December 19, 2019
The following statement can be attributed to UMR President Alex Currie:
“United for Medical Research is tremendously grateful for the hard work by Senators Roy Blunt (R-MO) and Patty Murray (D-WA), and Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) and Tom Cole (R-OK) in providing the National Institutes of Health with a $2.6 billion increase in the year-end spending package. UMR also commends Appropriations Chairs Richard Shelby (R-AL) and Nita Lowey (D-NY), as well as Speaker Pelosi and Leader McConnell, for their longstanding support of NIH.
“Given the magnitude of public health challenges today, it is essential that sustainable funding of NIH remains a national priority. Because of bipartisan NIH champions in Congress, the NIH budget continues to make up ground from years of underfunding. Today’s stronger NIH budget will propel the health and well-being of our nation and continue providing hope for patients and families awaiting new treatments and cures.
“The funding in the Labor-HHS bill also will continue NIH’s role in helping sustain the U.S. economy. In fiscal year 2018, NIH research funding supported more than 433,000 jobs and nearly $74 billion in economic activity across the United States.”
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.