[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 15 (Thursday, January 29, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S654-S658]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. MARKEY (for himself, Mrs. Shaheen, Mrs. Murray, Ms.
Warren, Mr. Durbin, Mr. Merkley, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Coons, Mr.
Franken, Ms. Mikulski, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Whitehouse, Mrs.
Gillibrand, Mr. Sanders, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Schumer, Mr.
Brown, Mrs. Boxer, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Booker, Ms. Cantwell,
Mr. Murphy, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Casey, Mr. Schatz, and Mr.
Blumenthal):
S. 302. A bill to establish in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights,
and Labor of the Department of State a Special Envoy for the Human
Rights of LGBT Peoples; to the Committee on Foreign Relations.
Mr. MARKEY. Mr. President, throughout my career, I have been proud to
stand up for equality for all Americans regardless of their sexual
orientation or gender identity. While I have seen much progress with
respect for the rights of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender,
LGBT, community within the United States, the struggle for equality and
justice abroad remains significant. Many countries have laws that
criminalize homosexuality, prohibit public support of the LGBT
community and persecute those who identify as LGBT. To adequately
address the challenges posed by these discriminatory laws, the United
States must make LGBT rights a priority in all of our foreign policy
and there needs to be dedicated position responsible for coordinating
that effort. That is why, today, I am introducing the International
Human Rights Defense Act of 2015, which directs the Department of State
to make international LGBT human rights a foreign policy priority and
would establish a Special Envoy position in the Bureau of Democracy,
Human Rights, and Labor responsible for coordinating that effort.
Over the past few years, conditions have deteriorated for LGBT
individuals in many regions of the world. Russia enacted a ban on
arbitrarily-defined ``homosexual propaganda,'' endangering the position
of many LGBT individuals and their allies. Russia's law has been the
basis for similar legislation threatened or introduced in countries
across Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including Lithuania,
Kyrgyzstan, and Belarus. In December 2013, India's Supreme Court
reversed a lower court ruling and reinstated the criminalization of
homosexuality in the second most populous nation on earth. Nigeria,
Uganda, and Gambia have all passed laws that make homosexuality a crime
punishable with life imprisonment. While Uganda's law was overturned by
its Constitutional Court, leaders have pledged to pursue similar
legislation. Conditions for transgender individuals are particularly
troubling in Brazil, where 113 transgender individuals were murdered in
a 1-year period.
In light of these alarming developments, I am introducing the
International Human Rights Defense Act of 2015. It is critical that the
United States fight for LGBT equality both at
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home and abroad. The Obama Administration has taken great steps in
affirming and strengthening the United States' commitment to LGBT
equality as a critical component of our international human rights
objectives. However, our government does not yet have a comprehensive
strategy for addressing LGBT discrimination overseas and we lack a
central individual office responsible for inter-bureau and inter-agency
coordination to achieve these objectives.
______
By Mr. THUNE (for himself, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Heller, Mrs.
McCaskill, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Ayotte, Mr. Moran, and Mr.
Blumenthal):
S. 304. A bill to improve motor vehicle safety by encouraging the
sharing of certain information; to the Committee on Commerce, Science,
and Transportation.
Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, last year we saw an all-time record number
of motor vehicle recalls, including those by General Motors, Toyota,
Honda, and others.
The commerce committee held five vehicle safety hearings, examining
GM ignition switches, Takata airbags, and the related question of
whether the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA,
is up to the task of providing effective oversight of the auto
industry.
What is absolutely clear, from our hearings and other media coverage,
is that we need to ensure potential vehicle safety defects are
identified as early as possible so we can protect consumers and
hopefully prevent deaths and injuries. That is why earlier today
Senator Nelson and I introduced the Motor Vehicle Safety Whistleblower
Act.
I am pleased to note that Senators Heller, McCaskill, Klobuchar,
Ayotte, Moran, and Blumenthal have cosponsored this important
legislation. Senators Moran and Blumenthal being added as original
cosponsors of this legislation is important because of their respective
responsibilities as the chairman and ranking member of our subcommittee
on consumer protection, which has played a large role over the years on
various automobile safety efforts.
This afternoon I am pleased that Senator Nelson has joined me on the
floor as a lead sponsor to discuss this important piece of legislation
and our ongoing work on vehicle issues. As the chairman and ranking
member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and
Transportation, one thing that has remained constant on our committee
is the spirit of bipartisanship.
With regard to S. 304, the Motor Vehicle Whistleblower Act, this
legislation will incentivize auto employees who uncover serious
allegations of vehicle defects or violations of motor vehicle safety
laws that could lead to death or serious bodily injury to voluntarily
provide that information to the Department of Transportation.
If such information leads to the Department of Transportation or the
Department of Justice enforcement action that totals more than $1
million in penalties, the whistleblower would be eligible to share in a
portion of the total penalties collected. This bill will protect the
whistleblowers' identities and allow DOT to share information with the
Department of Justice and other Federal agencies where appropriate.
Other agencies have similar programs, including programs that
incentivize individuals to report information to the Securities and
Exchange Commission and to the Internal Revenue Service. NHTSA plays a
key role in ensuring the safety of vehicles that consumers drive on our
roadways. Record fines have been levied against Toyota, General Motors,
Honda, and other manufacturers.
In 2014, NHTSA issued more than $126 million in civil penalties, a
record amount, exceeding the total amount collected by the agency in
all of its 43-year history.
Ensuring the safety of American motorists is a priority, but the
public's trust has been shaken due to the record number of recalls this
past year. Almost 64 million vehicles were recalled in 2014, which is
about 3 times the number of vehicles recalled in 2013--and the concerns
many have about problems in the industry and at NHTSA.
After my repeated calls on the President to fill what had been a
lengthy vacancy regarding the Administrator position at NHTSA, which
operated without a Senate-confirmed Administrator for 389 days, I am
glad to say the commerce committee did its job to ensure that Dr. Mark
Rosekind was confirmed as Administrator before the end of last year.
However, there is much more work that needs to be done.
The defects associated with the GM ignition switch recall and the
Takata airbag recalls were apparent failures with serious safety
consequences that resulted in death and serious injury. As we learned
from the GM incident, delays in reporting safety-related defects to the
government can cost lives.
In recent years, Congress has enacted, and NHTSA sought to implement,
a robust early-reporting regime. I believe we can do more to ensure
that NHTSA is informed of potential defects as early as possible. Some
of the major automakers and other manufacturers have also instituted or
sought to improve internal safety reporting systems that encourage
employees to report safety problems.
I applaud these efforts, but reports of employees whose concerns may
have been ignored, silenced, or possibly even covered up persist. If
there are potential whistleblowers with important information to help
NHTSA identify more defects that are not being addressed, we want them
to come forward so these problems can be identified much earlier in the
process.
I think we would all agree it is better to address a problem before
injuries or deaths occur, if at all possible, rather than relying
primarily on fines imposed after the fact. This is a commonsense,
bipartisan bill that will help to prevent injuries and deaths for
American drivers.
NHTSA and other stakeholders have provided input on this legislation.
I look forward to working with these groups and my colleagues, and
particularly with Senator Nelson, as we move forward with the committee
to process and pass this legislation.
I yield the floor to Senator Nelson for his remarks.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Florida.
Mr. NELSON. Mr. President, in light of the late hour, just before our
votes, I will submit for the Record a statement which correlates with
the chairman of our committee, and I thank the Senator for so much of
his cooperation over last year and all the investigations and the
hearings that we did, as well as now.
What I will say that is new is I will provide an update on the status
of the committee's investigation into the defective Takata airbags.
When we had the hearing last November which I had the privilege of
chairing, we received testimony from several witnesses, including a
senior executive from the Takata Corporation, which manufactures the
airbags involved in the rupture and the explosive incidents that
basically have lacerated people with pieces of metal. The airbag that
is supposed to save their lives, in fact, is endangering their lives,
and in some cases killing them. This has happened to two of my
constituents in Florida.
While the hearing produced some basic information about the problem,
many questions still remain.
Senator Rockefeller, then the chairman of the committee, other
Senators, and I sent a letter to Takata requesting information and
documents related to Takata's airbag defects. In their initial response
provided to the committee in early December, Takata included a list of
all the incidents it was aware of that had allegedly involved a death
or injury caused by a ruptured Takata airbag.
Takata's response reveals that the scope of injuries involved in the
Takata airbags appears to be greater than we previously thought. In its
initial response, Takata identified 5 deaths and 64 injuries. Although
some of these incidents may be ultimately tied to other causes, this
potential injury figure is far bigger than what had been reported in
the press. Unfortunately, 1 death and 17 of these injuries occurred in
my State of Florida--more than any other State. Among the alleged
injuries in my State, many were serious, including lacerations and
fractures to the face, burns to the neck, face, and torso, and
traumatic brain injury and hearing loss.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. The time of the Senator has expired.
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Mr. NELSON. I ask unanimous consent for 1 additional minute to
conclude my statement.
The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
Mr. NELSON. Sadly, I have even more bad news to report today. Through
public information, we have learned that an exploding Takata airbag
appears to be responsible for yet another death. Less than 2 weeks ago,
a Texas man who was driving with his 11-year-old cousin was involved in
a low-impact crash. When the airbag deployed, instead of protecting
him, the airbag ruptured and sent a metal piece of shrapnel into the
man's neck. When the police arrived, he was already dead.
We are awaiting more information from Takata and we are determined to
get to the bottom of this.
I look forward to working with the chairman on this issue. We plan to
continue the investigation until all of our questions have been
answered. We are going to do everything possible to get to the bottom
of this issue so that consumers are made whole.
______
By Mr. REED (for himself, Mr. Cochran, and Mr. Whitehouse):
S. 312. A bill to amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 regarding school libraries, and for other purposes; to the
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I join with my colleagues Senators
Cochran and Whitehouse in introducing the Strengthening Kids' Interest
in Learning and Libraries, SKILLS, Act.
Fifty years ago, when President Johnson urged Congress to enact what
would become the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, he
specifically called for an investment in school libraries, decrying
that school libraries were ``limping along.'' Results from a recent
National Center for Education Statistics survey show that there are
still gaps in access to school libraries. Approximately 8,800 schools
did not report having a library media center, and only about \2/3\ of
the traditional public schools that did have libraries reported having
a full-time, certified librarian. One in five traditional public
schools reported having no paid, State certified library staff at all.
Effective school library programs are essential supports for
educational success. Multiple education and library studies have
produced clear evidence that school libraries staffed by qualified
librarians have a positive impact on student academic achievement.
Knowing how to find and use information are essential skills for
college, careers, and life in general. A good school library, staffed
by a trained school librarian, is where students develop and hone these
skills.
Our bipartisan legislation would reauthorize and strengthen the
Improving Literacy through School Libraries program of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act, the only federal initiative explicitly
dedicated to supporting and enhancing our nation's school libraries.
The key improvements to the program include ensuring that elementary,
middle, and high school students are served; expanding professional
development to include digital literacy instruction and reading and
writing instruction across all grade levels; focusing on coordination
and shared planning time between teachers and librarians; and ensuring
that books and materials are appropriate for and gain the interest of
students with special learning needs, including English learners.
The SKILLS Act would also strengthen Title I by requiring State and
school district plans to address the development of effective school
library programs to help students gain digital literacy skills, master
the knowledge and skills in the challenging academic content standards
adopted by the State, and graduate from high school ready for college
and careers. Additionally, the legislation would broaden the focus of
training, professional development, and recruitment activities under
Title II to include school librarians.
Absent a clear Federal investment, the libraries in many of our high
poverty schools will languish with outdated materials and technology or
cease to exist at all, and in turn, students will be cut off from a
vital information hub that connects them to the tools they need to
develop critical thinking and research skills necessary for success.
This is a true equity issue, which is why I will continue to fight to
sustain our Federal investment in this area and why renewing and
strengthening the school library program is of critical importance.
I urge our colleagues to join us in cosponsoring the bipartisan
Strengthening Kids' Interest in Learning and Libraries Act, and to work
together to ensure that it becomes a part of the upcoming
reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.
______
By Ms. MIKULSKI (for herself and Mr. Cardin):
S. 318. A bill to prioritize funding for the National Institutes of
Health to discover treatments and cures, to maintain global leadership
in medical innovation, and to restore the purchasing power the NIH had
after the historic doubling campaign that ended in fiscal year 2003; to
the Committee on the Budget.
Ms. MIKULSKI. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Accelerating
Biomedical Research Act.
The bill allows more funding for the National Institutes of Health by
allowing NIH funding to grow even while we continue to live under
austere funding caps.
NIH funding has been a bipartisan effort working with Democrats--
Senators Kennedy and Harkin, as well as Republicans--Senators Hatfield
and Specter. We successfully fought to double NIH's budget from $13.6
billion in 1998 to over $30 billion today. We supported it to speed the
transition of discoveries from science to treatment and maintain
America's global competitiveness.
But the NIH budget hasn't kept up with inflation. Its budget has been
growing, but slowly. That means the NIH budget buys 20 percent less
than what it did when the doubling was completed in 2003. Which means
we are missing out. Missing out on potential treatments, potential
breakthroughs, potential cures. We have no shortage of ideas.
Scientists have ideas but they cannot test them without funding. What
is the solution?
We need to redouble our commitment to medical research. This bill
creates a 6-year plan to put NIH back on stable ground. It is steady
growth, it is predictable, and it is fiscally sound.
The bill allows for new spending for NIH that does not count against
the strict budget caps. So we can put more money into cures without
taking it away from other compelling human needs funded within the
Labor-HHS Appropriations bill.
Why NIH? Why should we have new spending for NIH when other spending
is stagnant or being cut? Personally, I would lift the sequester caps.
I think they are doing real harm, but I recognize we do not all agree
on that. I think we do all agree that NIH research is worth increasing
because it both helps the economy and saves lives.
First, let me talk about how NIH helps the economy. The NIH is a
world-class institution. I call it the National Institutes of Hope,
serving as the foundation for U.S. medical innovation which employs 1
million U.S. citizens, including 19,000 at NIH and 14,000 NIH employees
who live in Maryland. NIH generates $84 billion in wages and salaries,
exports $90 billion in goods and services. Every dollar we invest in
NIH generates $2-$3 in economic activity. Every patent NIH generates
provides the foundation for 8 private sector patents. In 2013, products
built on licensed NIH and FDA inventions reported a total of $7 billion
in sales. Investing in NIH is good for our economy
But I do not call NIH the National Institutes of Hope because of its
economic impact. NIH gives hope because of its human impact. Just look
at what we have done with Federal investments in NIH, cutting the
cancer death rate by 11 percent in women and 19 percent in men. HIV/
AIDS is no longer a death sentence. Polio and small pox are essentially
eradicated in this country.
These medical breakthroughs did not just happen. They occurred
because our government supported the NIH. And because the NIH supported
dedicated scientists seeking knowledge and medical breakthroughs.
And now, that support is being eroded.
I have heard the American people say, they want Congress to be
frugal. But I haven't heard anyone say: ``Let's
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delay finding a way to prevent Alzheimer's'' or ``Let's encourage our
young scientists to work abroad'' or ``Let's put a hold on finding a
cure for cancer'' or ``Let's discourage our universities from
researching treatments for rare pediatric tumors''.
I am for being frugal but we must not jeopardize or hamper America as
the gold standard, as the worldwide leader in medical research and
innovation.
I am for being frugal but not at the expense of the next generation
of scientists and the health of American families.
Discovery is the genius of our country. When President Jefferson
commissioned Lewis and Clark to find water route to the Pacific, the
mission was called discovery. Discovery is part of our Nation's DNA. It
is what makes this Nation great.
To have innovation we must have discovery. This requires: Investing
in our human capital, educating our people, and funding their research.
That is why I support funding for NIH. And that is why I am introducing
the Accelerating Biomedical Research Act today.
I hope my colleagues will agree and support this bill.
______
By Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself and Mr. Sullivan):
S. 319. A bill to designate a mountain in the State of Alaska as
Mount Denali; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, I rise today to reintroduce legislation
which has been proposed in the past by the Alaska Congressional
Delegation to officially restore the traditional name of the nation's
highest peak, currently Mount McKinley, to its traditional Interior
Alaska Athabascan name, Denali.' I am joined in sponsoring this bill by
my colleague from Alaska, Senator Dan Sullivan.
Since passage of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
in 1980 the Alaska Delegation has been trying to change the name of the
tallest mountain in North America back to its Alaska name. In 1980
Congress did change the name of the national park and preserve where
the mountain is located to Denali National Park and Preserve, from its
earlier name of Mt. McKinley National Park. But unfortunately the name
of the peak itself continues to refer to a President who never set foot
in Alaska.
While I have great respect for President William McKinley and great
respect for the wonderful State of Ohio where he was born, the peak at
20,230 feet has always been called by Alaska's first Athabascan
residents as Denali, meaning ``the high one.'' It is simply fitting in
this day and age of greater awareness of Native history that the
mountain return to a name that honors its Native ancestry.
Already there are a number of towns and institutions named in honor
of the 25th President. He has a monument for him at his birthplace in
Niles, OH, and another on McKinley Monument Drive where the McKinley
National Monument is located, not far from the Pro Football Hall of
Fame in Canton, OH. There is McKinley Heights in Ohio. There are more
than 20 schools in Ohio named for him. There is a county in New Mexico
named after him. There are literally hundreds of streets, libraries and
other institutions and businesses named for him nationwide. There is no
danger than Americans will not remember and honor the assassinated
President.
But no official in the territory of Alaska actually named the
nation's tallest mountain after the former President. That was done by
a prospector William Dickey, who took it upon himself to name the peak
in 1896. The Alaska State Place Names Board in 1975 took official state
action to rename the peak, restoring its traditional name of Denali. I
clearly believe that there is every reason for this Congress to follow
Alaskans' desires and the desires of Native Americans and restore the
name to the English translation of what it has been called for
millennia, on Federal maps and documents.
I hope that this Congress will finally agree to this name change.
______
By Ms. WARREN (for herself, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Brown, and Ms.
Baldwin):
S. 320. A bill to authorize the collection of supplemental payments
to increase congressional investments in medical research, and for
other purposes; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions.
Ms. WARREN. Mr. President, I come to the floor today to announce the
introduction of the Medical Innovation Act, which is a commonsense
proposal that could dramatically increase our Nation's investment in
lifesaving medical research.
During much of the 20th century, America made significant investments
in this area through the National Institutes of Health, and it has been
a remarkable success. We have transformed medicine across America and
around the world. NIH support helps train each new generation of
scientists and develop each new generation of medicine. NIH-supported
discoveries often get picked up by small, creative, nimble
biotechnology companies, which in turn get picked up by large
pharmaceutical companies, which in turn sometimes result in wildly
successful blockbuster drugs. Each of these blockbuster drugs brings in
more than $1 billion a year for the drug companies, and each one
transforms lives.
Nearly everyone in Congress supports increased funding for NIH, but
for 10 years the NIH budget hasn't even kept up with the pace of
inflation. Why? Because nobody wants to step up and find a way to pay
for it.
It is time to break the stalemate. The Medical Innovation Act would
increase NIH funding without raising taxes and without stealing support
from other critical programs. Instead, support would come from
blockbuster drug companies--only those that relied on government-
supported research to generate billions in sales and only those that
break the law and enter into major settlement agreements with the
government. In such cases, the government settlements would go forward
as they normally do, but the offending company would also be required
to reinvest a relatively small portion of the profits it has generated
as a result of taxpayer-supported research and put that money right
back into the NIH.
We celebrate the accomplishments of our pharmaceutical industry--
especially the industry's billion-dollar blockbuster drugs. These drugs
have literally transformed the treatment of high cholesterol, diabetes,
HIV, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, breast cancer, colon cancer, and
leukemia. They help Americans live longer, healthier lives. But we also
know that blockbuster drugs don't just appear overnight as if by magic.
Rarely do they result from a single giant company's individual genius.
I agree with Republican Senators Alexander and Burr, who say in a
report released just this morning:
[I]n many cases, the research leading to the discovery and
development of these products has been advanced, funded, or
enabled in some way by NIH.
Drug companies make great contributions, but so do taxpayers.
The big drug companies are making billions as a result of these
investments, but over the last 10 years a few of our wealthiest drug
companies have been caught making money a second way--by skirting the
law. These companies are not getting swept up in minor paperwork
mistakes. They are not victims of overly eager regulators. They have
been caught defrauding Medicare and Medicaid, withholding critical
safety information about their drugs, marketing their drugs for uses
that aren't approved, and giving doctors kickbacks for writing
prescriptions for their drugs.
Between 2007 and 2012 the world's largest pharmaceutical companies
paid over $13 billion in fines and settlements. Despite those numbers,
it is clear that for the biggest drug companies this is simply a cost
of doing business. In fact, several of the biggest drug companies have
been caught breaking the law, have paid a fine, and then have broken
the law again. And why not? Even the biggest pharmaceutical settlement
ever--a $3 billion penalty for withholding life-threatening safety data
and engaging in illegal marketing practices--accounted for less than 10
percent of what the company made selling those drugs. In fact, the day
the settlement was announced, that company's stock price actually went
up.
It doesn't have to be this way. The Medical Innovation Act would
serve
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double duty--requiring more accountability from the biggest drug
companies while giving medical research the support it deserves.
This isn't a tax; it is simply a condition of settling to avoid a
trial in a major case of wrongdoing. If a company never breaks the law,
it will never pay. If an accused company goes to trial instead of
settling out of court, it will never pay. It is more like a swear jar.
Whenever a huge drug company that is generating enormous profits as a
result of Federal research investments breaks the law, it has to put
some money in the jar to help fund the next generation of medical
research.
Since we announced this proposal, we have seen an outpouring of
support from hospitals, doctors, patient groups, and research
universities. All of them want to break the stalemate on NIH funding
and get back to the business of saving lives.
We have also heard some grumbling from the army of lobbyists that
works for some of the biggest drug companies--companies that would
prefer not to pay a bigger penalty when they break the law. If they
have better ideas for ending this congressional stalemate and getting
more money into NIH, I am eager to hear them.
These lobbyists have also claimed that there is ``no logical basis''
for asking these companies to pay up when they break the law. Well, I
disagree. If a company that is making literally billions of dollars as
a result of taxpayers' NIH investments turns around and engages in
allegedly illegal conduct and wants to settle to make the case go away,
that seems like a pretty logical basis for asking them to invest a
little in the next generation of medical breakthroughs.
Lobbyists have also written that the Medical Innovation Act might
create ``unnecessary litigation.'' Well, it is illegal to defraud
Medicare. It is illegal to pay kickbacks to doctors. It is illegal to
hide safety data from the FDA or manufacture drugs in dirty,
contaminated facilities. Our biggest and most successful drug companies
make billions of dollars by inventing treatments and improving the
public's health, and when they do, we applaud them for it. But if they
want to avoid unnecessary litigation, then they should follow the law.
If they don't want to put a dollar in the swear jar, then stop
swearing.
I don't kid myself. I know how difficult it is to get things done in
Washington, and I understand that a handful of powerful actors with
money and power likes things just the way they are and will fight any
effort to change. But even if a few of the biggest drug companies don't
like it, I am hopeful that we can build support for this idea because
the Medical Innovation Act is a major move toward substantially
increasing Federal support for medical research in a way that doesn't
raise taxes and doesn't cut other critical programs.
If this policy had been in place over the past 5 years, NIH would
have had nearly $6 billion more every year to fund thousands of new
grants to scientists and universities and research centers around the
country. That is almost a 20-percent increase in NIH funding.
It has been 10 years of stagnant Federal investments followed by
sequester cuts, 10 years of rejecting potentially life-changing
research proposals at NIH, 10 years of telling young researchers that
their innovative ideas have almost no chance of getting off the ground.
We are running out of time.
Today we are choking off support for projects that could lead to the
next major breakthrough against cancer, heart disease, Ebola,
Alzheimer's, diabetes, or other deadly conditions. We are starving
projects that would transform the lives of our children on the autism
spectrum. We are suffocating breakthrough ideas that would give new
hope to those with ALS.
That is not who we are. We are not a nation that abandons the sick.
And we are not a nation that says, ``I've got mine, the rest of you are
on your own.'' We are a nation of people who work together. We are a
nation of people who invest in each other. We have done it for
generations--and for generations we have led the world in medical
innovation.
It is time to renew that commitment--our commitment to our children,
our commitment to our parents, our commitment to ourselves, by making
it a little easier for the biggest drug companies to help develop the
next generation of cures and making it a little harder for them to
profit from breaking the law and defrauding taxpayers. It is time to
pass the Medical Innovation Act.
____________________