WASHINGTON —  Research!America Monday hailed the medical research funding levels included in the draft appropriations bill released by the House Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

Rosa DeLauro

“The devastation COVID-19 has wrought and the suffering and uncertainty it continues to cause spotlight a larger reality: health-focused research and public health readiness should become national imperatives,” said Research!America president and CEO Mary Woolley. “Under the steadfast leadership of Chair Rosa DeLauro (D., Conn.) and ranking member Tom Cole (R., Okla.), the House Labor-H bill appropriately treats medical progress and public health capacity as key federal priorities.”

Americans agree: 85% believe it’s important for the president and federal lawmakers to make faster medical progress a higher priority, according to a national public opinion survey commissioned by Research!America.

The bill would provide a robust total increase of $3.5 billion to the core budget of the National Institutes of Health. “Stronger NIH funding will empower researchers to accelerate progress against pandemics and the host of diseases and conditions that cause untold suffering and cut lives short,” said Woolley. The legislation would also provide $3 billion to stand up a new agency, ARPA-H, “a welcome addition to the nation’s public and private sector arsenal against existing and emergent health threats,” she said.

The bill would also provide “a critically needed” $2.7 billion increase to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention budget. “The CDC is our nation’s front line — not only against pandemics, but against the opioid crisis, antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs,’ disparities in health and health care, and everyday threats to communities nationwide,” Woolley said. “Our nation’s strength depends on the CDC’s strength. The draft legislation would help revitalize an agency that has experienced years of funding neglect.”

Tom Cole

“The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality — another historically underfunded agency — would also see a strategically significant funding increase,” she added. AHRQ funds health services researchers who produce evidence to assure that patients are receiving “the right care in the right setting at the right time, maximizing the return on medical progress.” AHRQ research focused on optimizing care has led to federal savings that dwarf the funding the agency receives each year, she said. “By increasing the AHRQ budget, chair DeLauro and ranking member Cole demonstrate their vision for medical progress built on fast-paced research and its application in a rock-solid, evidence-based health care system.”

“Health care progress coupled with public health progress are facets of our national defense,” said Woolley. “The House Labor-H draft appropriations bill reflects the need to treat health-focused research as a national imperative. The future may be uncertain, but the value of saving lives through research is not.”