WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa released the following statement upon learning that the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the primary federal government agency responsible for medical and public health research, plans to end funding to a controversial trial aimed at finding the long term effects of daily alcohol consumption. The trial, reportedly funded in large part by alcohol companies, drew attention earlier this year after a New York Times article exposed the conflict of interest.
“Transparency is a critical component of good government. The National Institutes of Health was right in launching an investigation into possible conflicts of interest concerning this study, and I’m glad to learn that no additional taxpayer dollars will be spent on a trial with potentially biased results.”
Grassley, a longtime advocate of transparency and oversight, sent a letter to Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, seeking answers to mounting questions over the study’s funding and scientific integrity. The issue was first brought to his attention by concerned Iowans who had contacted him after reading alarming reports about the study in the New York Times.
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