[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 9 (Monday, February 7, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S383-S384]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SENATE RESOLUTION 253--TO EXPRESS THE SENSE OF THE SENATE THAT THE
FEDERAL INVESTMENT IN BIOCHEMICAL RESEARCH SHOULD BE INCREASED BY
$2,700,000,000 IN FISCAL YEAR 2001
Mr. SPECTER (for himself, Mr. Harkin, Mr. Mack, Ms. Mikulski, Mr.
Frist, Mr. Schumer, Mr. Sarbanes, Ms. Collins, Mr. DeWine, Mr.
Hutchinson, Ms. Snowe, Mr. Cochran, and Mr. Santorum) submitted the
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on
Appropriations:
S. Res. 253
Whereas past investments in biomedical research have
resulted in better health, an improved quality of life for
all Americans and a reduction in national health care
expenditures;
Whereas the Nation's commitment to biomedical research has
expanded the base of scientific knowledge about health and
disease and revolutionized the practice of medicine;
Whereas the Federal Government represents the single
largest contribution to biomedical research conducted in the
United States;
Whereas biomedical research continues to play a vital role
in the growth of this Nation's biotechnology, medical device,
and pharmaceutical industries;
Whereas the origin of many of the new drugs and medical
devices currently in use is based in biomedical research
supported by the National Institutes of Health;
Whereas women have traditionally been under represented in
medical research protocols, yet are severely affected by
diseases including breast cancer, which will kill over 43,300
women this year, ovarian cancer which will claim another
14,500 lives; and osteoporosis and cardiovascular disorders;
Whereas research sponsored by the National Institutes of
Health is responsible for the identification of genetic
mutations relating to nearly 100 diseases, including
Alzheimer's disease, cystic fibrosis, Huntington's disease,
osteoporosis, many forms of cancer, and immune deficiency
disorders;
Whereas many Americans still face serious and life-
threatening health problems, both acute and chronic;
Whereas neurodegenerative diseases of the elderly, such as
Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease threaten to destroy the
lives of millions of Americans, overwhelm the Nation's health
care system, and bankrupt the Medicare and Medicaid programs;
Whereas 2.7 million Americans are currently infected with
the hepatitis C virus, an insidious liver condition that can
lead to inflammation, cirrhosis, and cancer as well as liver
failure;
Whereas 297,000 Americans are now suffering from AIDS and
hundreds of thousands more with HIV infection;
Whereas cancer remains a comprehensive threat to any tissue
or organ of the body at any age, and remains a top cause of
morbidity and mortality;
Whereas the extent of psychiatric and neurological diseases
poses considerable challenges in understanding the workings
of the brain and nervous system;
Whereas recent advances in the treatment of HIV illustrate
the promise research holds for even more effective,
accessible, and affordable treatments for persons with HIV;
Whereas infants and children are the hope of our future,
yet they continue to be the most vulnerable and under served
members of our society;
Whereas approximately one out of every six American men
will develop prostate cancer and over 40,000 men will die
from prostate cancer each year;
Whereas diabetes, both insulin and non-insulin forms,
afflict 16 million Americans and places them at risk for
acute and chronic complications, including blindness, kidney
failure, atherosclerosis and nerve degeneration;
Whereas the emerging understanding of the principles of
biomimetrics have been applied to the development of hard
tissue such as bone and teeth as well as soft tissue, and
this field of study holds great promise for the design of new
classes of biomaterials, pharmaceuticals, diagnostic and
analytical reagents;
Whereas research sponsored by the National Institute of
Health will map and sequence the entire human genome by 2003,
leading to a new era of molecular medicine that will provide
unprecedented opportunities for the prevention, diagnoses,
treatment, and cure of diseases that currently plague
society;
Whereas the fundamental way science is conducted is
changing at a revolutionary pace, demanding a far greater
investment in emerging new technologies, research training
programs, and in developing new skills among scientific
investigators; and
Whereas most Americans show overwhelming support for an
increased Federal investment in biomedical research: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This resolution may be cited as the ``Biomedical
Revitalization Resolution of 2000''.
SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE SENATE.
It is the sense of the Senate that funding for the National
Institutes of Health should be increased by $2,700,000,000 in
fiscal year 2001 and that the budget resolution appropriately
reflect sufficient funds to achieve this objective.
Mr. SPECTER. Mr. President, this morning President Clinton announced
the budget for the administration for fiscal year 2001. It has a large
number of new programs and has a very substantial increase in spending,
up to $1.835 trillion. In examining the budget as to its applicability
to the Departments of Labor, Health, Human Services and Education on
items which I chair, the appropriations subcommittee, I am concerned
about the number of new programs.
On Education, there are 19 new programs. In the Department of Labor,
there are nine new programs. It is a matter of concern when the
President proposes programs which have mandates directing the local
school districts as to what they should be doing without giving
discretion to local school districts as to specific needs which they
might have which might be in a somewhat different category. For
example, this year the 19 new programs will increase expenditures by $2
billion 951 million--almost $3 billion. Let's put it that way, round it
up a little bit.
Within these programs, there is a new program for school renovation
of $1.3 billion. While there may be some merit to that specific kind of
program, it may well be that the local school district could better use
that money, depending upon local needs, for matters such as a science
program, for laboratory equipment, for computers, for teacher training
depending upon what the needs are in the local school district.
Last year, we had a considerable amount of controversy on the
President's program for new teachers, a commendable objective, but it
may well be that there are many school districts where the needs for
some alternative programs are more pressing there. So I express a
concern about the budget with its increased spending up to $1.835
trillion, and the mandate of a great many new programs which have not
been authorized by the appropriate authorizing committees in the
Congress.
When it comes to the question of paying for these programs, the
President has proposed raising the caps by some $62 billion, but it is
highly questionable whether that raise in the caps will accommodate all
the programs which he has proposed. I think there is agreement between
the Congress and the administration that Social Security and Medicare
have to be kept inviolate and that there not be expenditures which
would threaten Social Security.
On the face and on the figures, the President's budget does not
invade Social Security, but there is the lurking possibility that
Social Security could be invaded with the tremendous number of new
programs which the President has proposed.
Last year, when the President came forward with his budget, he had
proposals for some $18 billion in offsets: Federal tobacco revenues of
$6 billion, FAA user fees of $1 billion, and so on, down to some $18
billion, none of which materialized. So when we take a look at the
President's proposed offsets, we have to take them with more than a
grain of salt as to whether they ever will materialize.
The President has proposed this year to have offsets for penalties
for tobacco companies where they fail to live up to the reduction on
teenage smoking. The administration's budget will cut youth smoking in
half by charging the tobacco industry an assessment for every underage
smoker, with an estimated penalty of $3,000 for each underage smoker.
It does not pick up until some of the out years.
This is an illustration of where the President is proposing alleged
cuts which may well never materialize.
There is one item where the Clinton administration budget is not
adequately funded, and that is for the National Institutes of Health.
In 1997, the sense-of-the-Senate resolution called for a doubling of
the NIH budget over a 5-year period.
During the course of the last 3 years, very substantial advances have
been made on funding for the National Institutes of Health, although we
are not quite yet on target. That has been a
[[Page S384]]
real battle because although the Senate passed a sense-of-the-Senate
resolution in 1997 calling for doubling within 5 years, when the issue
has come before the budget resolution on amendments sponsored by
Senator Harkin, who is the ranking Democrat, and myself as chairman of
the relevant appropriations subcommittee, those increases in funding
have been rejected. But with a sharp pencil and with very substantial
help from staff on allocation of funding, we have succeeded in
increasing the funding for the National Institutes of Health by more
than $5 billion over the last 3 years.
Three years ago, the Senate passed an increase of $950 million. It
was pared down somewhat in conference to $907 million. Two years ago,
we increased NIH funding by some $2 billion, and last year we increased
National Institutes of Health funding by $2.3 billion.
It is true the National Institutes of Health is the crown jewel of
the Federal Government. In fact, it may be the only jewel of the
Federal Government. This year, with a long list of cosponsors who are
being added incrementally each day--and I expect quite a few more by
the end of the day, and more even before Senator Harkin, the principal
cosponsor, and I offer this for a budget resolution--we are proposing
an increase in funding of $2.7 billion, which is the minimal amount
necessary to keep funding for the National Institutes of Health on a
track to approximate the goal of doubling NIH funding over the 5-year
period.
In addition to Senator Harkin and myself, we have cosponsorship by
Senator Mack, Senator Mikulski, Senator Frist, Senator Schumer, Senator
Collins, Senator DeWine, Senator Sarbanes, and Senator Hutchinson. The
advances which have been made by NIH over the course of the past
several years have truly been astounding with the projection that
Parkinson's may be on the verge of being solved within a 5-year period,
enormous advances on Alzheimer's, enormous advances on a variety of
cancer problems--breast cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer--
enormous advances on heart disease. As a capital investment in the
health of America, there is no better investment. As a capital
investment for cutting costs for Medicare and Medicaid, there is no
better investment.
Last year, the Clinton administration proposed an increase of some
$300 million which was far under the mark. That was raised by Congress
to $2.3 billion and signed into law by the President.
This year, I think, noting the strong congressional support, the
administration has proposed an increase of $1 billion in NIH funding,
but that, too, is short of the mark on meeting the objective of
doubling NIH funding within a 5-year period.
I have sought recognition today to submit, with my distinguished
colleague Senator Harkin, an important resolution calling for increased
funding for the National Institutes of Health, to keep us on track to
double NIH funding by 2002. Specifically, the resolution which we are
offering today calls for the fiscal year 2001 Budget Resolution to
include an additional $2.7 billion in the health account, to be
allocated for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health.
As chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee for Labor, Health and
Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, I have said many times
that the National Institutes of Health is the crown jewel of the
Federal Government--perhaps the only jewel of the Federal government.
We all remain enthralled by the advances realized by the National
Institutes of Health, which has spawned innumerable breakthroughs in
our knowledge and treatment for diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's
disease, Parkinson's disease, severe mental illnesses, diabetes,
osteoporosis, heart disease, and many others. It is clear that a
substantial investment in the NIH is crucial to allow the continuation
of these advances into the next decade.
On May 21, 1997, the Senate passed a Sense of the Senate resolution
submitted by our distinguished colleague, Senator Mack, which stated
that funding for the National Institutes of Health should be doubled
over five years. Regrettably, even though that resolution was passed by
an overwhelming vote of 98 to nothing, when the budget resolution was
considered on the Senate floor, the appropriate health account had a
reduction of $100 million. That led to the introduction of an amendment
to the resolution by myself and Senator Harkin. We sought to add in
$1.1 billion to carry out the expressed sense of the Senate. Our
amendment, however, was defeated 63-37. We were extremely disappointed
that while the Senate had expressed its druthers on a resolution, they
were simply unwilling to put up the actual dollars to accomplish this
vital goal.
The following year, during debate on the fiscal year 1999 Budget
Resolution, Senator Harkin and I again introduced an amendment which
called for a $2 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health,
and which provided sufficient resources in the budget to accomplish
this. While we gained more support on this vote than in the previous
year, our amendment was again defeated, this time by a vote of 57-41.
Not to be deterred, Senator Harkin and I again went to work with our
Subcommittee and we were able, by making economies and establishing
priorities, to add an additional $2 billion to the NIH account for
fiscal year 1999, which at the time was the largest increase in
history.
Most recently, for fiscal year 2000, Senator Harkin and I again
introduced an amendment to the Budget Resolution which would have added
$1.4 billion to the health accounts, over and above the $600 million
which had been already been provided by the Budget Committee. Despite
this amendment's defeat by a vote of 47-52, we were able to provide,
through the maximization of our limited resources, a $2.3 billion
increase for fiscal year 2000--truly an historic accomplishment.
In 1981, when I was first elected to the Senate, NIH funding was less
than $3.6 billion; for fiscal year 2000, it is $17.9 billion, a 95%
inflation-adjusted increase. Through several years and several
Subcommittee Chairs--Senator Weicker, Senator Chiles, Senator Harkin,
and myself--the budgets were always tight and frequently faced
Administration-proposed cuts. Still, we managed to increase NIH funding
tremendously. This resolution seeks to reiterate the intent of the
Senate to double our investment in the National Institutes of Health:
we must provide $2.7 billion to stay on track to reach that goal. I
believe that this goal can be achieved if we make the proper allocation
of our resources.
Our investment has resulted in tremendous advances in medical
research. A new generation of AIDS drugs are reducing the presence of
the AIDS virus in HIV infected persons to nearly undetectable levels.
Death rates from cancer have begun a steady decline. The human genome
is on track to be 90 percent mapped by this spring, and fully sequenced
by 2003. We are seeing the advent of a relatively new field of
pharmacogenomics, which seeks to solve whether there is something about
an individual's genetic instructions which prevent them from
metabolizing a particular drugs as intended. In essence, drugs may soon
be designed to fit the patient's genetic makeup. I anxiously await the
results of all of these avenues of remarkable research.
I, like millions of Americans, have benefitted tremendously from the
investment we have made in the National Institutes of Health. But to
continue that commitment takes actual dollars, not just the discussion
of dollars. That is why we offer this resolution today--to call upon
the Budget Committee to add $2.7 billion to the health accounts so we
can carry forward the important work of the National Institutes of
Health.
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