More than 50 senators from both political parties have urged Senate appropriators to provide strong funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in fiscal year 2014.
In a letter dated 26 April the group, led by Democratic Senators Robert Casey from Pennsylvania and Richard Burr from North Carolina, asked the leaders of the Senate Appropriations Committee to “maintain a strong commitment to funding” for NIH. They argued that investing in NIH not only provide health benefits for Americans, but it also ensured that the nation remained at the forefront of medical research.
As NIH grants get more competitive, the lawmakers suggested, researchers can easily spend half of their careers working before receiving a grant, which can discourage talented individuals from the field. Among the senators signing the letter in support of NIH funding were Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn and Michael Crapo from Idaho.
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