[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 75 (Friday, May 15, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E724-E725]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 IN RECOGNITION OF LOWELL P. WEICKER, JR., FORMER GOVERNOR AND SENATOR 
                             OF CONNECTICUT

                                  _____
                                 

                           HON. JOE COURTNEY

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 15, 2015

  Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Lowell P. 
Weicker, Jr., former Governor and Senator of Connecticut, on the 
dedication of the Lowell P. Weicker Building at the National Institutes 
of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland.
  Lowell Weicker served as the 85th Governor of Connecticut from 1991 
to 1995, prior to which he represented Connecticut in the United States 
Senate from 1971 to 1989.
  In 1981, when President Reagan submitted his first budget to 
Congress, he proposed significant cuts to domestic programs, including 
the NIH and services for the disabled and disadvantaged. Then-Senator 
Weicker led a band of Republicans to respond to these proposed cuts and 
worked with Democrats to craft a budget that restored funding for the 
NIH.
  In 1983, Senator Weicker ascended to Chairman of the Labor, Health, 
and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee. From that post, Senator 
Weicker defended the NIH from proposed cuts to research on cancer and 
Alzheimer's, and he held the first hearings on HIV/AIDS research. In 
the early 1980s, few Americans understood what the AIDS virus was and 
how it was transmitted. Many held prejudices against those who were 
most initially affected by the disease.
  Senator Weicker was ahead of his time in seeing HIV/AIDS as an 
emerging health crisis. While support for AIDS research was 
controversial, Senator Weicker stood firm in his support for science 
and the community, and preserved research from the threat of prejudice. 
Senator Weicker recognized the need for our government to fight the 
AIDS epidemic comprehensively, from research to treatment to public 
education. Senator Weicker implored his colleagues to change their 
attitudes on AIDS, asking them, ``When in America did we ask how you 
got sick before coming to your assistance?''
  In 1986, Senator Weicker played a critical role in securing the first 
funding for clinical trials on AZT and treatment for 10,000 AIDS 
infected patients. AZT was a transformative and first in a line of 
drugs that helped turned the tide in treatment for HIV/AIDS. Weicker's 
support laid the groundwork for the approval of AZT as an effective 
treatment by the FDA in 1987.
  As Chairman of the Labor-Health Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator 
Weicker did more than defend the NIH budget, he helped secure a 56 
percent increase, translating into lifesaving research for millions of 
Americans. Moreover, Senator Weicker led the fight to grow federal 
funding to combat AIDS from $64 million in 1984 to $925 million in 
1988.
  He also worked for health and education programs for physically and 
developmentally disabled persons and the poor. Weicker sponsored the 
Protection and Advocacy for the Mentally Ill Act in 1985 and in 1988 
introduced legislation that would become the Americans with 
Disabilities Act.
  Even after his service in the U.S. Senate, he has continued to 
champion medical research, launching Research!America in 1989, and 
serving as President of the Board of Directors of Trust for America's 
Health, and as a Director of the National Library of Medicine of the 
National Institutes of Health since February 2003.
  On Tuesday, May 5, the National Institutes of Health held a ceremony 
dedicating the newly-renovated Lowell P. Weicker Building, where 
scientists in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 
will conduct the lifesaving research then-Senator Weicker fought so 
hard to protect. Speakers at the ceremony included Dr. Francis Collins, 
Director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Anthony Fauci, 
Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 
Research!America President Mary Woolley and former Senator Tom Harkin, 
a colleague of Senator Weicker who worked with him on a bipartisan 
basis to secure funding for the NIH. Each speaker highlighted Senator 
Weicker's achievements on health policy as a senator, especially with 
regard to NIH research on HIV/AIDS.
  It was a fitting tribute at NIH for Lowell Weicker, worthy of the 
champion who fought bravely to protect its buildings and the 
irreplaceable research conducted inside them. I ask my colleagues to 
join me in congratulating Governor Weicker on the dedication of the 
Lowell P. Weicker Building and for his lifelong dedication to 
disadvantaged Americans.

[[Page E725]]



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