[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 30 (Thursday, February 25, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1045-S1046]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MORNING BUSINESS
F_____
AMERICAN HEART MONTH
Mr. DURBIN. I come to the floor today in recognition of American
Heart Month.
For more than 50 years, Congress has recognized February as American
Heart Month. During this time, we have seen many advances in reducing
congenital heart defects, heart disease, stroke, and other forms of
cardiovascular disease through improvements in research, education,
prevention, and treatment.
Over 1 million cardiovascular disease deaths are now averted each
year thanks to advances in biomedical research, prevention programs,
and the development of new drugs and therapies; yet every 15 minutes, a
child is born with a heart defect, and nearly 86 million adults are
living with some form of cardiovascular disease. Congenital heart
defects are the most common type of birth defect, and heart disease
alone remains our Nation's leading cause of death.
For millions of families across the country, including mine, the
impact of heart defects and disease can be overwhelmingly painful.
Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, parents can now afford health
insurance, and coverage can no longer be denied for a preexisting
condition. Also, insurers cannot set arbitrary lifetime or annual
limits on care. These protections can be lifesaving, literally, when
dealing with congenital heart conditions.
And while I am so proud of what we did in health reform to improve
access to care, we must do more to improve quality of care--and that
means finding ways to better treat and even prevent these diseases.
Thankfully, there is hope for patients and families across the
country. Breakthroughs in research are getting us closer to
understanding the risk factors and causes of these diseases. We are
developing new drugs and therapies to help those who are suffering, and
we are improving standards of care for those living with and managing
these diseases.
Increases in funding for the NIH and CDC in the fiscal year 2016
omnibus bill will support these critical efforts in prevention,
research, and treatment. We provided a historic funding increase of $2
billion for the NIH, and the CDC's budget was increased by nearly 5
percent. These increases will support leading research efforts at the
NIH on the causes of cardiovascular diseases and possible treatments;
community prevention programs at the CDC; as well as initiatives to
gather data and track the incidence of congenital heart disease. These
cannot be onetime increases. We must commit to sustained long-term
investments in our Federal health agencies--that means ensuring robust
funding increases above inflation year after year. That is why I will
again fight for funding equal to five percent real growth in the fiscal
year 2017 appropriations bills for NIH, CDC, and seven other research
agencies that contribute to medical and scientific advancements
consistent with two bills I have introduced.
The American Cures Act would provide annual budget increases of five
percent over inflation every year for 10 years at American's top four
biomedical research agencies: the National Institutes of Health; the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the Department of Defense
health programs; and the VA's Medical and Prosthetic Research Program,
its biomedical research arm.
The American Innovations Act would invest an additional $110 billion
over 10 years in the critically important basic science research at
America's top research agencies: the National Science Foundation; the
Department of Energy Office of Science; the Department of Defense
Science and Technology Programs; the National Institute of Standards
and Technology Scientific and Technical Research; and the NASA Science
Directorate.
We can't afford not to invest in the work these critical agencies are
doing. And let me tell you why.
A few weeks ago, I was in Peoria, IL, touring the OSF Hospital there.
Researchers from the University of Illinois Medical School are teaming
up with the engineering department in joint efforts to bring new
technologies to medical breakthroughs. They showed me a model of an
infant's heart. It was an exact 3-D printed replica of an actual infant
heart with serious congenital defects that would be operated on. The
model was produced
[[Page S1046]]
through MRIs and CAT scans. This allows surgeons to look at the heart,
open it, and prepare for the procedures that they are about to conduct.
It meant less time on the heart-lung machine, and it improves the odds
of a positive recovery. These medical breakthroughs--made possible by
Federal, State, and private contributions--are giving millions of
Americans hope.
In early January, surgeons at Prairie Heart Institute in my hometown
of Springfield, IL, operated on a local woman from Decatur. The doctors
replaced two diseased heart valves with artificial valves that were
threaded into position inside catheters, smaller than the width of a
pencil. This procedure is known as a double trans-catheter valve
replacement. This successful surgery was only the fourth of its kind in
the United States, and the first in the world to use the latest
generation of artificial valves. The lead surgeons were from Prairie
and Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. Had the valve not
been replaced, the patient would have faced a substantially higher risk
for death from congestive heart failure.
As co-chair of the Senate NIH Caucus, and co-chair of the bipartisan,
bicameral Congressional Heart and Stroke Coalition, I want to thank my
colleagues for their commitment to lifesaving research for all
Americans. I also want to thank the researchers, advocates, public
health professionals, families, and patients for their leadership and
tireless support for advancements in the science and treatment of heart
diseases.
There is more work to be done, but I am optimistic for breakthroughs
in the near future.
Thank you.
____________________