Statement on the State of the Union Address
We applaud President Biden’s focus in last night’s State of the Union address on the progress that can be achieved when members of Congress and the Administration work together to support essential national priorities, including strengthening investment in medical research, science, and technology.
We are grateful President Biden addressed critical public health and research priorities, including cancer, opioid addiction, mental health, and the development of new vaccines and treatments – all priorities identified by Americans as among the most important health issues facing the nation in a recent national survey commissioned by Research!America.
His touching story about the family of Ava, a 4-year-old who has beaten the odds against a rare kidney cancer, highlighted the immense potential of long-term investment in medical research – including basic research, which is the foundation for both incremental advances in medicine and breakthrough treatments and cures.
We are thankful for the President’s call to meet global health challenges. Viruses know no borders and pose a threat to national and global security. It is imperative we treat such threats as urgent priorities and prepare for them by investing robustly in relevant R&D efforts.
President Biden highlighted the advances we have made over the past 20 years under the PEPFAR program – a bipartisan effort led by President George W. Bush that has transformed the global fight against HIV/AIDS – as an example of the progress we can expect when we work together to change the trajectory of a global health threat.
Investment in research is also critical to our economy. In our survey, 91% of Americans agreed it is important for the U.S. to be a global leader in science and technology. Last year’s passage of the CHIPS and Science Act is crucial to ensuring our future economic strength and global competitiveness; now it’s incumbent on Congress and the President to fund the Act’s provisions to ensure we realize its full potential.
We urge the Administration to propose significant funding in its FY24 budget for the National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other agencies with the expertise needed to advance our S&T leadership, confront deadly diseases, address the ongoing threats of opioid addiction and mental health challenges, and to ensure we are better prepared for future global health threats, wherever they may arise.
Contact Tim Haynes, Senior Director of Communications, at 571-482-2737 or thaynes@researchamerica.org with press inquiries.