House Appropriations Subcommittee to Decide NIH Funding Friday

This Friday, the U.S. House appropriations subcommittee that determines funding for National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will make their funding recommendation for fiscal year 2012.

It is critically important that you urge your congressional members to fight for increased investment in medical research in FY 2012 (link below). Here’s why: biomedical research and the biotechnology industry is a major driver of the U.S. economy and has been for the past 30 years [1]. Despite budgetary constraints, America cannot afford to fall behind when it comes to investing in biomedical research and America’s future. These investments are crucial to overcome the health challenges facing our nation and to create the jobs that will help revitalize our economy.

U.S. House of Representatives

President Obama: Support Medical Research for Jobs

Health research plays an essential role in the nation’s economic growth while improving health for patients in the United States and around the world. A recent public opinion survey commissioned by Research!America indicates that up to 78% of Americans think it is important that the U.S. work to improve health globally through research and development and 76% think global health R&D is important to the U.S. economy [1]. Moreover, 61% of respondents say that accelerating our nation’s investment in research to improve health is a priority.

President Obama and jobs

The US Debt Ceiling Debate and its Effect on Science

If the U.S. debt ceiling is not raised by Tuesday, August 2nd, the U.S. Treasury has warned that the country will not be able to pay all its obligations [1]. The debt ceiling is the amount that the country may legally borrow. Congressional Republicans have demanded budget cuts as a condition to raising the debt ceiling and avoiding a default.

Proposals from both Democrats and Republicans amount to a budget reduction of more than $1 trillion in spending over the next ten years; that’s approximately $100 billion per year. Defense spending cuts are off the table, and it’s likely that social security, Medicare and Medicaid programs will also be left untouched. Cuts are expected to be made to the roughly $600-billion domestic discretionary budget.

Science and the debt ceiling debate

President Obama Resists Cuts to Biomedical Research Funding

In President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address last month, he argued that government support for research and development to fund innovation is a necessary and critical investment that must be made, even in the face of a rising national debt. A coalition of biomedical researchers support his vision on science. The 2012 budget President Obama sent to Congress earlier this month seeks an increase in funding for biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and in basic science at other agencies, while making cuts and freezes in many other areas of government.

Obama and biomedical research funding

Coalition of Biomedical Researchers Backs Obama on Science

In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Barack Obama presented the United States with a vision of a better future through investment in education, infrastructure, and research. The president noted that fifty years ago American innovation played a pivotal role in the nation’s history and today holds promise for addressing the many challenges the country faces. “Maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to America’s success,” he said during his State of the Union address, calling for investments in biomedical research, education, information technology and clean energy technology [1].