[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 74 (Friday, June 7, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1003]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 URGING INCREASED FEDERAL FUNDING FOR JUVENILE TYPE 1 DIABETES RESEARCH

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                     HON. GEORGE R. NETHERCUTT, JR.

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 4, 2002

  Mr. NETHERCUTT. Madam Speaker, as cochair of the Congressional 
Diabetes Caucus I commend the House of Representatives for passing H. 
Con. Res. 36. This bill declares that Federal funding for diabetes 
research should be increased as recommended by the Diabetes Research 
Working Group, DRWG, so that a cure for juvenile diabetes can be found. 
Increasing funding for Type I diabetes research is vitally important to 
the well being of our country.
  Like many Americans across the Nation, I have a personal attachment 
to diabetes--my daughter has type I diabetes. This disease is one of 
the fastest-growing and most deadly diseases in the United States. Each 
year an estimated 800,000 new cases of diabetes are diagnosed. Diabetes 
currently costs the United States approximately $100 billion and kills 
approximately 200,000 people every year.
  With these severe economic and health costs in mind, I am pleased 
that the House of Representatives has supported this legislation to 
increase funding for Type I diabetes research. Diabetes research at the 
NIH comprises less than 4 percent of the NIH budget. Although, diabetes 
affects over 16 million Americans and individuals with diabetes account 
for one out of every four Medicare dollars spent. An investment in 
research that results in a cure for diabetes would save our Nation 
billions of dollars and would also prevent millions of individuals from 
ever acquiring the disease.
  In 1997, I was proud to introduce legislation in the House to 
authorize the establishment of a Diabetes Research Working Group, DRWG. 
The DRWG was comprised of a group of outstanding scientists and experts 
knowledgeable about diabetes. As cochair of the Congressional Diabetes 
Caucus, I saw the need to permit researchers to take a step back and 
attempt to better focus the Federal Government's efforts to establish a 
long-term plan to put us on track toward curing diabetes.
  We have fallen drastically short of the funding levels suggested by 
the DRWG. In FY 2001 the NIH devoted $590 million to diabetes research, 
while the DRWG recommendation for funding was $1.07 billion. H. Con. 
Res. 36, passed by the House yesterday, supports the recommendations of 
the DRWG for $1.5 billion in research funding for FY 2003 at the NIH.
  I fully support ensuring that all the recommendations of the DRWG are 
implemented. While we recognize the limitations of the budget, the 
momentum in the diabetes scientific community is too promising to slow 
our progress. Clinical trials involving the transplantation of insulin-
producing cells into individuals with Type I diabetes has brought us 
within reach of a cure. Of the approximately 70 patients who have 
received these transplants, 80 percent no longer need to take insulin. 
As dramatic as these results are, several obstacles must still be 
overcome before this research can be made available to all individuals 
who suffer from diabetes.
  H. Con. Res. 36 is a step in the right direction to support the NIH's 
extraordinary efforts and I urge the House of Representatives to 
consider the cost that diabetes inflicts on our Nation both in human 
and economic terms when considering funding for diabetes research and 
prevention later this year. The promise of diabetes research at this 
time is too great for us not to increase our commitment to the 
Americans who suffer from this devastating disease.