Press Release
April 21, 2011
Contact: Aaron Hunter 202-225-2040
Rep. Susan Davis Participates in Field Hearing with Local Biotech Community
SAN DIEGO – Congresswoman Susan Davis (D-San Diego) participated in a field hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee with the local biotech community. Davis inquired how the government can better work with the industry to create jobs and what impact proposed federal funding cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the National Science Foundation (NSF) will have on San Diego.
“Not only does NIH funding go toward life-saving, critical medical research, but it provides high-quality employment to many Americans – thousands of whom are in the San Diego region,” said Davis. “Unfortunately, the NIH can’t support all of the promising new possibilities to treat diseases because of the funding restraints – and I often hear from my constituents that they aren’t able to obtain grants.”
Atkinson Hall at UCSD in Davis’s congressional district hosted the field hearing, which was chaired by Rep. Darrel Issa (R-Vista). Rep. Duncan D. Hunter (R-Alpine) also attended. Witnesses included Dr. Marye Anne Fox, Chancellor, University of California, San Diego; David Gollaher, President and CEO, California Healthcare Institute; Duane Roth, CEO, Connect: Joe Panetta, President and CEO, BIOCOM; Alex Lukianov, Chairman and CEO, Nuvasive, Inc.
The President proposed $32 billion, almost $1 billion more than 2011, for the NIH. While providing an increase, the President’s proposal would actually bring flat funding when you factor in inflation. Davis joined one hundred of her colleagues in sending a letter to House appropriators supporting the President’s budget and additional NIH funding if possible.
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