{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.blunt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/blunt-led-funding-bill-provides-5th-consecutive-increase-for-life-saving-cost-saving-nih-research", "Blunt-Led Funding Bill Provides 5th Consecutive Increase for Life-Saving, Cost-Saving NIH Research", "2019-12-16", "2019", "2019-12", "Republican", "House", "MO", "Roy Blunt", "B000575", "www.blunt.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON  U.S.\r\nSenator Roy Blunt (Mo.), Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor,\r\nHealth and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor/HHS), today\r\nannounced that the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has received nearly\r\n$41.7 billion in the fiscal year 2020 Labor/HHS appropriations bill, a $2.6\r\nbillion increase over last year's level. The bill was filed today and the full\r\nSenate is expected to consider it on the floor later this week. Federal investment in the National Institutes of Health has\r\nprovided millions of Americans and their families with hope, especially at a\r\ntime when we are on the verge of so many potential breakthroughs, said Blunt.\r\nNIH-funded research has raised life expectancy and vastly improved the quality\r\nof life for all Americans. In addition,\r\nit has lowered health care costs and spurred economic growth by supporting jobs\r\nin research and generating biomedical innovations. Blunt previously secured four consecutive funding increases\r\nfor NIH, bringing the five-year total increase to $11.6 billion, or 38.6% under Blunt's subcommittee chairmanship. Blunt continued, In my home state of Missouri, NIH research\r\nhas discovered an enzyme responsible for the spread of cancer, supported\r\nresearch aimed at improving cancer immunotherapy, and is getting us closer to a\r\nblood test for Alzheimer's disease. But further progress depends on sustained,\r\npredictable increases in NIH funding that allow researchers to build upon\r\nprevious discoveries. It is one of the most important investments we can make\r\nas a federal government. In fiscal year 2019, Missouri received $640.5 million in NIH\r\ngrant funding, generating more than $1.4 billion in economic activity and\r\nsupporting 8,400 jobs. Nationwide, medical research supports more than 433,000\r\njobs and nearly $74 billion in economic activity. The influx in funding over\r\nthe last four years has restored more than half of the purchasing power NIH lost\r\nsince its peak in fiscal year 2003. Following Are\r\nSeveral of the Key NIH Investments Included in the Labor/HHS Bill:  $2.82 Billion for\r\nAlzheimer's Disease Research: The bill includes $2.82 billion for\r\nAlzheimer's disease research, a $350 million increase from last year's level.\r\nCurrently, Medicare and Medicaid spend $195 billion caring for those with\r\nAlzheimer's, making it the most expensive disease in America. Since Blunt\r\nbecame subcommittee chair five years ago, Alzheimer's disease research funding\r\nhas more than quadrupled, increasing from $631 million to $2.82 billion.  $6.44 Billion for\r\nthe National Cancer Institute (NCI): The bill includes $6.44 billion for\r\nNCI, an increase of $299.4 million above FY2019. Within NCI funding, the bill\r\nprovides:  o\r\n$50 million in new funding for the President's\r\nChildhood Cancer Data program to connect and integrate multiple childhood\r\ncancer data sources;  o\r\n$25 million for the Childhood\r\nCancer Survivorship, Treatment, Access, and Research (STAR) Act, which\r\nBlunt cosponsored. The STAR Act is a bipartisan, comprehensive bill that would\r\nexpand opportunities for childhood cancer research, improve efforts to identify\r\nand track incidence of childhood cancer, and enhance the quality of life for\r\nchildhood cancer survivors;  o\r\n$212.5 million to prioritize competing grants in\r\ncancer research and sustain commitments to continuing grants. Grant applications to the National Cancer\r\nInstitute have increased by approximately 50% since 2013, with requests for\r\ncancer research ten-fold greater than other institutes.  $500 Million for\r\nthe BRAIN Initiative: The measure increases funding for the BRAIN\r\ninitiative by $71 million above FY2019. The BRAIN Initiative is developing a\r\nmore complete understanding of brain function, which could help millions of\r\npeople who suffer from a wide variety of neurological and psychiatric\r\ndisorders, including Alzheimer's disease.  $500 Million for\r\nthe All of Us Precision Medicine Initiative: The measure includes $500\r\nmillion to fund the All of Us precision medicine study, an increase of $161\r\nmillion from FY2019. This study will enroll one million Americans to take into\r\naccount differences in biology, lifestyle, and environment to discover new\r\npaths towards delivering individualized precision medicine.  $578.1 Million for\r\nthe Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA): The measure includes\r\n$578.1 million, an increase of $18.4 million, for the National Center for\r\nAdvancing Translational Sciences' CTSA program. Washington University's CTSA is\r\npart of the national program aimed at accelerating discoveries toward better\r\nhealth.  $2 Billion for\r\nMental Health Research: The bill includes $2 billion, an increase of $161.7\r\nmillion, for mental health research at the National Institute of Mental Health.  $200 Million for\r\nResearch on the Universal Flu Vaccine: The bill provides an increase of $60\r\nmillion in targeted funding to advance progress toward a universal flu vaccine.\r\nUnder Blunt's leadership, funding for a universal flu vaccine has more than\r\nquadrupled in the last three years. St.\r\nLouis University is part of NIH's Vaccine and Treatment Evaluation Units\r\nworking on a universal flu vaccine.  $511 Million to\r\nCombat Antibiotic Resistance: To help combat antibiotic-resistant\r\nsuperbugs, the bill provides a total of $511 million, an increase of $50\r\nmillion over last year's level to expand efforts to develop new antibiotics,\r\ncreate rapid diagnostic tests, and build a national genome sequence database on\r\nall reported resistant human infections. Antibiotics have been used to\r\nsuccessfully treat patients for more than 70 years, but over time, the drugs\r\nhave become less effective as organisms adapt to the drugs designed to kill\r\nthem.  $818 Million for\r\nOpioid & Pain-Related Research: The bill includes $818 million for\r\nresearch on opioid addiction, development of opioids alternatives, pain\r\nmanagement, and addiction treatment. If patients with acute or chronic pain do\r\nnot have reasonable access to non-addictive pain medications or alternative\r\ntreatments, it will be difficult to get the opioid crisis under control. This\r\nincludes $500 million in dedicated funding provided to the National Institute\r\nof Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute on Drug\r\nAbuse.  $425 Million for\r\nInfrastructure Improvements on NIH's Campus: The bill provides a $225\r\nmillion increase to support NIH's Bethesda Campus, including a 200-bed research\r\nhospital, numerous laboratories, outpatient clinics, and administrative and\r\nfacilities space. The funding increase follows a National Academies of\r\nSciences, Engineering, and Medicine report stating there is a $1.3 billion\r\nbacklog in facilities maintenance on the campus. More than 72% of the facilities in Bethesda\r\nare over 20 years old and the average condition index is in the poor\r\nrange.  $5 Million to\r\nCombat Foreign Threats to Research: The bill includes $5 million for NIH to\r\ncontinue its work with HHS' Office of National Security to combat foreign\r\nthreats to the research infrastructure. Blunt discussed\r\nthis issue at a Labor/HHS subcommittee hearing in April, particularly China's\r\nThousand Talents program aimed at recruiting NIH-funded researchers to steal\r\nintellectual property, cheat the peer-review system, establish shadow\r\nlaboratories in China, and help the Chinese government obtain confidential\r\ninformation about NIH research grants.  $12.6 Million for\r\nthe Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act: The Gabriella Miller Kids\r\nFirst Act, which was signed into law in 2014, created a dedicated fund for\r\npediatric medical research. The bill provides the resources authorized under\r\nthe law, and prioritizes funding for pediatric cancer research.  National Academies\r\nStudy on Organ Allocation Policies: The bill includes funding for a new\r\nNational Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine study on organ\r\nallocation policies, particularly related to livers. Blunt has led\r\nefforts against the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network's move to\r\nchange the liver allocation policy. The new policy could lead to a 32% drop in\r\nliver transplants in Missouri. In addition, the bill provides increases to every NIH\r\nInstitute and Center to continue investments in innovative research that will\r\nadvance fundamental knowledge and speed the development of new therapies,\r\ndiagnostics, and preventive measures to improve the health of all Americans.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.blunt.senate.gov/news/press-releases/blunt-led-funding-bill-provides-5th-consecutive-increase-for-life-saving-cost-saving-nih-research"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.6068900004029274, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}