On Thursday, U.S. Senator and physician Rand Paul (R-KY) and U.S. Representative Chip Roy. (R-TX-21) introduced the NIH Reform Act to eliminate Dr. Anthony Fauci’s National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) and replace it with three separate national research institutes that would be led by directors subject to Senate confirmation and limited to no more than two 5-year terms.
“We’ve learned a lot over the past few years, but one lesson in particular is that no one person should be deemed “dictator-in-chief.” No one person should have unilateral authority to make decisions for millions of Americans,” said Dr. Paul. “To ensure that ineffective, unscientific lockdowns and mandates are never foisted on the American people ever again, I’ve introduced this bill to eliminate Dr. Anthony Fauci’s previous position as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and divide the role into three separate new institutes. This will create accountability and oversight into a taxpayer funded position that has largely abused its power and has been responsible for many failures and misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
“From the earliest days of the pandemic, unaccountable public health bureaucrats proved themselves far more adept at ruining lives than saving them. Never again should a single individual, like Dr. Anthony Fauci, wield unchecked power and influence over the lives of the American people. Breaking up Dr. Fauci’s taxpayer funded bully pulpit into three separate agencies — and requiring Senate confirmation for all their future directors — is one of many actions necessary to allow the American people to hold public health agencies accountable,” said Rep. Roy.
The legislation is currently cosponsored by Senators Mike Lee (R-UT), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mike Braun (R-IN), and Josh Hawley (R-MO) in the Senate.
