July 10, 2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jim Manley
jmanley@qga.com
202-255-3736
WASHINGTON – The following statement may be attributed to United for Medical Research:
Passage of H.R. 6 begins the process of reversing a decade of underfunding of the National Institutes of Health and provides a blueprint for sustainable future growth in the agency’s budget. The overwhelming bipartisan support of the House of Representatives for this bill, approving it 344 to 77, speaks to the great importance that all Americans place on funding medical research and finding cures.
The research, discovery, and innovation necessary to prevent, treat, and cure our most vexing diseases depend on steady and robust funding from NIH. The 21st Century Cures Act’s combination of three years of increased annual authorizations and creation of a mandatory five-year $8.75 billion Innovation Fund represents an enormous step forward for NIH funding and for finding cures.
UMR commends the leadership of Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton and Representative Diana DeGette in forging this legislation and we thank all of the Members who voted “Aye” for cures. We urge the Senate to take up this legislation and to act expeditiously to pass a bill with robust NIH funding so the nation can quickly begin to realize the benefits of the 21st Century Cures Act.
United for Medical Research is a coalition of leading research institutions, patient and health advocates, and private industry united in support of robust funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Learn more at www.unitedformedicalresearch.com.
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