Increased Investment Needed, Say Major Research Coalitions
WASHINGTON—Feb. 6, 2006—Medical research advocates expressed grave concerns that the administration's FY07 proposal to freeze the budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will slow the development of life-saving cures and treatments, while undermining President Bush's own efforts to make the nation more competitive in the world.
Five eminent medical research advocacy groups - the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, the Campaign for Medical Research, the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), the National Health Council (NHC) and Research!America - joined forces to call for a 5 percent increase for NIH above the FY 2006 funding level. The recommendation would allow research to keep pace with inflation, while allowing some growth to capitalize on unprecedented scientific opportunities spawned by past federal investments in medical science.
"Saving a little money today makes no sense when the price we pay tomorrow will surely be much higher in terms of lives that could have been saved and the loss of our competitive edge in medical research," said Myrl Weinberg, NHC President. "Let's continue our investment in NIH and not impede American innovation."
"Americans place a high value on medical research and recognize it as one of our nation's most crucial priorities," said The Honorable John Edward Porter, chair, Research!America. "A recent poll by Research!America found that 58 percent of Americans say greater funding for medical and health research is essential to the country's future health and economic prosperity, and 78 percent say it is very important that the United States be a global leader in medical and health research."
The basic research done by NIH is a fundamental building block in the prevention and cure of disease. "Our nation's competitiveness and economic health depends on healthy citizens, and a fully funded NIH is essential to ensure the health of those citizens and of the economy which sustains us all," said G. Steven Burrill, chair of the Campaign for Medical Research.
FASEB President Bruce R. Bistrian, MD, PhD, added, "We are leaving ourselves vulnerable to emerging threats like avian flu, and failing to prepare ourselves for the needs of our aging population."
To sustain a national commitment to research and fighting disease, the Ad Hoc Group, the Campaign for Medical Research, FASEB, the National Health Council and Research!America urged the administration and Congress to work to increase the investment in life-saving medical research.
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The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, the Campaign for Medical Research, FASEB, the National Health Council, and Research!America include more than 500 patient groups, scientific and professional societies, research and academic institutions, and industry that represent more than 125 million Americans.