[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 79 (Wednesday, May 10, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1579-S1580]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
National Institutes of Health
Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, they say that baseball is the great
American sport, and I am a fan. I love watching baseball games,
especially the Cubs and the Cards and the White Sox in the region where
I grew up. But possibly one of the greatest moments remembered in
baseball actually didn't occur during a game; it occurred in 1939 when
a baseball player by the name of Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees
gave a famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium.
Gehrig was an amazing baseball player. Naturally, he is in the
Baseball Hall of Fame. He was indestructible. His nickname was the
``Iron Horse''--so durable, so dependable. He was always there.
In April of that year, 1939, he had removed himself from the game,
saying he couldn't play any longer. Then, just a few weeks later, he
made his famous farewell speech at Yankee Stadium. He was sick and
suffering from a rare disease, known as ALS, but he stood up there in
front of that microphone. We can still remember it in our mind's eye--
that black and white film--when he announced he was the luckiest man on
Earth. He died 2 years later from ALS.
The disease, because of his prominence and the public sentiment and
profile, became known forever as Lou Gehrig's disease. It is still with
us. It still is as virulent and deadly as it was in his time.
I have come to know a number of people who have suffered from that
disease.
Recently, just a few months ago, my dear friend Gary LaPaille, who
was the State chairman of the Illinois Democratic Party when I ran for
the U.S. Senate and who was a strong supporter, passed away from ALS.
A great friend of mine, Bill Brandt, who lives in the suburbs of
Chicago, is now battling it.
This morning, I had a visit in my office from Brian Wallach. Brian
Wallach and his wife Sandra have been dealing with the diagnosis of
more than 6 years ago, of ALS. Brian is still with us, thank goodness,
because of his determination and the determination of his family.
Brian is an unusual and extraordinary person. He was working in the
Obama White House with Sandra when they decided to marry. He is an
exceptional, talented individual, as is his wife Sandra, who served as
my communications director for many years.
When the diagnosis was handed down, it was a few days before they
brought home their baby from the hospital--a little girl--6 years ago,
but they were determined that Brian was going to see as much of her
life as possible even though he had been diagnosed with ALS. So they
created an organization known as I AM ALS and set out with an agenda to
beat the disease.
Brian has been an amazing fighter in dealing with that disease and in
trying to find ways to cure himself but, basically, to cure others who
might be diagnosed in the years to come. Their focus is on many
different areas, but primarily it is on medical research. What they
have achieved when it comes to medical research--just the two of them
with their organization and many supporters across the United States--
is nothing short of remarkable. For example, after a 5-year period in
which no new ALS drugs were approved, the FDA approved two new drugs
over the past year, and there is another one that I understand was
announced just a few days ago. They were pushing for research to find
ways to treat ALS successfully.
The reason I tell that story--and the fact that Brian was just in my
office is fresh in my mind--is I hear the debate on the floor of the
U.S. Senate about
[[Page S1580]]
our Federal budget. Part of our Federal budget--an important part of
our Federal budget--is the budget for the National Institutes of
Health. This is the premier medical research Agency in the world--in
the world. I am proud of the fact that it is in the United States and
that every day it is responsible for dramatic breakthroughs against
diseases and illnesses all across the spectrum and all across the
United States and benefits to the world. Their discovery of new drugs
for ALS is just one indication of the good work that they do.
For instance, Collins was the head of the NIH for many years under
Presidents of both political parties. He is so good--and I am glad he
is still working with the Biden administration--he is so good that
Presidents--conservative, moderate, liberal; all of them--wanted
Francis Collins to head up the National Institutes of Health, which he
did remarkably. He was part of the team that discovered the human
genome, which literally changed overnight the way we approach medicine
in the United States and around the world.
I met with Dr. Collins a few years back and said: I would like to
help you at the NIH. I think your work is one of the most important
assignments in the Federal Government. What can I do?
He said: Senator, if you could give me 5 percent real growth in NIH
budgeting each year, my researchers will continue their inspiring work
to find cures and find new drugs that will make a difference in the
lives of millions of people.
I set out to do that with the cooperation and help of Roy Blunt, a
Republican; with Lamar Alexander, a Republican; and with Patty Murray,
who has just been our North Star when it comes to medical research.
We said: Let's try to achieve the goal of 5 percent real growth each
year with the National Institutes of Health. We were lucky in the last
10 years to do it six or seven times. The question is, Will we be able
to do it in next year's budget?
Sadly, the budget proposed by the Republicans in the House of
Representatives devastates the National Institutes of Health's budget--
at least a 20- to 25-percent cut in the amount of money on medical
research. What impact does that have? Well, I can tell you it has a
direct impact on lessening the number of grants that are awarded each
year for medical research, but, secondarily, it sends a message to the
researchers who are working so hard across the United States that they
can't depend on us in Congress to fund their needed research in the
years to come. That will discourage some, and some will walk away from
a lot of research that could be very promising. And to do that in the
name of helping America is just plain foolish. In fact, it is
offensive.
I would like to say to Speaker McCarthy and those who are endorsing
his budget: Stop for a minute and consider the impact of what you are
doing. There are people and families all across America who are
counting on medical research for someone they love, and that research
is coming through in remarkable ways, unprecedented around the world.
To think that we would cut the medical research budget of the United
States by 25 percent and to argue that that is in the best interest of
our country is madness, and it is political selfishness.
I would just plead with my friends on the other side of the aisle: At
the end of this debate on the budget, don't let medical research be one
of the casualties.
There are so many important areas I can add to that list of things
that are critical for the future of America, but I wanted to speak to
medical research this morning because Brian Wallach was a visitor in my
office, and he reminded me that the determination of Brian and his wife
Sandra and many people just like them to push for medical research is
literally making a difference so that Lou Gehrig's disease will one day
be a disease of the past that we will have conquered.