House Appropriations Subcommittee to Decide NIH Funding Friday

Reading time: 2 – 3 minutes

This Friday, the U.S. House appropriations subcommittee that determines funding for National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) will make their funding recommendation for fiscal year 2012.

It is critically important that you urge your congressional members to fight for increased investment in medical research in FY 2012 (link below). Here’s why: biomedical research and the biotechnology industry is a major driver of the U.S. economy and has been for the past 30 years [1]. Despite budgetary constraints, America cannot afford to fall behind when it comes to investing in biomedical research and America’s future. These investments are crucial to overcome the health challenges facing our nation and to create the jobs that will help revitalize our economy.

A majority of American’s believe that accelerating our nation’s investment in research to improve health is a priority [2]. Smart, targeted investments in health and medical research will create the high quality jobs that the economy needs while bringing us closer to improved treatments and cures.

Research!America provides a pre-formatted letter you can instantly email to your U.S. House Representative prompting for renewed federal investment in medical research not only to stay as competitive as China and other nations around the world who are making significant new investments in research, but to create jobs and improve health for all Americans.

Take a moment to send your U.S. House Representative a message and urge him/her to fight for increased investment in medical research in FY 2012.

References

1. The Role of Biomedical Research in the Economic Stimulus. Statement of Raynard S. Kington, M.D., Ph.D. Acting Director, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2008 Nov 13.
2. Your Congress,Your Health Survey. Research!America. 2011 Mar.