On September 14, members of the Endocrine Society joined over 400 research advocates in Washington, D.C., to visit members of Congress and call for increased funding for biomedical research as part of the Rally for Medical Research.
Endocrine Society members Heather Patisaul, PhD, Benson Tokunbo Akingbemi, PhD, DVM, T. Rajendra Kumar, PhD, MSC, and Lindsey Trevino, PhD, met with members of Congress and staff to ensure that elected representatives understand the importance of endocrine research and the need to provide steady, sustainable increases in funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
The rally came at an important time in the federal budget process. In September, the White House and Democratic leadership reached a deal on a three-month Continuing Resolution (CR) to keep the government funded through December 8. The CR was packaged with a suspension of the debt limit, also until December 8, and emergency funding to deal with the impacts of Hurricane Harvey. While these measures were critically important to give the government more time to reach a deal that both raises the debt ceiling and the budget caps imposed by the Budget Control Act (BCA), more work needs to be done to ensure that NIH receives an increase in FY 2018 consistent with the growth trajectory achieved over the previous two fiscal years.
During the Rally, research advocates including clinicians, researchers, and patients went to offices all over Capitol Hill to make sure that Members of Congress heard three consistent messages loud and clear:
- We appreciate increases in NIH funding for FY 2016 and 2017.
- We need a $2 billion increase for NIH in FY 2018, consistent with steady, sustainable increases in funding.
- We ask for a bipartisan, bicameral budget agreement for FY 2018 that lifts the caps on non-defense discretionary spending imposed by the BCA.
Take Action: All U.S. members of the Endocrine Society can help achieve these goals! To join your colleagues and make a difference, please see the NIH funding advocacy campaign on the Society’s advocacy webpage. By taking less than a minute of your time to complete the form and send an email to your representative and senators you can help obtain funding needed to support lifesaving biomedical research.
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