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Date: Wed, 13 Oct 1999 14:00:28 -0400 (EDT)
From: [log in to unmask] (Nita Andres)
Subject: Washington Fax story
To: [log in to unmask]
Message-id: <[log in to unmask]>

Below is the text of a Washington Fax news story. It has been forwarded to you by
Nita Andres ([log in to unmask]) on Wednesday, October 13, 1999 at 14:00:28
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WASHINGTON FAX   October 13, 1999


Rep. John Porter, Republican of Illinois and champion of NIH will retire at the end of this term




Rep. John Porter, R-IL, who has spearheaded a congressional effort to double federal funding for the National Institutes of Health over five years, announced Tuesday that he will retire in 2000 at the end of his current term.

Porter said that as he contemplated whether to seek a twelfth term, he decided it was time to pursue "other opportunities and challenges," though he added, with a laugh, that he does not yet "know what they are." He also noted that he wanted to spend more time with his wife, Kathryn and with his children and grandchildren.

Porter said the problems besetting the FY 2000 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L/HHS) funding bill--which he authored and which includes the NIH budget--were not a factor in his decision to forgo a run for another term, a race he almost surely would have won.

"I have experienced great frustration every year," Porter said at a press conference called to discuss his retirement. "This is a personal decision. It has nothing to do with the difficulty in passing the Labor, HHS bill."

(The Senate passed its version of the L/HHS bill late last week, a measure that includes a $2 billion increase for NIH. The House version, which targets NIH for a $1.35 billion boost, is bogged down because the House Republican leadership has yet to find a credible way to funnel enough money to the bill to make it passable.)

Porter's announcement came as a surprise to House leaders and, in particular, to the biomedical research advocacy community. Both scientists and patient advocates have grown accustomed to having Porter as chair of the House Appropriations L/HHS subcommittee, where he has put NIH on a pedestal as his number one priority.

Speculation turned immediately Tuesday to who would succeed Porter as subcommittee chair (assuming the Republicans retain control of Congress).

Rep. Henry Bonilla, R-TX, would be next in line if the chair is chosen based on subcommittee seniority. However, when Republicans took control of the House, they agreed to limit subcommittee chairmanships to six-year terms. That means eight of the 13 House subcommittee chairs or "cardinals" could be forced to vacate their posts in 2000, Rep. Bill Young, R-FL, who chairs the full House Appropriations Committee. One or more of those cardinals, Young said, could try to lay claim to the powerful and prestigious L/HHS panel.

"I don't know yet what our situation will be, whether some of the cardinals might retire," Young said in an interview.

Given the fact that Young dislikes the term limits placed on cardinals, many staffers had predicted Porter--whose L/HHS chairmanship is set to expire in 2000--would be a prime candidate for an exemption. And Porter noted that the impending loss of the L/HHS subcommittee "played a role" in his decision to leave.

He said it would have been "difficult to find another subcommittee with such broad jurisdiction."

However, Porter noted he was one of the chief advocates of the six-year limit and that he still believes it's a good rule. He said it prevents lawmakers from using their chairmanships to build personal "fiefdoms."

Asked to recall his most satisfying achievements in Congress, Porter immediately cited his efforts to secure more NIH funding.

"I'm particularly proud that my subcommittee has made biomedical research a very big priority and that we are working now...to double the funding for biomedical research over five years," Porter said. "I think it is one of the most important priorities for human beings across the world. That, I am very proud of."

Medical research advocates are concerned that such passion will be difficult to replicate.

"We are going to have to work hard and early on with other members to find someone who is as big a supporter," said Larry Soler, senior legislative counsel for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation. "He has been a major champion of NIH and a real leader in the field. Most groups are going to be sorry that he's leaving."

But Porter downplayed the impact his departure might have on NIH.

"None of us are essential to this process," Porter said. "Many members are committed to this (doubling) goal."

He said if Congress follows its FY 1999 $2 billion increase with another large boost for FY 2000, then such largess should follow for years to come, "assuming the economy stays strong" and the federal government continues to run a budget surplus.

As for the fate of this year's L/HHS bill, Young asserted the impending retirement would not diminish Porter's influence over the FY 2000 budget process.

"John Porter's credibility in this institution is very high and his influence is great and will continue to be great until he leaves," Young said.

--Matthew Davis



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specializing in science policy [http://www.washingtonfax.com]. Apply for a
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