July 8, 2020
The following statement can be attributed to UMR President Chol Pak:
“During an especially challenging time for the health of our country, we appreciate the Labor-HHS Subcommittee approving a $5.5 billion increase for the National Institutes of Health for the next fiscal year.
“We also are grateful to all members of the Appropriations Committee for considering the urgent needs of NIH during negotiations over the next COVID-19 relief package. According to NIH Director Francis Collins, it will require at least $10 billion to restart shuttered research labs and return to pre-COVID-19 productivity. As illustrated in recent fact sheets from UMR, the pandemic is having an unprecedented impact on biomedical research – both in terms of the tremendous resources that are focused on addressing COVID-19 and the massive disruption to ongoing research, life-saving clinical trials and the career paths of young researchers.
“The mission of NIH has never been greater — in fighting this pandemic and continuing critical research to fight cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, heart disease and much more. We urge Congress to again come together in a bipartisan way to provide necessary funds for this mission.”
Learn how UMR members are addressing COVID-19 at www.unitedformedicalresearch.org/covid-19/.
UMR is a coalition of leading research institutions, patient and health advocates and private industry seeking steady and sustainable increases in funding for the National Institutes of Health in order to save and improve lives, advance innovation and fuel the economy. Learn more at www.unitedformedicalresearch.org.