[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 57 (Wednesday, May 11, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 11, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
         WHY VA RESEARCH MEANS BETTER MEDICAL CARE FOR VETERANS

  Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Mr. President, I am delighted that the budget 
conferees have reversed the proposed cut in funding for the Department 
of Veterans Affairs' research and prosthetics account and have restored 
funding to $252 million--the fiscal year 1994 level.
  Because the connection between research and good clinical care is so 
important in the VA health care system, Senator Murkowski and I wrote a 
letter to the budget conferees urging that this funding be restored. We 
believe that the investment in research has a high return in benefits 
that improve medical treatment for veterans and all Americans, and the 
budget conferees have agreed.
  In just the past few months, VA research has yielded important new 
information about serious medical problems such as prostate cancer, 
skin cancer, AIDS, schizophrenia, and lupus, just to name a few. The VA 
research program is also an enormously important tool to recruit and 
retain high-quality physicians and other professionals, and to maintain 
VA affiliations with medical schools. Finally, as one VA researcher 
noted, ``Research is more than laboratories, microscopes, and published 
papers in academic journals.'' Indeed, 75 percent of VA research 
programs are led by M.D. investigators who, as members of the VA 
hospital staff, are also responsible for direct care provided to the 
veteran patient.
  By reversing the cut, we have sent a message to VA researchers that 
we value their work and depend on their discoveries to improve health 
care for all Americans. As chairman of the Committee on Veterans' 
Affairs, I am grateful for the restoration in funding.

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