{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-republicans-crying-crocodile-tears-over-nih-funding", "Cohen: Republicans Crying \"Crocodile Tears\" Over NIH Funding", "2013-10-02", "2013", "2013-10", "Democrat", "House", "TN", "Steve Cohen", "C001068", "cohen.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "[WASHINGTON, DC] \u2013 Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today lambasted a politically-motivated effort by House Republicans to save face after forcing the federal government to shut down by selectively restoring partial funding to their favored agencies\u2014including agencies like the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that they have historically ignored. Footage of the Congressman criticizing the House Republicans\u2019 most recent effort on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives is available here.\n\u201cIn 1954, I came down with polio\u2014and it affects me to this day,\u201d said Congressman Cohen. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t until 6 months later that the polio vaccine was made available, and it might never have been without the National Institutes of Health.\u201d\n\u201cOver the last 6 months, I have asked my Republican colleagues, I have spoken on this floor, I have written editorials\u2014all to get this Congress to adequately fund the NIH so that it can find cures for diseases like cancer, stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and AIDS. Not once have Republicans said that they will fund it at the level it should be. Not once.\u201d\n\u201cBut today, they are crying crocodile tears, they are playing politics. They aren\u2019t trying to cure people, they aren\u2019t trying to stop illness, they\u2019re just trying to save face. I object to them using the NIH to score political points, it\u2019s too important for that. I know that first-hand.\u201d\nOver the last year, Congressman Cohen has repeatedly called on House Republicans to save the NIH from the crippling effects of sequestration\u2014but his calls have consistently fallen on deaf ears. In July, the Congressman even introduced the Research First Act to prevent and reverse the disastrous effects of sequestration cuts on critically important NIH research projects that could one day lead to cures for diseases that plague people around the globe. Even today, with House Republicans claiming that the government shutdown is harming the NIH, not a single one has signed on to co-sponsor the legislation.", 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": ["http://cohen.house.gov/press-release/cohen-republicans-crying-crocodile-tears-over-nih-funding"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8645071648061275, "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"}