Congress, Public Opinions on Health and Research Compared
Where does Congress stand on health and research? Research!America, the Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation and partners are finding out with Your Congress-Your Health.
Americans support more funding for federal research agencies, according to a new opinion poll conducted as part of the initiative. More than half (54%) favor an annual 6.7% increase in National Institutes of Health funding. Three-quarters of Americans oppose President Bush's recommended cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention core funding, and 42% said that funding should be increased.
The initiative includes a unique interactive web tool that solicits, compiles and presents Congress members' responses to questions similar to those asked of the public. The easy-to-use format at www.yourcongressyourhealth.org is searchable by ZIP code, state and member name and allows users to compare responses.
On June 24, PARADE magazine urged its 74 million readers to look and see if their Congressional delegates are taking part in Your Congress-Your Health. The 15-question survey was developed based on feedback from PARADE readers solicited through its Web site in early March.
"Our goals for Your Congress-Your Health are similar to those of our 2006 Your Candidates-Your Health voter guide," said The Hon. John Edward Porter, Research!America chair. "We aim to educate the voting public, specifically the 125 million Americans represented by our members, about their representative's and senators' positions regarding research and health. Second, and no less important, we want to show Congress how much their constituents care about these issues."
Other poll findings include:
- 59% agree that the federal government should make sure all Americans have health care coverage;
- 56% favor federal funding for embryonic stem cell research; and
- 70% agree that the United States is losing its competitive edge in science, technology and innovation.
For complete poll results, to find out where your Congressional delegation stands and to take the survey yourself, visit www.yourcongressyourhealth.org. At press time, 119 members of Congress had responded, and the number of responses grows every day.
Joining Research!America and the Lasker Foundation in this undertaking are AARP, Alzheimer's Association, American Academy of Nursing, American Association of Colleges of Nursing, American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy, Association of American Medical Colleges, Association of Schools of Public Health, The Endocrine Society, The Joseph H. Kanter Family Foundation, Kidney Cancer Foundation, National Alliance for Hispanic Health, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, Revolution Health , Society for Neuroscience and the United Health Foundation .
In partnership with the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, the entire site has been translated into Spanish. Visit www.yourcongressyourhealth.org/espanol.
The national public opinion poll was conducted by Charlton Research Company by telephone (random-digit dialing) with a sample size of 800 adults and a margin of error of ±3.5 percent.
Originally published 7/2007
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