Every other issue, Research!America features a member of Congress in its award-winning newsletter The Research Advocate.
July-August 2010: Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)
April 2010: Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA)
February 2010: Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL)
December 2009: Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA)
October 2009: Rep. Rush Holt (NJ)
July-August 2009: Sen. Orrin Hatch (UT)
April 2009: Sen. Mark Udall (CO)
July-August 2010: Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA)
Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) has long recognized the importance of research funding.
“In order to keep our competitive edge,” he said during his election campaign, “we need increased funding for the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.”
Casey recently invited his Senate colleagues to join him on a letter to the Appropriations Committee asking for $35 billion to be allocated to NIH in FY 2011. His letter proposes an 11.9% increase in funding for NIH and emphasizes that this comes at a critical time for the agency — the recent boost from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funding will run out this year, further decreasing NIH’s buying power.
He also understands that the importance of medical research goes beyond curing disease. “This ... illustrates the benefit of NIH funding for not only medical research in the U.S. and around the world, but also the positive economic impact,” Casey said. “In the U.S. Senate, I have been a strong supporter of increased funding for the NIH, and we still have more to do.”
Casey is an active proponent not only of research funding but also of health care for children as well as math and science education, which will lead to more skilled workers that can help the U.S. keep its scientific edge.
April 2010: Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA)
Rep. Dave Reichert (R-WA) recognizes that investing in research can improve health. He was first elected to serve Washington's 8th district in 2004. At the beginning of the 111th Congress, Reichert was appointed to the Committee of Ways and Means, putting him at the forefront of the current health care debate.
Reichert has been a consistent supporter of health research funding. The past few years, he has led a bipartisan effort with Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-MA) to gather a large coalition of congressional members calling for strong increases for National Institutes of Health funding.
Emphasizing the importance of strengthened investment, Reichert said, "The NIH represents our greatest hope for finding cures and treatments for the chronic diseases and debilitating conditions that afflict millions of Americans. NIH research is also essential to containing soaring medical costs that threaten the viability of our nation's health care system. A substantial portion of projected health care spending comes from expenses associated with managing diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's, and many other chronic or life-threatening diseases."
Reichert is an active leader on advancing children's health care issues. He founded and serves as a co-chair for the Congressional Children's Health Care Caucus.
Reichert also recognizes the importance of math and science education to U.S. competitiveness in the global economy. He serves as a member of the House Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education Caucus and supports continued investment in STEM education at all levels.
February 2010: Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL)
Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-IL) is a long-time champion for research to improve health. He has represented Illinois for more than 25 years, first in the House of Representatives (District 20) and in his current position since 1997. Durbin is the Assistant Majority Leader and serves on the Judiciary Committee, the Rules and Administration Committee and the Appropriations Committee, including the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Subcommittee.
Durbin played a critical role in securing $10 billion for the National Institutes of Health in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, joining Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) as a co-sponsor of the amendment to include the additional funding. Most recently, language from Durbin's Congenital Heart Futures Act to increase awareness, education and research into congenital heart disease was included in the Senate-passed health care reform bill.
Durbin is a public health and anti-tobacco advocate. He also has spoken out for global health research, and Research!America presented a briefing in cooperation with his office in October 2009. Durbin said, "I strongly support investments in global health research. Breakthrough treatments have the potential to save millions of lives while playing a critical role in strengthening health and security at home."
December 2009: Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA)
Rep. Brian Bilbray (R-CA, 50th) represents nine of the top 25 research universities in the country, so he knows better than most that research benefits local communities across the U.S.
As a participant in Research!America's and the Geoffrey Beene Foundation's Rock Stars of Science briefing this fall, he emphasized how research not only leads to improved health but also to lower costs.
In a recent article published in the North County Times, Bilbray wrote, "Funding for the NIH (National Institutes of Health) and NSF (National Science Foundation) has the power to spur the kind of investments that put us on the path to our future economic recovery." He notes that in 2007, for every dollar put into NIH-funded research, states received two and a half dollars in return.
As a member of the House Committee on Science and Technology and co-chair of the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus, Bilbray consistently calls for increases in funding for the NIH and NSF. He has served the 49th District of California from 1995-2001 and the 50th district, 2006-present. See where he stands on issues vital to research and public health by visiting www.yourcongressyourhealth.org.
October 2009: Rep. Rush Holt (NJ)
As a scientist with a PhD from NYU, Rep. Rush Holt (NJ), has a first-hand understanding of the importance of research. He is a long-time supporter of funding for health research, which he sees as crucial to improving options for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases such as diabetes, cancer, and Parkinson's. When discussing his views on the issue at the May Research!America and PATH Capitol Hill briefing "Global Health IS America's Health," Holt said: "investment in research is critical to all the work we do."
During his time in Congress Holt has worked consistently to achieve increases in funding for the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Science Foundation, most recently through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which provided $22 billion in funding for NIH, NSF, National Institute of Standards and Technology, and other federal research agencies. Stem cell research is another cause that Holt has championed: this year he was invited to the White House for President Obama's signing of the executive order that lifted the ban on embryonic stem cell research.
Holt is co-chair of the Research and Development Caucus and the Congressional Biomedical Research Caucus, serves on multiple Congressional committees and sits on Congressional caucuses concerning Children's Environmental Health, Renewable Energy, Sustainable Development, Alzheimer's, Diabetes and other issues. He is the recipient of several awards and citations for his work, including the Biotech Legislator of the Year and the Science Coalitions Champion of Science award.
July-August 2009: Sen. Orrin Hatch (UT)
Sen. Orrin Hatch (UT) is a longtime champion of research to improve health. As an original cosponsor of The Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, Hatch worked for the past seven years to remove restrictions on federal funding for stem cell research. Referring to President Obama's executive order to lift the Bush-era restrictions on stem cell research, Hatch said, "It also is gratifying ... to overturn the ban, which has hampered our scientists from making progress to the fullest extent possible in this promising field of research that may hold the key to curing so many of the world's most deadly and debilitating diseases."
Hatch is former chair and current member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. He authored legislation to create the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Diseases and promotes funding for National Institutes of Health programs that cross traditional disciplines and boundaries. Another of his legacies to the health community is the Drug Price Competition and Patient Term Extension Act of 1984, known as the Hatch-Waxman Act. Hatch received Research!America's 2007 Edwin C. Whitehead Award for Medical Research Advocacy.
April 2009: Sen. Mark Udall (CO)
Sen. Mark Udall (CO) is a champion for investment in science, technology, engineering, and math research and education, and he believes such investment is necessary for U.S. economic security. He strongly supported passage of the America COMPETES Act in 2007 when he represented Colorado's second Congressional District (1999-2008).
Udall has shared his thoughts on important health and research issues via Research!America's Your Candidates-Your Health and Your Congress-Your Health initiatives: "By fully exploring and carrying out stem cell research, scientists will have the opportunity to hasten medical discovery, achieve breakthroughs, and turn scientific innovation into relief for patients."
Udall has consistently cosponsored the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act to expand federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. He became an advocate for stem cell research after witnessing his father's struggle with Parkinson's disease. He is a co-chair of the Bicameral Congressional Caucus on Parkinson's Disease, whose mission is to increase awareness of the disease among members of Congress and their staffs.