In Recognition of Lowell P. Weicker Jr., Former Governor and Senator of Connecticut

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Mr. COURTNEY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to recognize Lowell P. Weicker, Jr., former Governor and Senator of Connecticut, on the dedication of the Lowell P. Weicker Building at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland.

Lowell Weicker served as the 85th Governor of Connecticut from 1991 to 1995, prior to which he represented Connecticut in the United States Senate from 1971 to 1989.

In 1981, when President Reagan submitted his first budget to Congress, he proposed significant cuts to domestic programs, including the NIH and services for the disabled and disadvantaged. Then-Senator Weicker led a band of Republicans to respond to these proposed cuts and worked with Democrats to craft a budget that restored funding for the NIH.

In 1983, Senator Weicker ascended to Chairman of the Labor, Health, and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee. From that post, Senator Weicker defended the NIH from proposed cuts to research on cancer and Alzheimer's, and he held the first hearings on HIV/AIDS research. In the early 1980s, few Americans understood what the AIDS virus was and how it was transmitted. Many held prejudices against those who were most initially affected by the disease.

Senator Weicker was ahead of his time in seeing HIV/AIDS as an emerging health crisis. While support for AIDS research was controversial, Senator Weicker stood firm in his support for science and the community, and preserved research from the threat of prejudice. Senator Weicker recognized the need for our government to fight the AIDS epidemic comprehensively, from research to treatment to public education. Senator Weicker implored his colleagues to change their attitudes on AIDS, asking them, ``When in America did we ask how you got sick before coming to your assistance?''

In 1986, Senator Weicker played a critical role in securing the first funding for clinical trials on AZT and treatment for 10,000 AIDS infected patients. AZT was a transformative and first in a line of drugs that helped turned the tide in treatment for HIV/AIDS. Weicker's support laid the groundwork for the approval of AZT as an effective treatment by the FDA in 1987.

As Chairman of the Labor-Health Appropriations Subcommittee, Senator Weicker did more than defend the NIH budget, he helped secure a 56 percent increase, translating into lifesaving research for millions of Americans. Moreover, Senator Weicker led the fight to grow federal funding to combat AIDS from $64 million in 1984 to $925 million in 1988.

He also worked for health and education programs for physically and developmentally disabled persons and the poor. Weicker sponsored the Protection and Advocacy for the Mentally Ill Act in 1985 and in 1988 introduced legislation that would become the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Even after his service in the U.S. Senate, he has continued to champion medical research, launching Research!America in 1989, and serving as President of the Board of Directors of Trust for America's Health, and as a Director of the National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health since February 2003.
On Tuesday, May 5, the National Institutes of Health held a ceremony dedicating the newly-renovated Lowell P. Weicker Building, where scientists in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases will conduct the lifesaving research then-Senator Weicker fought so hard to protect. Speakers at the ceremony included Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Research!America President Mary Woolley and former Senator Tom Harkin, a colleague of Senator Weicker who worked with him on a bipartisan basis to secure funding for the NIH. Each speaker highlighted Senator Weicker's achievements on health policy as a senator, especially with regard to NIH research on HIV/AIDS.

It was a fitting tribute at NIH for Lowell Weicker, worthy of the champion who fought bravely to protect its buildings and the irreplaceable research conducted inside them. I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating Governor Weicker on the dedication of the Lowell P. Weicker Building and for his lifelong dedication to disadvantaged Americans.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source