House Panel Rejects Markey Effort to Protect Life-Saving Research Funding from Ravages of Inflation

HOUSE PANEL REJECTS MARKEY EFFORT TO PROTECT LIFE-SAVING RESEARCH FUNDING FROM RAVAGES OF INFLATON

Today the Republican majority of the House panel charged with overseeing the National Institute of Health (NIH) voted on party lines aginst protecting the NIH budget from the ravages of inflation. Rep. Edward Markey (D-MA), a senior member of the panel, offered an amendment that would have required that the annual authorization for life-saving research at NIH take inflation into account. No Republican voted for the Markey amendment.

"Research is medicine's field of dreams from which we harvest future cures for our families and loved ones," said Markey. "By rejecting this amendment, the Republican majority ensures that funding at NIH will be flat-lined just as chronic diseases are set to grow. Our committee is looking backward, not taking into account a future with inexorable increases in the incidence of Alzheimers', diabetes, heart disease, and cancer which could saddle our society with enormous costs. The research we fail to fund today will come back to haunt us if we do not invest in curtailing or curing these devastating diseases."

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http://markey.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2152&Itemid=141