Congressional Leaders and NIH Director Francis Collins to Speak at Rally for Medical Research
Nearly 350 organizations will converge on Capitol Hill for Rally for Medical Research Hill Day on September 12 and 13 to advocate for robust, sustained, and predictable annual funding increases for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Specifically, advocates will express their appreciation to Senate offices for passing a bill with a $2 billion funding increase for the NIH in fiscal year (FY) 2019, while requesting that the House of Representatives support the Senate-passed funding level of $39.1 billion for the NIH in the final FY 2019 Labor-HHS-Education Appropriations Bill.
The media is invited to cover the following events:
A Reception to Celebrate the Lifesaving Science Supported by the NIH
Wednesday, September 12, 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room G50
Moderated by Elizabeth Jaffee, President of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) and Deputy Director of the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins University
Confirmed Speakers:
Francis S. Collins, MD, PhD, Director, National Institutes of Health
Senator Roy Blunt (R-Missouri)
Senator Patty Murray (D-Washington)
U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-Kansas)
Rally for Medical Research Breakfast Program
Thursday, September 13, 8 a.m.
Watergate Hotel, 2650 Virginia Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.
Moderated by Margaret Foti, PhD, MC (hc), Chief Executive Officer of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
Confirmed Speakers:
U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Florida)
U.S. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland)
About Rally for Medical Research Hill Day
The Rally for Medical Research initiative was launched in April 2013 to bring together the entire medical research community to ask Congress to make the NIH a national priority. Through the annual Hill Day, the Rally for Medical Research continues to raise awareness about the critical need for an increased investment in the NIH to improve health, spur progress, inspire hope, and save more lives.
Following more than a decade of NIH budgets that failed to keep up with the rate of biomedical inflation, Congress has redoubled its efforts to support lifesaving research by boosting the NIH budget by a remarkable $7 billion (23 percent) since FY 2015. For the benefit of all those who continue to await better therapies and even cures, this momentum must continue.
This investment is enabling researchers at universities and research institutions in all 50 states to pursue emerging scientific opportunities to address the nation’s most pressing health needs. In addition to bringing hope and improving the quality of life for patients, the ongoing success of the medical research enterprise also drives local and national economic activity, strengthens U.S. competitiveness in an increasingly innovation-based global marketplace, and inspires future generations of scientists to commit to careers in research.