Under a new partnership, the Defense Department would play a larger role in biodefense and pandemic preparedness. Democrats warned it could allow a Pentagon cash grab.

The agency had initially refused to even review the application but reversed course after a public outcry.

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality slowed the awarding of new grants last year. Now it is stopping existing ones.

In an all-day hearing, the agency’s scientists argued against allowing broad access to unproven drugs that the agency had banned three years ago.