The PHARA Act of 2025 mandates the immediate release of existing NIH grant funding, requires termination clauses in future agreements, and prohibits the NIH from ending funding solely due to shifting agency priorities.
Bonnie Watson Coleman
Representative
NJ-12
The PHARA Act of 2025 mandates the immediate release of all existing National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant funding and prohibits the cancellation of active research agreements. Moving forward, all new NIH grant agreements must include specific termination clauses requiring a 90-day notice and good-faith negotiation before ending the funding. Furthermore, this Act explicitly prevents the NIH from terminating agreements solely because the research no longer aligns with current agency goals or priorities.
New PHARA Act Locks Down NIH Research Funding: No More Pulling the Plug on Active Grants
If you’ve ever had a project canceled halfway through because the boss changed priorities, you know how frustrating—and wasteful—that can be. That’s the core problem the Prevent Halting of Active Research Act of 2025 (PHARA Act) aims to solve for federally funded science.
This bill is essentially a massive stability injection for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant system. Upon enactment, the PHARA Act mandates that the NIH must immediately release and spend all funds already obligated for existing grants and cooperative agreements (SEC. 2). Think of it as forcing the NIH to empty its pockets for every research project it has already promised to fund. Crucially, it also forces them to pay back any pending reimbursement requests immediately. For scientists juggling payroll and lab expenses, this means faster cash flow and less time waiting for money they’ve already spent.
The Research Shield: Stopping Mid-Project Cancellations
For researchers currently working on active projects, the biggest relief is the new rule protecting ongoing work. The NIH is explicitly barred from canceling any agreement where the recipient is currently doing active research (SEC. 2). This is a big deal for continuity. It means that if you’re a university lab studying, say, a new cancer treatment, the NIH can’t suddenly yank your funding just because their internal focus shifts to infectious diseases. Your work gets to continue as planned, providing much-needed predictability in a field where long-term planning is essential.
No More Changing the Rules Mid-Game
The PHARA Act also drastically limits the NIH’s future ability to terminate grants. For any new grant signed after this law takes effect, the NIH can no longer cancel it, even partially, simply because the project "no longer effectuat[es] program goals or agency priorities" (SEC. 4). This removes a key administrative lever the agency currently uses to redirect funding. While this is great for researchers—it ensures the contract you sign today holds up tomorrow—it does reduce the NIH’s flexibility. If a major public health crisis emerges, the agency might find it harder to quickly pull resources from less urgent, but still funded, projects to pivot to the new priority. The Secretary of Health and Human Services is required to update federal regulations to reflect this new restriction.
The New Exit Strategy: Harder to Break Up
Section 3 sets up new, stricter rules for how future NIH grants can be terminated. Moving forward, every grant agreement must include specific exit clauses. Termination is only allowed under three conditions: a major violation (a material breach), a significant change in circumstances, or mutual agreement among all parties. If the NIH decides they need to end the agreement, they have to give a minimum 90-day written notice. And here's the kicker: during that 90-day window, the party wanting to terminate must try to negotiate with the researchers to change the terms instead of just ending the project completely. This negotiation requirement puts a significant speed bump in front of any premature termination, giving researchers a strong seat at the table to defend their work.