S. HRG. 99-678 IMPACT OF PROPOSED BUDGET ON HEALTH RESEARCH HEARING BEFORE A SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS UNITED STATES SENATE NINETY-NINTH CONGRESS For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, DC 20402 TED STEVENS, Alaska COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS MARK O. HATFIELD, Oregon, Chairman LOWELL P. WEICKER, JR., Connecticut PAUL LAXALT, Nevada JAKE GARN, Utah THAD COCHRAN, Mississippi JOHN C. STENNIS, Mississippi ERNEST F. HOLLINGS, South Carolina J. BENNETT JOHNSTON, Louisiana JIM SASSER, Tennessee DENNIS DECONCINI, Arizona DALE BUMPERS, Arkansas FRANK R. LAUTENBERG, New Jersey J. KEITH KENNEDY, Staff Director and Clerk SUBCOMMITTEE ON DEPARTMENTS OF LABOR, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, EDUCATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES MAUREEN BYRNES, RIKI POSTER SHEEHAN, CAROL ORTEGA, JAMES J. SOURWINE, STEVEN BONGARD, and MARY MALASPINA Minority Professional Staff TOM VAN DER VOORT and MARION R. MAYER Administrative Support PATRICIA F. FALSEY, NANCY C. ANDERSON, SUSAN GORMAN, and BARBARA L. RHODEN Statement of Dr. Herbert Pardes, chairman, Department of Psychiatry, Columbia CONTENTS Statement of Dr. Samuel Thier, president of the Institute of Medicine, National Statement of Robert N. Butler, M.D., Pulitzer Prize winner and former Di- rector, National Institute on Aging. Statement of Dr. Roger Guillemin, winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine.......... Statement of Theodore Cooper, M.D., vice chairman of the board, The Upjohn Statement of John R. Durant, M.D., president, the Fox Chase Cancer Center Statement of Kenneth Shine, M.D., president-elect, American Heart Association .. Statement of Dr. George Palade, winner of the Nobel Prize for Medicine, and IMPACT OF PROPOSED BUDGET ON HEALTH RESEARCH FRIDAY, APRIL 11, 1986 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met at 9:11 a.m., in room SD-116, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Lowell P. Weicker, Jr. (chairman) presiding. Present: Senators Weicker, Hatfield, Specter, and Inouye. NONDEPARTMENTAL WITNESSES STATEMENT OF DR. SAMUEL THIER, PRESIDENT OF THE INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE, NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES Senator WEICKER. This morning, the subcommittee will hear testimony from eight highly distinguished members of the biomedical research community. I have called this special hearing because I am deeply concerned about the impact of the President's budget cuts on biomedical research. The President's 1987 budget request for the National Institutes of Health is $400 million less than what Congress appropriated in 1986. The President's request is a full $800 million less than what NIH tells us it needs in 1987 to continue its current level of research effort. The administration claims its proposed cuts will result in savings for the year 1987, but there are no savings to be achieved by cutting the NIH budget. The cost of such budget cuts in the out years will be enormous and we cannot afford it either in the dollars it will cost us or in the lives of those whose pain and suffering and even death could have been avoided. When the Senate turns to consideration of the fiscal year 1987 budget, I intend to offer an amendment to restore funding for biomedical research. My amendment will also restore the drastic cuts, and in some cases the total elimination of the Federal programs which help educate and train our nurses, doctors, and other health professionals. Surely in a budget which can afford $43 billion for research and development in defense, we can afford $6 billion for the research that will lead to cures for cancer, acquired immune deficiency syndrome |