Durbin Calls For Passage Of His Legislation To Ensure Stable, Robust Funding For Biomedical Research

Durbin Calls For Passage Of His Legislation To Ensure Stable, Robust Funding For Biomedical Research

The American Cures Act would offer consistent, guaranteed funding to research institutions that helped defeat polio, map the human genome, improve cancer treatment, and more

WASHINGTON - In a speech on the Senate floor, U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) called on his colleagues to pass his American Cures Act, legislation that restores the United States' commitment to breakthrough scientific and biomedical research. Yesterday, Durbin reintroduced the legislation, which would create mandatory funds to provide steady, predictable funding for breakthrough research at America's top research agencies, allowing the U.S. to remain a leader in development and discovery for decades to come.

"Every family, like my own, has wrestled with a dangerous medical condition. When you or a loved one receive a diagnosis, there is only one question on your mind: 'Is there a cure? Is there a treatment?' Often, thank God, the answer is yes. America's world-class medical researchers and institutions have pushed the boundaries of science and achieved so many important and life-saving breakthroughs," Durbin said. "This work is primarily supported by the National Institutes of Health, or NIH. It is not only the nation's premier medical research agency, it is the world's premier medical research agency."

The American Cures Act would overcome the uncertainty of the annual discretionary appropriations process-in which critical investments for biomedical and scientific research risk being crowded out by other spending-and instead set a steady growth rate in mandatory federal spending for biomedical research conducted at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Department of Defense (DoD), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Each year, the bill would increase medical research funding for these agencies at a rate of medical inflation plus five percent.

Over the past decade, Durbin has pushed for annual five percent funding increases for NIH. Since Fiscal Year 2015 (FY15), because of Durbin's efforts, Congress has provided NIH with a 60 percent increase in annual funding, raising the appropriations level from $30 billion in FY15 to $49 billion today. The American Cures Act would codify this push ahead of Durbin's retirement at the end of this term.

"Consider this: between 2010 and 2016, the FDA approved more than 200 new drugs and treatments. Every single one of them benefited from NIH research funding-money well spent. Congress has long recognized the importance of NIH, which is why we, on a bipartisan basis, provided NIH with $19 billion in additional funding over the past decade, a 60 percent increase," Durbin said. "However, thousands of chronic diseases still need treatments, causing millions of families to suffer. These families are depending on us to support NIH and [its] groundbreaking research today."

The reliable, long-term investment that the American Cures Act would provide would allow the agencies to plan and manage strategic growth while maximizing efficiencies and providing certainty to young researchers that there will be opportunities to pursue federally funded research. It also would make additional funding available within the relevant annual appropriations bills-paving the way for other important health, education, labor, veterans', and defense programs to benefit.

Last year, President Trump's budget sought to cut NIH's budget by 40 percent, or an $18 billion reduction. Thankfully, Congress rejected that proposal on a bipartisan basis and instead increased funding for NIH. This year, the President offered a budget that seeks to cut $6 billion from NIH, or 12%, and $3 billion from CDC programs.

"So, this week, I have re-introduced the American Cures Act, which would provide our top medical research agencies with five percent real funding growth every year. My bill would ensure that the United States remains at the forefront of new treatments and would provide researchers with the strong, stable funding they need to continue their lifesaving work," Durbin said. "This legislation is more important than ever since we currently have a new Administration that seems hellbent on dismantling America's medical research infrastructure."

Durbin concluded, "No nation has ever made such a significant investment in science as the United States. No nation's scientists have ever done more to improve the quality of life on Earth. Through government support for scientific research, we have split the atom, defeated polio, and mapped the human genome. American leadership comes with the responsibility to continue to move forward-to never be satisfied while there are those suffering from sickness and to push the boundaries of what is possible. Let's pass the American Cures Act on a bipartisan basis and give families facing terrible illnesses today the hope of treatment and cures tomorrow."

Video of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Audio of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here.

Footage of Durbin's remarks on the Senate floor is available here for TV Stations.

A copy of the bill text is available here.

U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) are cosponsors of the legislation.

The American Cures Act is endorsed by: American Association for Cancer Research; American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network; Research!America; Defense Health Research Consortium; American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists; UsAgainstAlzheimer's; Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago; University of Illinois System; CURE Epilepsy; National Fragile X Foundation; PKD Foundation; Fight Colorectal Cancer; ZERO Prostate Cancer; KidneyCAN; LUNGevity Foundation; Hope for Stomach Cancer; TSC Alliance; National Ataxia Foundation; and Solve M.E.

-30-