[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.

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