[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9808]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 FUND THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH

  (Mr. HIGGINS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, globally, the National Institutes of Health 
works to protect against bioterrorist attacks and disease outbreaks. 
Domestically, its groundbreaking research provides treatments and cures 
for devastating diseases, such as Alzheimer's and cancer; and the more 
than 400,000 jobs provided through the National Institutes of Health 
bolster our economy.
  However, when we account for inflation, funding for the National 
Institutes of Health peaked in 2003. This budgetary reality has forced 
the NIH to administer fewer competitive research grants, to admit fewer 
new patients to its clinical trials, and to ultimately fall behind in 
scientific discoveries.
  Mr. Speaker, America cannot afford to continue to underfund the 
National Institutes of Health. This is why I started the House NIH 
Caucus with Representatives Rosa DeLauro and Peter King. I urge my 
colleagues to join us as we work together to develop a plan to increase 
the purchasing power of the National Institutes of Health. The time to 
act is now.

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