IV

105TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. RES. 83

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the Federal commitment to biomedical research should be increased substantially over

the next 5 years.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 5, 1997

Mr. GEKAS (for himself, Mr. SHAW, Mr. GILMAN, Mr. DEFAZIO, Mr.

STEARNS, and Mr. PORTER) submitted the following resolution; which

was was referred to the Committee on Commerce

RESOLUTION

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that

the Federal commitment to biomedical research should

be increased substantially over the next 5 years.

Whereas heart disease was the leading cause of death for

both men and women in every year from 1970 to 1993;

Whereas mortality rates for individuals suffering from prostate cancer, skin cancer, and kidney cancer continue to

rise;

Whereas the mortality rate for African American women suffering from diabetes is 134 percent higher than the mortality rate of Caucasian women suffering from diabetes;

Whereas asthma rates for children increased 58 percent from

1982 to 1992;
2

•HRES 83 IH

Whereas it has been estimated that delaying the onset of Alzheimer’s disease by just one year would save Americans

$5 Billion per year;

Whereas nearly half of all American women between the ages

of 65 and 75 reported having arthritis;

Whereas AIDS is the leading cause of death for Americans

between the ages of 24 and 44;

Whereas the Institute of Medicine has described United

States clinical research to be in a state of crisis and the

National Academy of Sciences concluded in 1994 that the

present cohort of clinical investigators is not adequate;

Whereas biomedical research has been shown to be effective

in saving lives and reducing health care expenditures;

Whereas research sponsored by the National Institutes of

Health has contributed significantly to the first overall

reduction in cancer death rates since recordkeeping was

instituted;

Whereas research sponsored by the National Institutes of

Health has resulted in the identification of genetic

mutations for osteoporosis, Lou Gehrig’s disease, cystic

fibrosis, and Huntington’s disease, breast, skin, and prostate cancer, and a variety of other illnesses;

Whereas research sponsored by the National Institutes of

Health has been key to the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography

(PET) scanning technologies;

Whereas research sponsored by the National Institutes of

Health has developed effective treatments for acute

lymphoblastic leukemia, and 80 percent of children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia are alive and

free of the disease after 5 years; and
3

•HRES 83 IH

Whereas research sponsored by the National Institutes of

Health contributed to the development of a new, cost saving cure for peptic ulcers: Now, therefore, be it

1 Resolved,

2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

3 This resolution may be cited as the ‘‘Biomedical Re4 search Commitment Resolution of 1997’’.

5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

6 It is the sense of the House of Representatives that

7 appropriations for the National Institutes of Health

8 should be increased by 100 percent over the next 5 fiscal

9 years.

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