May 14, 2025
Protecting the Minnesota SCI/TBI Research Program
Matthew Rodreick
We are continuing to fight on all fronts to protect SCI research funding. You’ve seen a lot of our recent energy focused on restoring federal funding for SCI therapy development. But we are also battling proposed cuts to a couple of our state programs. The most urgent being Minnesota.
Recently, House members in Minnesota have proposed the following changes:
- Cutting our $6 million appropriation down to $1 million.
- Moving the program from the Office of Higher Education (OHE) to the MN Department of Health (MDH)
- Eliminating the ability to provide grants to for-profit entities.
Left to right: Rob Wudlick, Thomas Cloyd, Kirk Ingram, Jake Anderson, and Billy Scheremet at the Minnesota State Capitol in 2017, all of whom were instrumental in helping to pass this bill.
All three of these changes would hurt a program that was carefully crafted. We have spoken to the House members behind these proposals and they have not provided any rationale or logic for these changes.
If you’d like more context on why these changes are so damaging, as well as our suspicions as to what is driving these changes, I’ve written up this background and context document for your convenience.
The Minnesota Senate is reviewing these proposals in a hearing today, which I’ll be testifying at shortly. Right now, we need you to call and write (doing both is optimal) the three MN State Senators below and tell them to vote no on the proposed changes.
Contact these Senators:
- Senator Omar Fateh: 651-296-4261 | E-mail form
- Senator Zach Duckworth: 651-296-7633 | E-mail form
- Senator Aric Putnam: 651-296-6455 | E-mail form
Please call these three Senators below and tell them to:
- Keep the MN SCI TBI Research Program fully funded at $6 million
- Keep the program in the Office of Higher Education
- Do not restrict grants to for-profit entities: we need help from the private sector to invest in emerging therapies
Then share a personal story about yourself or your loved one, and why you care about SCI research in your own words.
Getting these Senators to vote no means that the proposed House changes will die in Committee and WE KEEP OUR VERY EFFECTIVE PROGRAM running as usual.
In 2021 we successfully defended a proposal to defund the program and kept funding levels at their $6M threshold. Pictured here (left to right): [Unknown Committee Admin], Rob Wudlick, Sen. John Hoffman, Matthew Rodreick, Jake Anderson, and Sen. Karin Housley.
We successfully defended cuts to the program in 2021, thanks to your calls, emails and advocacy. I know we can do it again if we stand together and raise our voice. Please call and email right now so we can preserve this important grant program!
Join us,
PS - If you appreciate the time and effort U2FP is putting in to keep you updated, informed and activated on issues that affect the SCI community - consider making a donation today to keep us going.
