[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 178 (Monday, December 16, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1880]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                GABRIELLA MILLER KIDS FIRST RESEARCH ACT

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                               speech of

                             HON. RUSH HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 11, 2013

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong opposition to this bill, the 
so called Kids First Research Act.
  The bill that we are considering here today has been brought up under 
the pretense of providing funding for pediatric research at the 
National Institutes of Health by redirecting the funds from the 
Presidential Election Campaign Fund to the amount of $12.6 million per 
year.
  As I am sure my colleagues know, I have always been a strong 
supporter of research at the NIH.
  But the legislation before us is nothing more than a duplicitous 
attempt by Republicans to act as if they are providing support to the 
NIH. Yet in reality, NIH has seen its budget attacked and slashed in 
recent years. In 2011, the Republican budget proposed a $1.6 billion 
cut to the NIH in a single year. I wonder where the compassion for 
children was then.
  This very day the Republicans are bringing forward a budget agreement 
they want us to support that cuts $172 billion in discretionary 
spending from levels President Obama and Democrats proposed in 2011. 
This so called compromise will maintain a majority of cuts imposed by 
sequestration.
  When sequestration went into effect, the NIH saw a $1.55 billion cut 
to its budget. Of that, sequestration cut $255 million from the NIH's 
cancer institute and $66 million from the child health institute. Where 
was the outrage when those cuts went into effect?
  If we truly cared about research at the NIH, we would not be 
proposing a $12.6 million dollar increase in funding, we would be 
talking about restoring the $1.55 billion cut by sequestration and then 
some.
  The Kids First Research Act has a nice name and a noble intent, but 
no substance, and thus I cannot support this sad pretense.

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