As the Trump administration continues to hold back federal funding from colleges and research facilities, the Massachusetts congressional delegation, in a move led by U.S. Rep. Jake Auchincloss, D-Newton, has sent a letter to National Institutes of Health Director Jay Bhattacharya demanding the release of $4.7 billion in frozen research grants.

“This Administration has reportedly delayed as much as $4.7 billion in obligated NIH grant funds to date, which has a direct and immediate impact on the entire medical research enterprise—from research institutions and physician researchers to patients and their families,” the letter reads. “With the concentration of research institutions in Massachusetts, the situation is particularly dire for our communities and businesses—and for patients, it is a matter of life-and-death.”

U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, along with representatives Lori Trahan, Richard Neal,  Jim McGovern, Katherine Clark, Seth Moulton, Ayanna Pressley, Stephen Lynch and Bill Keating all signed the letter with Auchincloss, warning of a “brain drain” from the United States that can come with shutting off scientific research nationwide.

Massachusetts, and especially the MetroWest area, is home to scores of hospitals, universities and research labs that rely on NIH grants to further their work.

“Without reliable federal investments for high-risk medical research, you and the Trump Administration risk undoing decades of advancements in science and diminishing U.S. global leadership in medical innovation,” the letter continues. “We demand that NIH immediately release obligated grant funding and continue the irreplaceable investment to save lives.”

You can read the entire letter here.