Legislative Updates

NAEVR Joins With Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research Colleagues in Urging Congress To End the Government Shutdown

Legislative Update
October 11, 2013

Today, the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research issued a letter to Congressional leaders detailing the negative impact that the current government shutdown is having on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in terms of biomedical research and patient care. The effects of the shutdown include:

  • Enrollment in NIH-conducted clinical trials
  • NIH issuance of new grants and contracts
  • Review of research proposals
  • Collaborative research between the NIH and private academic institutions
  • Technical assistance to grantees
  • Participation in key scientific meetings
  • Training programs for the next generation of scientists
Additionally, the letter emphasizes that the effects of the shutdown come on top of the significant NIH funding losses in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013 due to sequestration, thereby having an exponentially greater negative impact. The Group urges Congress and the Administration to work together to negotiate an end to the government shutdown, restore pre-sequestration funding levels for NIH, and devise a long-term strategy to ensure NIH receives the funding necessary to continue its mission of life-saving and life-enhancing biomedical research.

The Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research, a special program of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), is a coalition of more than 300 patient and voluntary health groups, medical and scientific societies, academic and research organizations, and industry. NAEVR is a member, and Executive Director James Jorkasky serves on the Group’s Steering Committee.