CONGRESS TAKING INITIATIVE ON FUNDING MEDICAL RESEARCH
Only a few short months after President Clinton shouted "We're gonna'
whip Parkinson's disease!" to a whistle-stop crowd in the final days of his
re-election campaign, Congress has taken away much of his lead in calling for
needed increases in federal dollars for neurologic and other medical
research.
In a flurry of announcements, several key Republican Senators have
expressed support for a dramatic boost in the federal investment in medical
research.
SENATOR PHIL GRAMM (R-TX) introduced S.124, the National Research
Investment Act of 1997, to double the federal budget for basic sciences and
medical research, including a doubling of the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) budget to $25.5 billion within ten years.
SENATOR CONNIE MACK (R-FL) Filed Senate Resolution 15, "the Biomedical
Research Commitment Resolution," which states that "appropriations for the
NIH should be increased 100% (doubled) over the next five years."
SENATOR ARLEN SPECTER (R-PA) announced his commitment to a 7.5%--or
$950 million--increase in the fiscal year 1998 appropriations for the NIH.
Specter is chair of the Senate Appropriations Labor HHS subcommittee.
MEANWHILE, SPECTER'S COUNTERPART IN THE HOUSE, REPRESENTATIVE JOHN
PORTER (R-IL) a strong research supporter, has indicated that he will seek a
6.5% increase in the NIH budget for FY 98.
SENATOR SPECTER AND SENATOR TOM HARKIN (D-IA) introduced the1997 version
of the Harkin-Hatfield Health Research Trust Fund, which would impose a 1%
surcharge on all health insurance premiums to finance a doubling of the NIH
budget.
(contd. on post - PAN Action Reporter 5of13)
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