After Ebola & Enterovirus Scares, Congressman Cohen Leads 48 Representatives in Demanding Needed NIH & CDC Funding

[MEMPHIS, TN] – With Ebola and Entrovirus diagnoses in the United States gripping the nation, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today led a coalition of nearly 50 U.S. Representatives in calling on Congressional appropriators to reverse the decade-long slide in support for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that has left our nation less prepared to stop the spread of viral diseases and without cures or vaccines for some of the most deadly illnesses on earth. In a letter to the leaders of the House Appropriations Committee and its Labor-HHS Subcommittee, Congressman Cohen and 47 House Democrats also highlighted the potential budgetary savings of proactively controlling and preventing public health concerns rather than reacting to emergencies and outbreaks, which has proven costly in recent weeks.

“Recent Ebola and Enterovirus diagnoses have understandably alarmed the American public, but we can do more to both stop their spread and cure these illnesses,” said Congressman Cohen. “Had agencies like the CDC and NIH received adequate support over the last decade, America could very well have already developed a vaccine for Ebola—or any number of other diseases including Alzheimer’s diabetes, HIV/AIDS, stroke, cancer, and Parkinson’s—and been better prepared to prevent their spread. While it is disappointing that these critically important agencies—our nation’s other Department of Defensedespite not being funded with equal necessity—have been systemically starved of needed support, it is not too late to fix past mistakes, fully fund both the NIH and the CDC, and effectively protect the American people from Ebola, Enterovirus, and other potential public health nightmares.”

In a recent interview with the Huffington Post, NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins indicated that the last 10 years of stagnating or reduced federal investments in medical research has had a detrimental effect on the development of treatments and vaccines for some of the worst infectious diseases known to man, including Ebola. Director Collins also suggested that Congress should pass an emergency supplemental appropriations bill to help alleviate the damage done to the agency’s budget in recent years. The Huffington Post report also noted that the NIH’s ability to fund vaccine and other research projects has fallen 23% over the last decade, accounting for inflation.

For years, Congressman Cohen has regularly called on House Republicans to save the NIH from the crippling effects of sequestration, which cut more than $1.5 billion from the agency’s budget. The Congressman’s Research First Act would prevent and reverse those disastrous effects by replacing sequestration’s cuts with excess Department of Defense funds that Pentagon leaders admit they don’t need.

Congressman Cohen’s letter was cosigned today by Representatives Bob Brady (PA-01), Julia Brownley (CA-26), G.K. Butterfield (NC-01), Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), Matt Cartwright (PA-17), Kathy Castor (FL-14), David Cicilline (RI-01), Gerald Connolly (VA-11), Jim Cooper (TN-05), Elijah Cummings (MD-07), Peter DeFazio (OR-04), Lloyd Doggett (TX-35), Keith Ellison (MN-05), Elizabeth Esty (CT-05), Lois Frankel (FL-22), Pete Gallego (TX-23), John Garamendi (CA-03), Raúl Grijalva (AZ-03), Luis Gutiérrez (IL-04), Janice Hahn (CA-44), Jared Huffman (CA-02), Sheila Jackson-Lee (TX-18), Hank Johnson (GA-04), Sander Levin (MI-09), John Lewis (GA-05), David Loebsack (IA-02), Michelle Lujan Grisham (NM-01), Doris Matsui (CA-06), Betty McCollum (MN-04), James McGovern (MA-02), Gwen Moore (WI-04), Jim Moran (VA-08), Eleanor Holmes Norton (DC-AL), Bill Pascrell (NJ-09), Donald Payne, Jr. (NJ-10), Scott Peters (CA-52), Chellie Pingree (ME-01), Charles Rangel (NY-15), Tim Ryan (OH-13), Jan Schakowsky (IL-09), Carol Shea-Porter (NH-01), Louise Slaughter (NY-25), Eric Swalwell (CA-15), Chris Van-Hollen (MD-08), Juan Vargas (CA-51), Filemon Vela (TX-34), Frederica Wilson (FL-24).

Full text of today’s letter follows below, while a PDF copy of the signed letter is available here.

Dear Representatives Rogers, Lowey, Kingston, and DeLauro,

We write to you to share our deep concerns about the insufficient funding levels for both the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The current Ebola virus and enterovirus D68 (EV-D68) crises underscore the urgent need for increased investment in medical research and adequate funding for response to public health emergencies. As you construct funding measures for consideration before this session of Congress closes in December, we implore you to prioritize these important programs.

Collectively, we lament that federal funding of the NIH has not kept up with inflation or necessity. In response to a question asked of him regarding the international Ebola crisis, NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins responded, “if we had not gone through our 10-year slide in research support, we probably would have had a vaccine in time for this that would have gone through clinical trials and would have been ready." It is not too late to appropriate to the NIH the resources it needs to continue its research on the Ebola virus or to continue, start, or renew its work on cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, Parkinson’s, HIV/AIDS, stroke or any number of other threats to the health of Americans. It is also not too late to ensure that the CDC is adequately funded in order to react to and slow the spread of EV-D68, prevent an Ebola epidemic on American soil, and prepare for whatever public health emergency may come next. Increased funding for both of these invaluable government resources is integral both to slowing the spread of Ebola and EV-D68 as well as preventing future international health crises that will mimic or likely exceed the breadth of the current levels of devastation.

While we understand that adequately funding the NIH and CDC is a serious financial undertaking for our nation, the fact remains that increased funding could likely result in vaccines, treatments, and cures that would otherwise not be discovered. Preventing disease saves money in healthcare costs far into the future and it also remains true that research advances will not be enjoyed wholly by our own generation, but by the millions of Americans who will come after us. This funding is so gravely important because the NIH and CDC combined serve as our nation’s second department of defense. It is this line of defense that protects Americans from disease; and funding it is as important as funding the programs that protect Americans from other threats to our national security.

Thank you for your attention to this important issue.

Sincerely,