Last week, the president released a preliminary budget proposal for 2018, enumerating his desired federal spending changes and outlining his priorities. Its centerpiece is a $54 billion enlargement of the defense budget, with funds acquired through the elimination of 19 agencies, and the reduction of discretionary budgets for agencies including the Environmental Protection Agency, Departments of Commerce and Education, and the Department of Health and Human Services, among others. If the budget is approved, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) will experience budget reductions of 18%, and while that sum does not include Medicaid and Medicare spending, the cuts will affect the National Institutes of Health, health-professional training programs, and billions of dollars currently given to health researchers all over the world.