportunity to Address Inequities

Amidst the near-daily chaos and disruption swirling around the U.S. Department of Education (massive departmental layoffs, research funding cuts, attempts to eliminate DEI in schools), a long-simmering funding proposal to block grant federal education dollars to states is garnering renewed attention. If enacted, Michigan could use the expanded flexibility over federal funding that comes with block grants to address long-standing per-pupil funding inequities across school districts with the most low-income students. 

If Congress grants states more flexibility over allocating education dollars, a far better approach to serve low-income K-12 students in Michigan would be for state officials to blend/braid all, or at least a portion, of the Title I funds with the state’s existing “at-risk” funding mechanism. This formula uses per-student “weights” (expressed as a percentage of each district’s base per-pupil) to allocate $1 billion of state School Aid Funding to districts for supplemental at-risk programs.  

IN A NUTSHELL

 -- In its efforts to reshape the federal role in education, the Trump Administration has breathed new life into a decades-old D.C. policy proposal to “block grant” federal education funds to states, rather than use restrictive formula-driven grants required by law.

 -- With greater flexibility for federal Title I funding use and allocations, state policymakers will have the opportunity to determine how hundreds of millions of dollars can be best aligned to meet Michigan’s K-12 education goals for low-income students.

 -- Michigan could use the expanded flexibility over federal funding that comes with block grants to address long-standing per-pupil funding inequities across school districts with the most low-income students.

Catch Up On More Recent Reports:

• Uncertainty in Borrowing Costs May Be Ahead for Michigan's Local Governments
• A Data-Driven Assessment of Michigan's Road Program
• Michigan May Want to Reconsider Requiring Foreign-Trained Doctors to Repeat Residency Training
• Medicaid Eligibility Rule Changes Will Create "At-Risk" Funding Cliff for Schools Next Year

THANK YOU to everyone who has supported our 109th anniversary campaign so far! Just one more week to meet our goal of raising $9,000, marking 109 years of providing trusted, high-quality public policy expertise and services to the people and the State of Michigan.

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Research Council President, Eric Lupher, Infrastructure Analyst Eric Paul Dennis and Senior Research Associate Bob Schneider were asked to present before the Senate Appropriations Committee. Their presentation followed a presentation of the House Republican-sponsored road plan. Dennis provided an abbreviated presentation of his recent paper: A Data-Driven Assessment of Michigan’s Road Program. Lupher provided information on Local-Option Taxes. Schneider discussed his analysis, coupled with House Fiscal Agency data, on the House Roads package and what it could mean for the Executive budget as proposed.

You can watch the presentation here, starting at 46:09. You can review the slides by clicking the button below.

Michigan startup ecosystem gets first state-backed funding boost in a decade, Crain’s Detroit (April 22)

Equity To Fund At Risk Students, Gongwer (April 18)

Opinion: No formula can fix the roads without more money, Crain’s Business (April 21)

The Road to Nowhere, Michigan Advance (April 17)

$3.2 billion Republican bill package on road funding heard by Senate, UpNorthLive (April 16)

MI Senate committee holds hearing on Republican roads plan, WKAR Public Media (April 16)

Anthony Doesn’t Know How Much Money Will Be Left If House GOP Gets What They Want, MIRS News (April 16)

Road-funding debate starts in Senate, where House plan draws skepticism, Crain’s Business (April 16)

CRC suggests pitching PA 51, MIRS News (April 15)

Donohue: Repealing state Transportation Fund Act is unnecessary, Detroit News (April 15)

Editorial: More money for roads can’t solve the problem alone, Crain’s Business (April 4)

New report shows current road funding laws in Michigan are outdated and ineffective, WDET Public Media (April 3)