NIH: Harder Unveils Landmark Legislation to Supercharge Medical Breakthroughs at Top Science Agency

Scientific frontier has outgrown decades-old model for funding medical research and discovery

New “X-Labs” Initiative brings high-risk, high-reward research model to NIH for first time ever

WASHINGTON – Today, Rep. Josh Harder (CA-09) announced new landmark legislation to supercharge medical breakthroughs at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by transforming how the world’s top science agency invests in research. Led with Rep. Jay Obernolte (CA-23), Harder’s Launching X-Labs for Breakthrough Science Act brings a proven startup model of high-risk, high-reward scientific exploration to NIH for the first time ever, unlocking hundreds of millions of dollars for ambitious medical research.

American science is key to our productivity and success. NIH pioneered the polio vaccine, chemotherapy, and the Human Genome Project and has saved countless lives while ensuring America is the world leader in science and health care. But America is now falling behind – breakthroughs are slowing down and foreign competitors like China and Australia are speeding up because NIH is still using the same processes it’s used for 75 years. The vast majority of NIH grants are awarded to small, low-risk, university-based investigators with little collaboration and minimal equipment. Moreover, our top scientists are spending more than half their time filling out paperwork instead of developing science in a lab. 

“American science is losing its edge because we don’t invest in the risks necessary for modern breakthroughs,” said Rep. Harder. “We have to reinvent how we do innovation. We should learn from the proven startup science model and start giving higher-risk, higher-reward efforts the backing they need. Our families and our economy are depending on us.”

Alternative scientific funding models have shown that models that fund teams, not projects can produce groundbreaking results. Likewise, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is actively experimenting with this approach right now. Harder’s Launching X-Labs for Breakthrough Science Act helps the NIH take advantage of these innovations and will cut the red tape holding back American science while strengthening our scientific leadership and accelerating discoveries. The bill establishes the “X-Labs” Initiative, a four-part funding series at NIH:

1. Foundational Discovery (XL01) – Funding independent research organizations that produce new and major scientific discoveries.
2. Toolbuilding (XL02) – Research focused on identifying gaps in tools and infrastructure used in scientific discovery.
3. Biomedical Regranting (XL03) – Empowering scientific scouts to spot promising biomedical research.
4. New Institutions (XL04) – Seeding new institutions at the forefront of future scientific research.

Grants under XL01 through XL03 would receive $10-50 million every year for seven years, and grants under XL04 would seed new institutions with $1-5 million for up to three years. Here’s what the “X-Labs” Initiative would look like in practice:

• Discovering not just hundreds of thousands of potentially new materials, but identifying the manufacturing needs of the future right now.
• Unlocking the best-performing microbes for testing new medical theories that have been locked behind decades of research requirements.
• Supercharging the search for the next ten most promising solutions to biomedical bottlenecks.
• Building the runway that a future research team will use to develop new cancer therapies.

“Innovation thrives when researchers have the long-term support they need to explore groundbreaking ideas,” said Rep. Obernolte. “The X-Labs Initiative will empower institutions across the country to take on high-risk, high-reward projects that can transform human health. I’m proud to co-lead this effort to strengthen America’s scientific leadership and accelerate discoveries that will improve lives for generations to come.”

The Institute for Progress strongly endorses the Launching X-Labs for Breakthrough Science Act as an investment in institutional innovation for American science that will help ensure the U.S. remains the global leader in scientific discovery.

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