Thomas Zoeller, 2016 PEP Fellow, comments in a Salon story about the potential for budget cuts at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health. The NIEHS studies the health effects of pesticides, chemicals and cancer-causing compounds and has a budget of about $770 million in the current fiscal year. A key area of research funded by NIEHS involves endocrine disruptors. Zoeller says while its budget is relatively small, “NIESH is one of the least funded institutes” within the NIH and if the agency sees a 20-percent cut, that gives the new director a lot of power in setting the research agenda.