Maximizing our Medical Research Dollars

MAXIMIZING OUR MEDICAL RESEARCH DOLLARS -- (House of Representatives - April 27, 2006)

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Pallone) is recognized for 5 minutes.

Mr. PALLONE. Mr. Speaker, for over a century the Federal Government has had a strong commitment to biomedical, behavioral, and population-based research conducted at National Institutes of Health centers around the Nation.

The research conducted at these facilities, which include several in my congressional district in New Jersey, is responsible for the continued development of an ever-expanding research base and has contributed to medical advances that have profoundly improved the length and quality of life for millions of Americans.

Over the years, I have vigorously supported efforts to increase funding for NIH, including efforts to double NIH funding in recent years. However, I am now concerned the President and House Republicans are abandoning their commitment to NIH. Last year, they cut overall funding for medical research, and this year the House Republican budget proposal would only provide the same funding for NIH as last year. This would result in an even larger cut than last year in which all but three NIH institutes and centers would see their budgets fall for the second year in a row.

Mr. Speaker, at a time when Republicans are retreating on their commitment to health research, we must remain vigilant in demanding the necessary funding to continue groundbreaking research. We must also work to ensure that those entities receiving NIH funding grants are utilizing them to the best of their ability. And I think we must explore ways to consolidate research efforts around the Nation so that we can eliminate any duplication and maximize every research dollar.

In my congressional district, we are fortunate to host some of the finest research and health care institutions in the country that receive NIH grant funding. The city of New Brunswick, nicknamed the Health Care City, is home to Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Johnson & Johnson, the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, and the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, among many other world-class facilities. Our State government also has committed to moving forward with the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey New Brunswick.

Crucial to this continued success, however, is ensuring that we have a coherent structure in place to fully maximize our ability to secure Federal research dollars, corporate investment, and human talent.

I strongly believe that merging the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and the School of Public Health with Rutgers University in New Brunswick is critical to achieving this goal. Although the medical school is now part of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, it shares many facilities, faculty, and research responsibilities with Rutgers. In fact, it was once called the Rutgers University Medical School.

In addition, the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, a national leader in cancer care and research, is comprised of faculty from the medical school and Rutgers in nearly equal numbers.

Strengthening these relationships and eliminating the duplication and disorganization that results from administrative separation of health sciences at Rutgers and UMDNJ will go a long way toward increasing the scarce flow of Federal research dollars to New Jersey.

By unifying our medical education institutions under one umbrella, we will not only have a better chance of competing for large medical grants and contracts, but also attract the best faculty and students from around the Nation.

Furthermore, we will create a stronger platform from which new intellectual property can be generated in close proximity to the largest concentration of health care companies in the Nation. We can reinvigorate the cooperation between the medical experts at these companies and the academic leaders at our new unified medical school. With these companies already in place right in our backyard, just imagine the economic growth that we could foster by simply bridging all of our health care academic minds into one institution.

Mr. Speaker, I also believe that we should explore similar consolidation plans at other research institutions in New Jersey and around the Nation to maintain our momentum in the field of medical discovery and invention. Our State government in New Jersey has to explore the possibility of integrating the other medical schools and research facilities in New Jersey with nearby institutions.

Mr. Speaker, by combining the best of Rutgers and the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, I am confident New Jersey will remain a national leader in medical care, education and research so that we can build a stronger State economy, and even more importantly, improve the health care of all New Jerseyans.

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