Gabriella Miller Kids First Research Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. HOYER. I thank the gentleman for yielding.

Mr. Speaker, the gentleman who preceded me said he is a freshman. I have been here for 33 years. For 23 of those years I served on the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Subcommittee. I served under some extraordinary Republicans and some extraordinary Democrats who chaired that committee. The ones I served under made sure that the NIH got the resources it needed to investigate, research, and try to come up with the cures that will ameliorate the afflictions of mankind from a health perspective.

Of the sponsors of this bill, 134 of them voted for the Ryan budget. The Ryan budget--had it been adopted, had it been implemented--would have cut the National Institutes of Health by $6 billion.

The budget that we are going to consider will still require reductions in NIH funding by perhaps as much as 80 times to 100 times the money that is theoretically in this bill. By the way, there is no money in this bill. This is an authorization. As I am sure Ms. DeLauro, who is the ranking member, has pointed out it provides no money.

Many of you, perhaps, are going to vote for a budget that will cut NIH; but you are going to pass a bill, and that is what Mr. Collins apparently is concerned about, because we are saying that this is a facade, a pretense of support. Paper will not help pediatric research. Money will, investment will.

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Mr. HOYER. To that extent, this is not real. It is a message. Everybody on this floor, I presume, is for children's health, is for pediatric research, is for trying to make sure that our children are healthy and saved from disease and affliction. I presume all of us are for it, but talk is cheap.

The Ryan budget would have cut $800 million from pediatric research alone; 134 of the sponsors of this bill voted for the Ryan budget. In other words, on one hand you are given--theoretically, if there was money available to do this--$11 million for pediatric research with this hand--that is 113 over 10--and $800 million being taken away with this hand.

Who do you think you are fooling?

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Mr. HOYER. So let's not fool the public that we are doing something for pediatric research. I know my friend, Mr. Upton, has been a supporter of NIH in years past. And he is my dear friend and a good Member, but I tell my friend, this bill does not do anything for pediatric research.

You will have an opportunity to vote for pediatric research; vote to get rid of the sequester. Vote to invest in the National Institutes of Health, not to cut it. That will make a difference for pediatric research.

I urge the defeat of this bill.

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