[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 89 (Thursday, June 20, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


CANCEL THE SEQUESTER: LET DR. WOODRUFF IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE 
       EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE TO METALS ON HUMAN REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 20, 2013

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to tell my colleagues about the 
deleterious effect that sequestration is having on biomedical research 
and our ability to improve the health of people in communities across 
this country.
  This week, Dr. Teresa Woodruff, a reproductive endocrinologist and 
the Chief of the Division of Fertility Preservation at the Feinberg 
School of Medicine at Northwestern University, contacted me to explain 
how the sequester is harming her ability to perform critical research 
into the effects of toxins on female reproductive health and fertility.
  Last year, Dr. Woodruff applied for a grant from the Superfund 
Research Program, a joint program of the National Institute of 
Environmental Health Sciences and the National Institutes of Health, to 
investigate and develop strategies to combat the proliferation of 
toxins at the DePue, Illinois Superfund site. Her application received 
a positive score and, after revising her research plan after being told 
that NIH lacked the resources needed to fully fund the project, she 
expected to receive funding and begin work this summer.
  Unfortunately, Dr. Woodruff's team will be unable to start this 
critical research. In May, she was told that NIEHS cannot award the 
Superfund grant because of the sequester--an additional across-the-
board cut to an already-modest research budget. The NIEHS administrator 
responsible for awarding these grants indicated that he had never seen 
anything like this before in his career--never before was he unable to 
fund a grant after a positive award decision was made.
  Sequestration has pulled the rug out from under our researchers. 
Instead of working to understand the threats posed by environmental 
toxins, Dr. Woodruff's team is forced to delay this extremely valuable 
research. She is not giving up--and she will spend many more hours 
completing grant applications in hopes that funding will be available 
in the future. But, in the meantime, research that could result in real 
improvements for women's health and the environment is being put on 
hold.
  I hope my colleagues will take the time to read a summary of the 
important research that Dr. Woodruff's team is unable to perform due to 
the unnecessary and harmful sequester cuts. I urge my colleagues to 
restore vital research funding by supporting H.R. 900, the Cancel the 
Sequester Act, so that our researchers can get back to doing their 
work.

Northwestern University Reproductive Health Hazards Superfund Research 
                                 Center


                                summary

       There is limited understanding of the effects of exposure 
     to metals on human reproductive health. The proposed 
     Northwestern University Reproductive Health Hazards Superfund 
     Research Center was designed to investigate the effects of 
     metal contaminants on reproductive function in DePue, 
     Illinois and in Northwestern University laboratories.
       In the village of DePue, which was designated a Superfund 
     site in 1999, the Center would investigate the longitudinal 
     risk of heavy metal contamination on human reproductive 
     health and track how such contaminants are dispersed through 
     the food chain and microbial environments. Additionally, the 
     Center would work with the village of DePue to educate the 
     local community and translate new knowledge into policy 
     changes to improve public health.
       At Northwestern University laboratories, Center researchers 
     would also investigate the impact of metals on gamete (egg 
     and sperm) function and reproductive health. Additionally, 
     the team would develop new assays to assess the reproductive 
     health risks of heavy metals and mitigation strategies for 
     metal removal and environmental remediation. The knowledge 
     gained by the Center would be applicable to the village of 
     DePue, Superfund sites, and other contaminated sites across 
     the United States.


                                History

       Our team initially applied to the Superfund Research 
     Program, a joint program of the National Institute of 
     Environmental Health Sciences and the National Institutes of 
     Health, in the spring of 2012. In the fall of 2012, we were 
     awarded a positive score with a good chance or receiving 
     funding in response to our application, and we were asked to 
     supply a letter of information responding to the limited 
     criticisms from the peer review.
       In March 2013, we were offered an option informally to 
     receive funding at a reduced amount for a reduced time period 
     since our application was well reviewed and deemed 
     meritorious but available funding was limited. We elected to 
     accept this funding rather than resubmit and provided 
     approximately 80 pages of revised budgets and supporting 
     materials toward this option. That material was well-
     received, but two weeks prior to the annual resubmission 
     deadline, it was suggested that we also resubmit our original 
     application with revisions because the informally offered 
     funding was in jeopardy due to sequestration and rescission. 
     Even on this limited time-frame we managed to resubmit our 
     application. Despite the continued confidence of the NIH 
     program officers that the reduced grant would be funded as of 
     July or August, in May we were formally informed that it 
     would not be. It is important to note that the NIH receives 
     funding for Superfund Research through the Interior 
     Appropriations Subcommittee rather than the standard Labor/
     HHS/Education Appropriations Subcommittee, which funds the 
     majority of the NIH budget. We are now awaiting review of the 
     resubmitted grant proposal in November and hope to obtain 
     funding in April 2014.
       Sequestration, and the unpredictable nature of funding 
     during this time, has not only delayed the creation of a 
     critical research program but has consumed hundreds of man 
     hours for the research team at Northwestern University.


                          Contact Information

       Kate Timmerman, PhD, Program Director, Oncofertility 
     Consortium, Northwestern University.
       Teresa K. Woodruff, PhD, Vice Chair for Research, 
     Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Director, 
     Oncofertility Consortium, Northwestern University.

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