[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 147 (Thursday, October 15, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S12640-S12641]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                THE MEDICAL RESEARCH INFRASTRUCTURE GAP

  Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, before this Congress ends, I want to bring 
to my colleagues' attention an important issue confronting our nation's 
biomedical research enterprise and its search for medical breakthroughs 
as we move into the next century.
  First, I want to say how pleased I am that we were able to provide 
the biggest increase ever for medical research this year. We worked 
hard to make that happen and I want to commend my colleague, Senator 
Arlen Specter, for his leadership and work with me on this important 
accomplishment. The Conference Agreement of the Fiscal 1999 Labor, 
Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Subcommittee, provides a $2 billion, or 15 percent, 
increase for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the principal 
source of Federal funding for medical research conducted at our 
nation's universities and other research institutions. That 15 percent 
increase puts Congress on course to double funding for the NIH over the 
next five years, a target I've called for and agreed to by the Senate 
earlier in this Congress.
  However, as Congress embarks on this important investment in improved 
health, we must strengthen the totality of the biomedical research 
enterprise. While it is critical to focus on high quality, cutting edge 
basic and clinical research, we must also consider the quality of the 
laboratories and buildings where that research is being conducted, as 
well as the training of future scientists and the salaries of those 
scientists.
  In fact, Mr. President, the infrastructure of research institutions, 
including the need for new physical facilities, is central to our 
nation's leadership in medical research. Despite the significant 
scientific advances produced by Federally-funded research, most of that 
research is currently being done in medical facilities built in the 
1950's and 1960's, a time when the Federal government obligated from 
$30 million to $100 million a year for facility and equipment 
modernization. Since then, however, annual appropriations for 
modernization of our biomedical research infrastructure have been 
greatly reduced, ranging from zero to $20 million annually over the 
past decade. As a result, many of our research facilities and 
laboratories are outdated and inadequate to meet the challenge of the 
next millennium.
  Over the past decade, I've worked hard both as chair and now Ranking 
Member of the health subcommittee to get the NIH budget increased to 
$15.5 billion. Yet, over that same period, support for facility and 
laboratory modernization totaled only $110 million. In the Fiscal 1999 
appropriations bill, only 0.2 percent of the NIH budget will be 
directly devoted to improvement of the extramural laboratories that 
house NIH-funded scientists and support their research.
  As we work to double funding for medical research over the next 5 
years, the already serious shortfall in the

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modernization of our nation's aging research facilities will grow 
unless we take specific action. According to the most recent National 
Science Foundation study of the status of biomedical research 
facilities (1996), 47 percent of all biomedical research-performing 
institutions classified the amount of biological science research space 
as inadequate, and 51 percent indicated that they had an inadequate 
amount of medical science research space. Only 45 percent of biomedical 
research space at research-performing institutions was considered 
``suitable for scientifically competitive research.''
  The 1996 NSF Report further found that 36 percent of all institutions 
with biomedical research space reported capital projects, involving 
either construction or renovation, that were needed but had to be 
deferred because funding was not available. The estimated costs for 
deferred biomedical research construction and renovation projects 
totaled $4.1 billion. The problem is more severe for Historically Black 
Colleges and Universities, where only 36 percent of their biomedical 
research space was rated as being suitable for use in the most 
competitive scientific research.
  The extramural facilities gap has been recognized by leading research 
organizations, the members of which have recommended a major 
construction and renovation funding initiative as part of any proposal 
to significantly increase funding for the NIH. In a March 1998 report, 
the Association of American Medical Colleges found that ``recent 
advances in science have generated demand for new facilities and 
instruments, much of which could most rationally be provided through 
federal programs that are merit reviewed. The AAMC report concluded 
that ``the government should establish and fund an NIH construction 
authority, consistent with the general recommendations of the 
Wyngaarden Committee report of 1988, which projected at that time the 
need for a 10-year spending plan of $5 billion for new facilities and 
renovation.''
  These sentiments are echoed by a June 1998 report of the Federation 
of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), one of the 
leading organizations of basic researchers. The FASEB report concluded 
that ``laboratories must be built and equipped for the science of the 
21st century. Infrastructure investments should include renovation of 
existing space as well as new construction, where appropriate.''
  Mr. President I am committed to addressing this need. I believe 
future increases in federal funding for the NIH must be matched with 
increased funding for repair, renovation, and construction of our 
extramural research facilities. To this end, I plan on introducing 
legislation next year to significantly expand our investment in 
research facility modernization to assure that 21st century research is 
conducted in 21st century labs and facilities. And over the next year I 
plan to meet with patients, health professionals, and academic leaders 
from across the country to discuss this initiative which is so vitally 
important for the future of the entire medical research enterprise.
  Mr. President, this is a very exciting time in the field of 
biomedical research. We are on the verge of major medical breakthroughs 
which hold the promise of improved health and reduced costs for the 
people of this nation and the world. The ravage of killers like cancer, 
heart disease and Parkinson's and the scores of other illnesses and 
conditions which take the lives and health of millions of Americans can 
be ended if we devote the resources. I look forward to working with my 
colleagues in the coming months and years to assure that this promise 
is realized.

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