[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 25, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S83-S84]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        MEDICAL RESEARCH FUNDING

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, in the last two centuries, Federal support 
for scientific research has helped to split the atom, defeat polio, 
explore space, create the internet, map the human genome, develop 
vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, and so much more.
  No nation has made such significant investments in science, and no 
nation's scientists have done more to improve the quality of life.
  But with the challenges we face today, from devastating diseases to 
climate change, there is more progress to be made.
  So America is at a turning point, and unless we commit to providing 
strong and sustained funding increases for our Nation's premier medical 
and scientific researchers, our position as the world leader will be at 
risk.
  That is exactly why, since 2014, I have continued to introduce 
legislation to keep our Nation on the cutting edge. It is entitled the 
American Cures Act.
  This bill will provide our top medical research Agencies with 5 
percent real funding growth every year. That is steady, predictable 
growth, pegged above the rate of inflation.
  This money would support the National Institutes of Health, the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense 
Health Program, and the Veterans' Affairs Medical and Prosthetics 
Research Program.
  This investment would be game-changing for the Agencies. Consider the 
National Institutes of Health. It is our Nation's--if not the world's--
premier medical research Agency. Their pioneering work at this single 
agency saves lives and fuels our economy, supporting nearly 20,000 jobs 
just in my home State of Illinois.
  Today, the NIH budget is $47.5 billion. More than 95 percent of this 
funding is competitively awarded to scientists, research institutions, 
and small businesses in every State across the country.
  Researchers supported by the NIH make tens of thousands of new 
discoveries every year--breakthroughs that could literally change the 
world.
  In recognition of these remarkable feats, Congress has, on a 
bipartisan basis, increased the NIH annual budget by more than $17 
billion since I first introduced the American Cures Act in 2014.
  This chart is an indication of that growth. It has gone from $30 
billion to $48 billion in that period of time since 2014--a 58-percent 
increase.
  These increases would not have been possible without a bipartisan 
effort in the U.S. Senate.
  I enlisted a willing participant and ally and really effective Member 
of the Senate, Patty Murray, to be part of this; former Senator Roy 
Blunt of Missouri, who, when the Republicans were in majority control 
of the Senate, kept up this promise to increase the spending; and 
retired Senator Lamar Alexander from Tennessee, who shared our passion 
for medical research.
  Luckily, we had a leader at the time, Dr. Francis Collins, former 
Director of the NIH, who really did his part in enlisting support for 
these increases.
  NIH is not the only Federal medical research Agency to see 
significant funding increases. We have also secured $2.4 billion in 
increased funding for the CDC over the last 9 years. That is a 35-
percent increase since fiscal year 2014.
  And while it is not reflected in the chart I just showed, both the 
CDC and NIH also received billions in supplemental funding from COVID 
rescue bills passed by the Senate in 2020 and 2021.
  While this year's budget provided a 5.8-percent bump to the NIH, a 
$2.5 billion increase, I am sorry to say we fell short of the 5-percent 
real-growth target above inflation.
  If we had met this target, NIH would have received $650 million, up 
to a level of more than $48 billion.
  That said, I am still encouraged about how far we have come. We 
finally reversed a 22-percent decline in NIH purchasing power that took 
place after 12 years of flat funding, but we need to step up our 
efforts.

  Diseases like cancer, stroke, opioid addiction, and mental illness 
will not wait on us. Half of all men and one-third of all women in the 
U.S. will develop cancer in their lifetime. Someone's mother, father, 
brother, sister, or spouse is diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease every 
65 seconds.
  And 1 in every 300 people will be diagnosed with ALS in their 
lifetime. Sadly, a number of my closest friends already have received 
this diagnosis.
  Sustained and robust NIH funding will help cure, prevent, and treat 
these diseases. It will help the people that we all care about the 
most, and it already has.
  Because of NIH funding--listen to this--the American Cancer Society 
estimates that nearly 3\1/2\ million lives were saved between 1991 and 
2019 as a result of improvements in cancer treatment, detection, and 
prevention--a 32-

[[Page S84]]

percent drop in the cancer death rate since 1991.
  Thirty years ago, HIV was a death sentence, but because of NIH 
research, that is no longer the case.
  And because of NIH funding, we are also on the verge of curing--yes, 
curing--sickle cell anemia, an inherited blood disorder that primarily 
affects African Americans.
  Consider this: NIH funding contributed to research associated with 
every new drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration from 2010 
to 2019.
  Let me repeat that for emphasis. There are only two countries in the 
world that allow general advertising of prescription drugs--the United 
States and New Zealand. You can't turn on the television without 
hearing the story of a new drug. Every single drug approved by the Food 
and Drug Administration from 2010 to 2019 started off with government-
funded, taxpayer-funded research at the National Institutes of Health.
  So when you see these wonderful drugs, understand we, as Americans, 
put down the initial investment that made these drugs all possible.
  However, there is a real threat to our Nation's investment in medical 
research. The new House Republican majority, after more than a dozen--
in fact, 15--painful and embarrassing failed votes to secure the 
Speaker, announced that Speaker McCarthy had finally won the day, he 
made some deals, agreements with MAGA Republicans for that to happen.
  One of those agreements would literally devastate funding for medical 
research in the future. What a price to pay.
  He reportedly agreed to hamstring government funding for 2024 at 2022 
levels--a senseless move--senseless move--that would cut funding for 
scientific breakthroughs by roughly 7 percent and delay the delivery of 
new cures and treatments for those most in need.
  So I would like to know, for the record, which diseases and 
conditions would Speaker McCarthy and the House Republicans like us to 
slash funding for? Cancer? Alzheimer's? Parkinson's? Diabetes? ALS? 
Heart disease? Which one?
  Speak up, Mr. Speaker. This is supposed to be a new transparent House 
of Representatives. If you are going to cut funding in medical 
research, what can we put on the back of the burner, and how can we 
explain that to the families across America?
  Now is not the time for political horse-trading that puts one person 
in power at the expense of everyone waiting for a cure.
  We need to build on the bipartisan success which we have had to date 
and we have achieved over the past decade and continue to prioritize 
medical research funding that creates jobs but, most importantly, saves 
lives.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Texas.

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