[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 36 (Monday, February 28, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H1159-H1160]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SUPPORTING THE FOUNDATION FOR THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH AND THE
REAGAN-UDALL FOUNDATION FOR THE FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION ACT
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (S. 1662) to increase funding for the Reagan-Udall Foundation for
the Food and Drug Administration and for the Foundation for the
National Institutes of Health.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
S. 1662
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Supporting the Foundation
for the National Institutes of Health and the Reagan-Udall
Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration Act''.
SEC. 2. REAGAN-UDALL FOUNDATION AND FOUNDATION FOR THE
NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH.
(a) Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug
Administration.--Section 770(n) of the Federal Food, Drug,
and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 379dd(n)) is amended by striking
``$500,000 and not more than $1,250,000'' and inserting
``$1,250,000 and not more than $5,000,000''.
(b) Foundation for the National Institutes of Health.--
Section 499(l) of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C.
290b(l)) is amended by striking ``$500,000 and not more than
$1,250,000'' and inserting ``$1,250,000 and not more than
$5,000,000''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Jersey (Mr. Pallone) and the gentleman from Kentucky (Mr. Guthrie) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Jersey.
General Leave
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material on S. 1662.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from New Jersey?
There was no objection.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I rise today in support of S. 1662, the Supporting the Foundation for
the National Institutes of Health and the Reagan-Udall Foundation for
the Food and Drug Administration Act.
In December, this Chamber considered and passed the House companion
[[Page H1160]]
of this legislation by a vote of 374-52. Earlier in the year, the
legislation advanced out of the Energy and Commerce Committee, where it
garnered bipartisan support.
I commend the House bill's sponsors, Health Subcommittee Chairwoman
Eshoo and Representative Hudson, for their strong leadership and
commitment to this bill.
The Foundation for the NIH is an independent nonprofit organization
established by Congress in 1990 to develop private-public partnerships
and advance American leadership in biomedical research.
Likewise, the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA was established by
Congress in 2007 to advance the mission of the FDA and catalyze
innovation, modernize medical product development, and improve safety.
The NIH and FDA are authorized to transfer funding to their
respective foundations, but that limit has not been increased since
2007.
This bill, S. 1662, would increase the transfer authority for both
foundations, allowing the foundations to continue and expand upon the
important work they have been doing. For example, during the COVID-19
pandemic, they have done important work to enhance the FDA and NIH's
work on COVID-19 vaccines and diagnostics.
This bill will help build upon our ongoing efforts to advance
biomedical research and promote better public health outcomes.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support S. 1662, and I reserve
the balance of my time.
Mr. GUTHRIE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak about S. 1662, the Supporting the
Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and the Reagan-Udall
Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration Act. The companion
version of this bill, H.R. 3743, was led by Energy and Commerce
Committee colleagues Representatives Hudson and Eshoo and passed the
House in December.
Unleashing biomedical innovation in the United States is critical in
saving lives and maintaining our global competitiveness. We saw how
important it was to invest in creating new treatments during the COVID-
19 pandemic, and we need to carry that momentum into the future.
S. 1662 authorizes increased transfer authorities from the FDA and
NIH to the Reagan-Udall Foundation and the Foundation for NIH,
respectively. Allowing FDA and NIH to transfer additional resources to
these public-private partnerships will give the Reagan-Udall Foundation
and the Foundation for the NIH more flexibility to meet the growing
research demands and accelerate future medical innovations.
And I close with this: I was in Brussels last week. I am on the NATO
Parliamentary Assembly. I was with our allies as everything took place
that we all saw in Europe.
This is the Energy and Commerce Committee. We have done some
wonderful work on these bills, and they are important. But I will tell
you, as I just talked about innovation and world leadership, it
reminded me of this. We were energy independent a couple of years ago,
and I will tell you, people in my part of the country, and I am sure
all over the country, are struggling with what they are paying for gas.
But I will tell you this: I was with our European allies, and they are
terrified about what this is going to do to the oil markets.
What we are doing now is just not sanctioning the Russian oil because
we are all terrified of that. So hopefully, the Energy and Commerce
Committee will have the opportunity to look at the policies, why we are
no longer energy independent and how we can move forward.
I saw the President's Press Secretary, Ms. Psaki, talking on an
interview show yesterday. They asked her was the President going to do
something to relieve fossil fuels, and her answer was, well, this just
shows why we shouldn't be dependent on fossil fuels. Well, the answer
is this is why we shouldn't be dependent on foreign fossil fuels when
we have them available to ourselves. Of course, the interviewer didn't
ask the following question: Well, maybe that is the case, but what are
we going to do in the next weeks, months, and through the summertime?
We all know, because we see it on the television, that it is a dire
situation. But when you look them in the eyes and you see it in their
faces--the Ukrainians were eligible to come to this meeting, but
obviously, they weren't there. We did have Zoom meetings with them. But
we looked at our European allies, and it is a tough situation.
We can make it better. We can make it better for ourselves. We can
make it better for them. I think it is the right thing to do.
So, hopefully, we will have the opportunity to move forward. But the
bills that we are talking about today in my subcommittee are important,
and I recommend this bill be passed, as well.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, again, there is bipartisan support for this
bill, which I also believe would be going to the President, and I yield
back the balance of my time.
Ms. JACKSON LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1662,
Supporting the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and the
Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration Act, to
increase funding for the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug
Administration and for the Foundation for the National Institutes of
Health.
The Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration is
an independent 501(c)(3) organization created by Congress ``to advance
the mission of the FDA to modernize medical, veterinary, food, food
ingredient, and cosmetic product development, accelerate innovation,
and enhance product safety.''
The Foundation embodies FDA's vision of collaborative innovation to
address regulatory science challenges of the 21st century and assist in
the creation of new, applied scientific knowledge, tools, standards,
and approaches the FDA needs to evaluate products more effectively,
predictably, and efficiently, and thereby enhance the FDA's ability to
protect and promote the health of the American public.
The Foundation serves as a crucial conduit between FDA and the
public, providing a means for FDA to interact directly with
stakeholders, including industry and consumers.
The Foundation for the National Institutes of Health (FNIH) has
created hundreds of cross-discipline consortia and partnerships whose
initiatives have generated new ideas, overcome obstacles and achieved
groundbreaking biomedical research results.
The FNIH has created an environment where trust and the exchange of
new ideas can thrive, resulting in scientific innovations.
The FNIH and its partners have successfully generated and implemented
new research models that are lowering the cost and accelerating the
progress of biomedical research nationwide and across the globe.
Article I, section 8 of the Constitution grants Members of Congress
the powers and the authority to ``promote Science and useful Arts.''
As Members of Congress, it is our duty to award funding to these
institutions, so they may continue their groundbreaking work in their
respective fields.
Mr. Speaker, I strongly support this legislation and urge all Members
to vote for the S. 1662, Supporting the Foundation for the National
Institutes of Health and the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and
Drug Administration Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, S. 1662.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________