A group of educators, health care workers and their supporters delivered a petition to U.S. Representative Glenn “GT” Thompson’s Bellefonte office Tuesday, calling on him to come out against cuts in federal funding for research, health care and education.
“I think people are just fed up with what’s going on," said Ben Lockwood, a postdoc in ecosystem science and management at Penn State and an organizer of the event.
The Penn State chapter of the American Association of University Professors organized the event, along with education and health care associations in central Pennsylvania. It was part of the national “Kill the Cuts” movement.
“I think everyone in the Penn State community is a little worried about the cuts to funding going on. It’s clear that these cuts are going to have repercussions for people — people are going to die, people’s health is going to suffer.”
More than 300 people signed the petition, which a few dozen people dropped off at Thompson's office. Thompson represents the 15th district, which covers a large part of central and northern Pennsylvania.
Roberta Daniels, a retired kindergarten teacher from Clinton County, turned out for the rally and petition drop-off.
“I have many concerns about where this country is headed," she said.
Christine Bowlus, a doctoral student in kinesiology at Penn State, said funding from the National Institutes of Health fuels research at the university, and cuts would have a direct impact on Thompson’s district. She said she doesn’t know if the research she's working on will be funded in the future.
“We recruit participants in the community to develop better treatments for diseases like peripheral artery disease," she said. "So it will also impact residents’ ability to access that type of health care.”
Penn State has said it stands to lose $41 million in NIH funding because of significant changes to how much the Trump administration wants to allow for indirect costs that come with research.
A spokeswoman for Thompson said, in part, that Thompson "recently met with Penn State’s leadership on issues surrounding federal funding, and those ongoing discussions have been very productive."
