[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 4]
[Senate]
[Pages 4992-4993]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   60TH ANNIVERSARY OF POLIO VACCINE

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, the Presiding Officer probably does not 
remember these days because of his age, but I do. When I was a child, 
polio was a scare that every family felt. I had friends in school who 
were stricken with polio. Some of them, in the most extreme cases, 
ended up in something called an iron lung. The Presiding Officer has 
probably seen pictures of it. It is an incredible situation where 
someone would be encased in this tube, this metal tube that would help 
them breathe.
  Many were stricken with polio and ended up crippled, and their lives 
were compromised to some degree in those days because disabilities were 
not treated as well then as they are now. Parents did not know what to 
make of this. No one knew what caused polio. My mother, God bless her, 
had a theory that one of the things that might cause polio was playing 
in the street after a rainstorm in the flooded waters.
  She would just ban me from doing that. ``That can cause polio,'' she 
said. That was my mother's theory. It was as valid as any other theory 
in those days. No one knew what was going on, what was causing it. Many 
Americans lived in fear of that infectious, viral disease that attacks 
the nerve cells and the central nervous system causing muscle wasting, 
paralysis, and sometimes death.
  In 1952, nearly 60,000 children in the United States were reported to 
have polio, with more than 20,000 cases of paralysis. There was a panic 
about this epidemic. Families were afraid for their kids and the 
scientists struggled to understand the disease. Dr. Jonas Salk, a 
pioneer in the field of vaccine research, was recruited in 1947 by the 
University of Pittsburgh to be the director of virus research and to 
work on finding a polio vaccine.
  His work caught the attention of Basil O'Connor, the president of the 
National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, now known as the March of 
Dimes Foundation. The organization decided to fund Dr. Jonas Salk's 
work to develop a vaccine against polio. For 5 years, Dr. Salk worked 
tirelessly on this effort while the country donated their dimes to the 
foundation to support his work.
  Then, on April 12, 1955, Dr. Thomas Francis, Jr.--an epidemiologist 
at the University of Michigan and a mentor to Salk--announced that Salk 
had discovered a polio vaccine that was safe and effective.
  When the announcement was made, it was as if time stood still. I 
still remember it as a kid. Americans turned on their radios and TVs to 
hear the details. Department stores set up loudspeakers and judges 
suspended trials so everyone in the courtroom could hear this good 
news.
  April 12 was deliberately chosen for the announcement because it 
marked the 10th anniversary of the death of the most famous polio 
survivor of all, former President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt 
also founded what would become the March of Dimes Foundation in 1938, 
without which Salk might not have been able to complete his work.
  A massive field trial, the first of its kind, was conducted on over 
1.8 million children to prove the vaccine was 80 to 90 percent 
effective. Church bells rang across the country, factories observed 
moments of silence, and parents and teachers wept to finally be 
relieved of this fear.
  But it had only just begun. The U.S. Government invested heavily in 
mass production of the polio vaccine and led campaigns across the 
Nation to see that every kid was vaccinated. I hated the thought of 
getting a shot, but the notion that I would be protected from polio for 
life was certainly worth it.
  As a result, polio was eradicated from the United States in 1979.
  Sunday, we marked the 60th anniversary of the announcement of the 
discovery of the first safe and effective polio vaccine. In 
commemoration of that announcement, I submitted a resolution last month 
celebrating the discovery of the polio vaccine and supporting the 
efforts to eradicate that disease around the world.
  The resolution also encourages Federal funding for the Global Polio 
Eradication Initiative for biomedical and basic scientific research so 
more lifesaving discoveries can be made. Thanks to the work of 
scientists funded by the CDC and nonprofit organizations such as the 
Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, polio has been eradicated in all but 
a handful of the world's poorest nations.
  The success of the polio vaccine shows us what medical research can 
accomplish. If we can do this with polio, then we can do it again.
  I thank Senators Kirk, Leahy, Shaheen, Murray, Boxer, Coons, Markey, 
Isakson, Ayotte, and Reed of Rhode Island for cosponsoring my 
resolution.
  I also thank the March of Dimes, the American Academy of Pediatrics, 
the U.N. Foundation's Shot@Life campaign, the Rotary Club, and RESULTS 
for supporting this resolution.
  But today, America's place as world leader in cutting-edge biomedical 
research is at risk. We no longer invest as we should in basic 
scientific research.
  From 2003 to 2012, the U.S. investment in the NIH research didn't 
even keep up with inflation, and the number of research grants awarded 
by the National Institutes of Health has declined every year for the 
past 10 years.
  This is shameful. It is shameful in a great Nation such as the United 
States, where we have seen achievements such as a polio vaccine, for to 
us walk away from medical research.
  One decade ago, 30 percent of qualified NIH proposals were funded. 
Today, it is half that--15 percent, the lowest rate in America's modern 
history.
  Dr. Francis Collins, who directs the National Institutes of Health, 
told me that inadequate funding of basic medical research will cause 
some of America's best young researchers to take their talents to other 
places and even other countries. It has already started.
  We are on the verge of losing a generation of medical researchers in 
America. In 1982--listen--18 percent of NIH primary investigators, 
medical researchers, were under the age of 36--1982, 18 percent under 
the age of 36. Today, 3 percent are under the age of 36. Young 
researchers have given up.
  If Congress and the President don't want to put money into the NIH, 
they are going to go someplace else. How many Jonas Salks are we losing 
because of our cuts to basic medical research? How many lifesaving 
discoveries are being delayed and ignored? With the right commitment, 
we can change this.
  I tried to gather on the floor--during the debate on the budget 
resolution--a dozen different Senators who cosponsored amendments 
calling for more money for medical research. They were from both sides 
of the aisle: Senator Collins on the Republican side of the aisle, 
interested in Alzheimer's; Senator Wicker of Mississippi, also 
interested in medical research.
  I brought them all together and said: Why don't we cosponsor the same 
amendment. We are all trying to reach the same goal. They agreed, and 
it passed unanimously on a voice vote as I hoped it would.
  This is what we need to do. Dr. Collins spelled this out in clear 
terms. We need to increase the funding in biomedical research by 5 
percent over inflation every year. Five percent over inflation for 10 
years, Dr. Collins tells me, will dramatically change medical research 
in America.
  Can we afford it? Can we afford a 5-percent real growth in biomedical 
research? Think about it for a second. Do you know what that will cost 
us over 10 years--5 percent real growth in biomedical research. It is 
going to cost us $150 billion. That is a lot of money, isn't it?
  Do you realize that once every 68 seconds in America someone is 
diagnosed with Alzheimer's? I didn't believe that when my staff told 
me. I checked it, and it is true. Once every 68 seconds an American is 
diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and we know what that means: for most of 
those patients, a steady decline to death, and for their families, the 
heartbreak of losing communication with someone they love and then 
caring for them in this state of Alzheimer's disease--once every 68 
seconds.

[[Page 4993]]

  Do you know what it costs us as a government to care for Alzheimer's 
victims last year, Medicare, Medicaid? We estimate $200 billion.
  Now, step back, a 5-percent growth in biomedical research over 10 
years will cost $150 billion. What if that research could find a way to 
delay the onset of Alzheimer's for months--maybe for years--and, God 
willing, find a cure.
  What I am saying is whether it is Alzheimer's, cancer, heart disease, 
diabetes, each and every one of these is praying for and depending on 
medical research to give Americans who are stricken a fighting chance. 
It is up to us. We have to make that decision.
  I would take this question to the Iowa caucus, to the New Hampshire 
primary, any State, any city in the Nation, and ask the crowd that you 
would assemble, that anyone assembles, what do you think is a high 
priority? Do you think biomedical research by our government is a high 
priority?
  I know the answer, because every one of us lives in fear that someone 
we love will be diagnosed with a serious illness. You know the first 
questions you would ask that doctor: Doctor, is there a medicine, is 
there a surgery, is there something I can do, something that can be 
done?
  And you pray, pray to God, that the doctor says: Yes, we have a new 
medication in clinical trials at the NIH. It is very promising, and 
this may be the answer for your son, your daughter, your wife, your 
mother, and your father. That is what this comes down to--real life, 
real family challenges.
  The American Cures Act I introduced a couple of years ago sets this 5 
percent funding goal. I have talked to my colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle and asked them to join me. This shouldn't be a Democratic 
idea, not a Republican idea. This is as basic as it gets.
  The next great scientific and medical breakthroughs will be 
discovered by researchers if we fund the research, but it isn't just a 
matter of biomedical research at the NIH. I had a visit with Department 
of Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, and over breakfast we talked about 
the American Cures Act.
  He said: Senator, let me put in a word here. Do you know who develops 
the technology for diagnostic evaluations--whether it is MRIs, PET 
scans, and things of that nature? Do you know who develops the 
technology for the application of radiation therapy for cancer victims? 
A lot of it is done right here at the Department of Energy.
  He awakened me to the fact that we think about NIH automatically in 
biomedical research--and we should. There is more to the story.
  So I have really reached out and said: American Cures Act, 5 percent 
real growth for biomedical isn't enough. We need 5 percent growth when 
it comes to innovation, the next breakthrough when it comes to 
diagnosing breast cancer at an early stage, treating cancers with 
radiation, other things. The American Innovation Act would provide an 
annual budget increase of 5 percent for the National Science 
Foundation, the Department of Energy Office of Science, the Department 
of Defense science and technology programs, the National Institute of 
Standards and Technology Scientific and Technical Research, and the 
NASA Science Directorate.
  You say to yourself, can we afford it? I will say what I know. I know 
that when we embark on scientific research of real value, it not only 
can cure disease, in the process it will create a company. It will 
create many companies. It could create many jobs in the right fields 
and develop our economy in the right way.
  We are debating this now on the floor of the Senate. They are not 
debating it in Beijing. They have decided they are going to pass us. 
The Chinese have embarked on a medical program in medical research and 
other research, determined--within the next 20 years--to pass the 
United States.
  Will we let that happen? The men and women of the Senate will make 
that decision, and the men and women of the House and the President.
  All told, the American Innovations Act would invest $100 billion over 
10 years; the American Cures Act, $150 billion--$250 billion.
  How much money will we spend on our budget in that 10-year period of 
time? Somewhere in the range of $18 trillion to $20 trillion. This is a 
tiny, little decimal point, but what a difference it could make.
  Some of my colleagues talk about burdening our children and 
grandchildren with debt. I agree. We shouldn't. But the way to reduce 
our deficit and grow our economy is not by killing research and 
innovation. It pays for itself many times over. We have cut the budget 
deficit by two-thirds since the start of the recession which we just 
went through 7 or 8 years ago.
  Now it is time to close the innovation deficit. In the last years of 
Jonas Salk's life, he was searching for an AIDS vaccine. He didn't need 
to do that. His place in history was assured, but Jonas Salk wasn't 
content to rest on past achievement. After all, he was an American, and 
when his early efforts failed, he was undeterred. Jonas Salk said: 
``You can only fail if you stop too soon.''
  This is a decisive moment of a historic opportunity for America and 
for Congress. We must continue to invest in basic science and research 
in order to reap the rewards of decades of work by the best scientific 
and medical minds of the world. The only way we can fail is by stopping 
too soon.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Cotton). The clerk will call the roll.
  The senior assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

                          ____________________