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House Republicans support more medical research funding By ANJETTA McQUEEN, Associated Press WASHINGTON (March 17, 2001 12:16 a.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) House GOP members, taking their cue from President Bush, proposed a $2.8 billion increase in federal research support to seek cures for cancer, Parkinson's disease, AIDS and other afflictions. The proposed increase for the National Institutes of Health budget for the fiscal year starting Oct. 1 would be the largest single increase for the federal health research centers, lawmakers said. Bush proposed an identical amount in his budget outline. "Cutting-edge medical facilities help put a human face on how the federal budget can have a direct impact on people's lives and their well-being," said House Speaker Dennis Hastert, who appeared Friday at a federally financed cancer center at the University of Iowa. There, he met doctors studying the behavior of cancerous cells. Such research could help develop treatments that prevent the spread of breast cancer, said Dr. Allyn Mark, a research dean in the College of Medicine at the Iowa City, Iowa, campus. The school is among the top public college recipients of federal research funds, he said. Like Bush, GOP leaders are crossing the country, delivering their overall budget plans directly to constituents. House lawmakers start work Wednesday on a budget bill. Senate Republicans, also planning to back Bush's proposals, plan to offer a budget bill in early April. Health care spending, including the massive Medicare health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, is expected to be a focal part of the intensifying budget debate. Bush's plan requested NIH increases but played down the possibility that spending could be cut slightly from this year for other programs in the Department of Health and Human Services except those such as Medicare and Medicaid that automatically grow. Republicans do not plan significant cuts in health care programs, said Rep. Jim Nussle, chairman of the House Budget Committee. "I don't see anything that resembles the kind of decreases we've seen in the past," Nussle, R-Iowa, said in a telephone interview Friday. "In fact, what we are trying to do in health budget is add quite a bit of resources." For instance, Nussle said, lawmakers would consider increasing the amounts that struggling rural hospitals and doctors get for serving Medicare patients. The GOP plan would allocate $5 million more to the National Health Service Corps to add to its 20,000 doctors, nurses, dentists, midwives and mental health providers who serve in urban and rural communities that lack other medical care. http://www.nandotimes.com/24hour/modbee/healthscience/story/0,1655,500464585-500709374-503899512-0,00.html **** ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn