Trump budget proposes drastic cuts for US scientific research

(This story has been corrected to fix the NIH budget cut from two-thirds to 40%, in paragraph 4)

By Ahmed Aboulenein

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The White House wants to reduce U.S. health spending by more than a quarter next year, with the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention facing the brunt of billions of dollars in cuts.

President Donald Trump's administration on Friday proposed a $163 billion cut to the federal budget that would sharply reduce spending in areas including health, education, and housing next year, while increasing outlays for defense and border security.

The proposed budget requests $93.8 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services - a cut of $33.3 billion, or 26.2% - from this year's budget of $127 billion.

It includes a cut of $18 billion, or 40% of money allocated to the NIH, leaving it with a $27 billion budget. The White House wants to cut funding altogether for four of the agency's 27 institutes and centers and consolidate the remaining ones into five new institutes.

The proposal almost halves the CDC budget by almost $3.6 billion, leaving it with $4 billion. The White House did not propose cuts at the Food and Drug Administration.

(Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein; Editing by Michele Gershberg and David Gregorio)