[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3331-3332]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS AWARENESS WEEK

  Mr. CASEY. Mr. President, I wish to express support for Multiple 
Sclerosis Awareness Week, and to express the need for greater Federal 
investment in medical research.
  I regret that severe weather prevented me from doing this last week, 
which was Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week. Multiple Sclerosis 
Awareness Week is a time for Americans everywhere to help others learn 
more about multiple sclerosis, and to do what they can to make a 
difference for those who suffer from this disease.
  Multiple sclerosis can be devastating for the individuals who suffer 
from it, as well as their families. Each year, I am proud to work with 
Senator Collins to recognize multiple sclerosis patients, their 
caregivers and their families by introducing a resolution in support of 
Multiple Sclerosis Awareness Week. Senator Collins and I worked 
together again on a resolution for 2015. I am pleased to say that this 
resolution, S. Res. 98, cleared the Senate on March 4. It is a 
testament to the support of the Senate for the 400,000 Americans who 
are estimated to be suffering from this terrible disease.
  While it is important to recognize the toll taken by multiple 
sclerosis, it is just as important to note that it is but one of many 
debilitating or deadly diseases for which we lack a cure, or for which 
existing treatments are inadequate. For many of these diseases, we have 
made great progress due to federally funded biomedical research. 
Unfortunately, when medical inflation is taken into account, the 
National Institute of Health's, NIH, budget has been falling for nearly 
a decade. This is unacceptable.
  We must reverse the decline in NIH funding, and work to support other 
Federal research programs. The research done by these programs saves 
lives and improves quality of life. Funding these programs also makes 
sound economic sense: Federally funded biomedical research is an 
important driver of economic growth throughout the United States. In 
2013, NIH grants to my State alone supported an estimated 23,122 jobs. 
However, while the United States has been the world leader in medical 
research, other nations such as China are dramatically ramping up their 
investment, threatening our dominance in the field. We must work to 
continue investments that support patients, improve quality

[[Page 3332]]

of life and create jobs that benefit all Americans.
  In addition to advocating for NIH funding with Senator Burr--
indicative of the bipartisan support the NIH budget enjoys--I am also a 
cosponsor of S. 289, the American Cures Act, which would authorize 
increases in Federal research budgets at the NIH, but also at the 
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Defense 
Health Program and the Veterans Medical and Prosthetics Research 
Program. As we support those suffering from multiple sclerosis, we must 
also remember the importance of federally funded medical research. We 
cannot afford, from a public health or economic standpoint, not to 
support biomedical progress.

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