Fund the research

NIH is the single largest funder of medical research in the United States, and the research it funds drives innovation and has the potential to improve the lives of millions of Americans. I was disappointed to learn that President Obama’s proposed Fiscal Year 2013 budget holds NIH funding at its current level, with no increase or adjustment for inflation. With the threat of future cuts looming, federal investment in biomedical research — and the grants NIH gives to research institutions here in New York — are critical not just to jobs and our state’s economy, but to the future of millions of New York patients and their families and caregivers.

I call on Senators Schumer and Gillibrand to support increased funding to at least $32 billion for the NIH. A sustained investment in research is not simply good policy — it makes sound fiscal sense. As a resident of New York I want to reduce the federal budget deficit, but not at the cost of future cures and breakthrough discoveries that may save millions of lives and, in the long run, taxpayer dollars.