[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 154 (Friday, September 29, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S14698]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 SENATOR MARK HATFIELD: RECIPIENT OF 1995 ALBERT LASKER PUBLIC SERVICE 
                                 AWARD

  Mrs. KASSEBAUM. Mr. President, I rise today to extend my 
congratulations to the distinguished Senator from Oregon, Mr. Hatfield, 
upon his receipt of the 1995 Albert Lasker Public Service Award for his 
``energetic leadership and enduring advocacy in support of biomedical 
research.''
  I can think of no Member of the Senate more deserving of this 
recognition. Senator Hatfield has been unflagging in his dedication to 
the cause of biomedical research--recognizing the importance it holds 
for Americans today and the promise it holds for Americans in the 
future.
  As chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Senator 
Hatfield is keenly aware of the competing demands upon dwindling 
federal resources. Establishing priorities among a series of worthy 
causes is a difficult task. I believe it is a tribute to his judgment 
and his vision that he has always assigned the highest priority to 
biomedical research efforts.
  In addition to protecting the current federal investment in this 
area, Senator Hatfield has also sought creative ways to expand the pool 
of funds which can be made available to it. I was pleased to have been 
counted among the supporters of the biomedical research trust fund 
proposal he put forward during the last Congress and of his efforts to 
restore National Institutes of Health [NIH] funding in the budget 
resolution this year.
  The Senate Committee on Labor and Human Resources, which I chair, has 
authorizing and oversight responsibility for the NIH. Senator Hatfield 
has consistently offered his support and suggestions for NIH 
activities, and I look forward to continuing to work with him.
  The Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation has made a wise choice in 
selecting Senator Hatfield  for this prestigious award.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the award citation be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                1995 Albert Lasker Public Service Award


                              the citation

       As an energetic advocate in support of biomedical research, 
     Senator Mark Hatfield has made outstanding contributions. 
     Dedicated to the proposition that the health of Americans is 
     a national priority, Mark Hatfield has continually fought to 
     increase research appropriations for the National Institutes 
     of Health, and he has succeeded.
       During the six years of his Chairmanship of the Senate 
     Committee on Appropriations, funding for the National 
     Institutes of Health increased by over $2.5 billion, an 
     average of almost 10% per year. These funds enabled 107,000 
     research projects to receive NIH grants, supported an 
     expansion of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders 
     and Stroke, and substantially increased the allocation for 
     research on Alzheimer's Disease.
       Senator Hatfield's vigorous leadership has been crucial in 
     the battle against proposed cuts in the NIH budget. Affirming 
     the central role of the National Institutes of Health in the 
     mission of biomedical research, he declared that, ``The NIH 
     is the cornerstone of improved quality of life in this 
     nation.''
       Throughout his career, Mark Hatfield has sought to reorder 
     our nation's research priorities to focus on activities that 
     enhance life. Taking the time to become informed about 
     particular diseases has led him to introduce legislation to 
     create a National Advisory Council on Rare Disease Research, 
     which would formulate a strategic plan and establish a 
     national research database. He has also emphasized the need 
     to support research on Parkinson's Disease, Epidermolysis 
     Bullosa, and Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.
       During the 103rd Congress, Senator Hatfield achieved 
     enactment of a National Center for Sleep Disorders Research 
     within the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, and 
     introduced a bill to create a permanent bioethics advisory 
     board as a forum for discussion of ethical issues in 
     biomedicine. In a period of dwindling resources, his most 
     farsighted piece of health legislation is the Hatfield-Harkin 
     bill that would establish a Fund for Health Research, a 
     stable, non-appropriations-based source of additional 
     research dollars, from tax checkoffs and insurance premiums.
       Mark Hatfield believes that funding for medical research 
     not only improves quality of life, but offers our nation the 
     highest rate of economic return of any other federal program. 
     If health is wealth, then biomedical research is the best 
     investment our nation can make in its future.
       To Mark O. Hatfield, for energetic leadership and enduring 
     advocacy in support of biomedical research, this 1995 Albert 
     Lasker Public Service Award is given.

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