Senator Bob Casey is circulating a sign on letter to increase funding for NIH.
See letter here.
As a parent of a young adult with Marfan sydrome I can state unequivocally that the NIH funding of research grants is a vital link propelling forward progress in medical knowledge, treatment protocol and possible cures.
The following is an excerpt from an email sent out by the National Marfan Foundation
Please see the message below from Senator Bob Casey's (D-PA) staff regarding the Senate sign-on letter requesting $35 billion for the NIH in FY 2011. In addition to Senator Casey, current signatories include Senators Charles Schumer (D-NY), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Russ Feingold (D-WI), and Daniel Akaka (D-HI).
The National Institutes of Health will face a "crunch" in fiscal 2011 when a two-year allotment of $10.4 billion in stimulus funding for research runs out, NIH director Francis Collins told House appropriators ... at a hearing on the agency's budget. "There is no question that if you measure what happens in terms of success rates - that is, what's the chance that an investigator who sends a grant into NIH is going to actually get funded - that is going to be a tough number in FY '11," said Collins, making his first appearance as NIH director before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education.
NIH grants not only fund critical research: they also create jobs for researchers, lab assistants, and others. The NIH has estimated that the ARRA funds will create or retain 50,000 jobs, and Families USA estimates that every $1 of NIH funding results in more than $2 in additional business activity and economic output. Without sustained investment in the NIH, future generations of researchers will seek other work, instead of constantly competing for grants to fund their research.
Please contact your Senators and ask them to participate by signing this letter.
The deadline for senators to sign the letter is Thursday, June 3rd.
If you need information on how to contact your Senators click here.
A link to the National Marfan Foundation can be found in left side column under the heading "All Things Marfan."
