This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --part0_884272855_boundary Content-ID: <[log in to unmask]> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Thought that if all of you haven't yet seen this article, that you might find it interesting. Bill Turenne, Jr. > > Publication: Seattle Post-Intelligencer > Date: Jan 3, 1998 > Author: ROBERT PEAR THE NEW YORK TIMES > Words: 984 > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH IN LINE FOR CASH BOOST > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > > In his new budget, President Clinton plans to seek a substantial > increase in federal spending on biomedical research, and members of > Congress from both parties say they are virtually certain to approve > an even bigger increase. > > > > Science and politics point to the > same conclusion. When Congress reconvenes this month, lawmakers will > be seeking more money for the National Institutes of Health because > they believe that researchers can exploit promising scientific > opportunities such as new advances in cancer treatment. They also > believe that such investments will be popular with voters in an > election year. > > > > "We are in a golden age of discovery, one > unique in human history," said Dr. Richard Klausner, director of the > National Cancer Institute, expressing the view of many scientists and > lawmakers. > > > > Even before Clinton formally sends his budget > request to Capitol Hill early next month, NIH officials have told > Congress that the federal government must increase its support of > biomedical research because managed-care companies, with their > emphasis on the bottom line, have reduced the amount of money > available to conduct clinical trials of promising treatments. In the > past, academic health centers used surplus revenues from patient care > to supplement the money they received from the government, but such > surpluses are drying up. > > > > The budget of the health institutes > has doubled in the last decade, to $13.6 billion this year. > Nonetheless, lawmakers of both parties say they intend to accelerate > the increases, and they talk seriously about trying to double the > budget of the NIH in five years. That would require annual increases > averaging 15 percent, far more than the latest increase of 7.1 > percent, from 1997 to 1998. > > > > Anne Thomas, a spokeswoman for > the National Institutes of Health, said NIH officials had begun > internal discussions so they could answer questions from Congress > about how they would use a big infusion of federal money. In setting > priorities, Thomas said, the agency's director, Dr. Harold Varmus, > is asking, "Where are the scientific opportunities, and what are the > public health needs?" > > > > The Senate voted 98-0 last year to > endorse the goal of doubling the agency's budget in five years, but > did not say where the money should come from. > > > > Two influential > Republicans, Rep. John Edward Porter of Illinois and Sen. Arlen > Specter of Pennsylvania, said they were determined to find the money. > They are chairmen of the Appropriations subcommittees responsible for > health care spending. > > > > In an interview, Porter said that he > had discussed the question at length with Speaker Newt Gingrich, and > that Gingrich "supports doubling the NIH budget in five years, within > the overall context of a balanced budget." At a forum on health > issues in Smyrna, Ga., in November, Gingrich said he wanted to double > spending on biological research. > > > > Porter said Clinton had > sought rather modest increases for the health institutes in recent > years, knowing that Congress would provide more money than he > requested. "That is not honest budgeting," Porter said. > > > > > Republican senators, including Connie Mack of Florida and Alfonse > D'Amato of New York, said they would join Democratic senators such as > Tom Harkin of Iowa and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts in seeking big > budget increases for the health institutes. > > > > Some Republicans > were skeptical about such spending after they took control of > Congress in 1995, but they have since been persuaded that biomedical > research is an engine of economic growth, with many commercial uses > for biotechnology, agriculture and the drug industry. > > > > Kennedy > has proposed using money from new tobacco taxes to finance medical > research, an idea that seems to be gaining favor on Capitol Hill. > > > > > In a recent interview with The New York Times, Clinton sounded a > theme that White House officials said would show up in his State of > the Union Message late this month. "I do believe that in scientific > terms, the last 50 years will be seen as an age of physics and an age > of space exploration," Clinton said. "I think the next 50 years will > very likely be characterized predominantly as an age of biology and > the exploration of the human organism, especially with the completion > of the human genome project, which I think will literally explode > what we know about how to deal with health issues." > > > > A major > goal of the genome project is to understand and decipher the human > genetic code, identifying genes responsible for particular diseases. > > > > > Patients' groups concerned about specific diseases, doctors > and medical schools are forming a coalition to lobby for a 100 > percent increase in the institutes' budget over the next five years. > Terry Lierman, president of Capitol Associates, a lobbying concern, > said yesterday: "We plan a grass-roots campaign inside and outside > the Beltway. It will be run the same way Northrop Grumman lobbies for > the B-2 bomber." > > > > Members of Congress said they would look to > NIH officials, rather than to the White House, for guidance as they > decide this year on the appropriate level of spending for biomedical > research. Klausner, the director of the National Cancer Institute, > recently sent Congress a blueprint for spending $3.19 billion in the > next fiscal year, up from the $2.55 billion provided to the cancer > institute this year. > > > > "Knowledge about the fundamental nature > of cancer is exploding," Klausner said. > > > > The budget request, > reflecting the professional judgment of government scientists, > includes these proposals: > > > > -- The number of cancer research > and treatment centers around the country should be increased to 70, > from 57. > > > > -- The government should authorize "a fivefold > increase over the next five years in the number of people > participating" in clinical trials of new techniques for the > prevention and treatment of cancer. At present, 300,000 people > participate in such studies. > > > > -- Congress should provide an > additional sum of $40 million next year so the government can finance > the top 40 percent of applications for research. The cancer institute > says it now awards grants to the top 25 percent. (Applications are > evaluated by panels of experts, through a competitive process of peer > review.) > > > > (Copyright 1998) > > > > > Copyright 1997 Scoop, Inc. Duplication and distribution restricted. > Article No. SEPI80040082 --part0_884272855_boundary Content-ID: <[log in to unmask]> Content-type: message/rfc822 Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit Content-disposition: inline Return-Path: <[log in to unmask]> Received: from relay09.mail.aol.com (relay09.mail.aol.com [172.31.109.9]) by air11.mail.aol.com (v37.8) with SMTP; Wed, 07 Jan 1998 17:04:25 -0500 Received: from risa.scoopnews.com (risa.scoop.com [208.158.100.253]) by relay09.mail.aol.com (8.8.5/8.8.5/AOL-4.0.0) with ESMTP id RAA12748 for <[log in to unmask]>; Wed, 7 Jan 1998 17:03:05 -0500 (EST) Date: Wed, 7 Jan 1998 17:03:05 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <[log in to unmask]> Received: from [208.158.97.11] by risa.scoopnews.com (Post.Office MTA v3.1 release PO203a ID# 0-37094U100L100S0) with SMTP id AAA268 for <[log in to unmask]>; Wed, 7 Jan 1998 13:44:00 -0800 From: Lawrence Hoffheimer <[log in to unmask]> X-Scoop-Customer: 7913 X-Scoop-Record: SEPI80040082 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: FWD: BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH IN LINE FOR CASH BOOST Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: 7bit This Scoop! Direct article was forwarded by Lawrence Hoffheimer. Bill: Please print this and fax it to the steering committee, etc. Larry Publication: Seattle Post-Intelligencer Date: Jan 3, 1998 Author: ROBERT PEAR THE NEW YORK TIMES Words: 984 --------------------------------------------------------------------- BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH IN LINE FOR CASH BOOST --------------------------------------------------------------------- In his new budget, President Clinton plans to seek a substantial increase in federal spending on biomedical research, and members of Congress from both parties say they are virtually certain to approve an even bigger increase. Science and politics point to the same conclusion. When Congress reconvenes this month, lawmakers will be seeking more money for the National Institutes of Health because they believe that researchers can exploit promising scientific opportunities such as new advances in cancer treatment. They also believe that such investments will be popular with voters in an election year. "We are in a golden age of discovery, one unique in human history," said Dr. Richard Klausner, director of the National Cancer Institute, expressing the view of many scientists and lawmakers. Even before Clinton formally sends his budget request to Capitol Hill early next month, NIH officials have told Congress that the federal government must increase its support of biomedical research because managed-care companies, with their emphasis on the bottom line, have reduced the amount of money available to conduct clinical trials of promising treatments. In the past, academic health centers used surplus revenues from patient care to supplement the money they received from the government, but such surpluses are drying up. The budget of the health institutes has doubled in the last decade, to $13.6 billion this year. Nonetheless, lawmakers of both parties say they intend to accelerate the increases, and they talk seriously about trying to double the budget of the NIH in five years. That would require annual increases averaging 15 percent, far more than the latest increase of 7.1 percent, from 1997 to 1998. Anne Thomas, a spokeswoman for the National Institutes of Health, said NIH officials had begun internal discussions so they could answer questions from Congress about how they would use a big infusion of federal money. In setting priorities, Thomas said, the agency's director, Dr. Harold Varmus, is asking, "Where are the scientific opportunities, and what are the public health needs?" The Senate voted 98-0 last year to endorse the goal of doubling the agency's budget in five years, but did not say where the money should come from. Two influential Republicans, Rep. John Edward Porter of Illinois and Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, said they were determined to find the money. They are chairmen of the Appropriations subcommittees responsible for health care spending. In an interview, Porter said that he had discussed the question at length with Speaker Newt Gingrich, and that Gingrich "supports doubling the NIH budget in five years, within the overall context of a balanced budget." At a forum on health issues in Smyrna, Ga., in November, Gingrich said he wanted to double spending on biological research. Porter said Clinton had sought rather modest increases for the health institutes in recent years, knowing that Congress would provide more money than he requested. "That is not honest budgeting," Porter said. Republican senators, including Connie Mack of Florida and Alfonse D'Amato of New York, said they would join Democratic senators such as Tom Harkin of Iowa and Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts in seeking big budget increases for the health institutes. Some Republicans were skeptical about such spending after they took control of Congress in 1995, but they have since been persuaded that biomedical research is an engine of economic growth, with many commercial uses for biotechnology, agriculture and the drug industry. Kennedy has proposed using money from new tobacco taxes to finance medical research, an idea that seems to be gaining favor on Capitol Hill. In a recent interview with The New York Times, Clinton sounded a theme that White House officials said would show up in his State of the Union Message late this month. "I do believe that in scientific terms, the last 50 years will be seen as an age of physics and an age of space exploration," Clinton said. "I think the next 50 years will very likely be characterized predominantly as an age of biology and the exploration of the human organism, especially with the completion of the human genome project, which I think will literally explode what we know about how to deal with health issues." A major goal of the genome project is to understand and decipher the human genetic code, identifying genes responsible for particular diseases. Patients' groups concerned about specific diseases, doctors and medical schools are forming a coalition to lobby for a 100 percent increase in the institutes' budget over the next five years. Terry Lierman, president of Capitol Associates, a lobbying concern, said yesterday: "We plan a grass-roots campaign inside and outside the Beltway. It will be run the same way Northrop Grumman lobbies for the B-2 bomber." Members of Congress said they would look to NIH officials, rather than to the White House, for guidance as they decide this year on the appropriate level of spending for biomedical research. Klausner, the director of the National Cancer Institute, recently sent Congress a blueprint for spending $3.19 billion in the next fiscal year, up from the $2.55 billion provided to the cancer institute this year. "Knowledge about the fundamental nature of cancer is exploding," Klausner said. The budget request, reflecting the professional judgment of government scientists, includes these proposals: -- The number of cancer research and treatment centers around the country should be increased to 70, from 57. -- The government should authorize "a fivefold increase over the next five years in the number of people participating" in clinical trials of new techniques for the prevention and treatment of cancer. At present, 300,000 people participate in such studies. -- Congress should provide an additional sum of $40 million next year so the government can finance the top 40 percent of applications for research. The cancer institute says it now awards grants to the top 25 percent. (Applications are evaluated by panels of experts, through a competitive process of peer review.) (Copyright 1998) Copyright 1997 Scoop, Inc. Duplication and distribution restricted. Article No. SEPI80040082 --------------------------------------------------------------------- Scoop! Direct is an web-based news and information service that delivers personalized news from thousands of trusted newspapers, wire services, magazines and trade publications and includes powerful web-based research capabilities. Register now and get Scoop! Direct for just $29.95 per month with a 30-day, money-back guarantee. http://www.scoopdirect.com --part0_884272855_boundary--