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AAU Supports NIH Funding in 21st Century Cures Act, Opposes Brat Amendment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Following is a statement by the Association of American Universities on the 21st Century Cures Act (H.R. 6) and the Brat amendment, which the House will consider this week.

AAU strongly supports the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding provisions of the 21st Century Cures Act, H.R. 6. We urge the House to pass the bill this week.

The proposed NIH investments would allow NIH to support thousands more researchers in their efforts to advance discovery and innovation to find new treatments and cures for diseases. Given that NIH’s budget has declined by 22 percent in real terms since 2003, these investments are much needed. The combined increase in annual spending authorizations and creation of a mandatory five-year $8.75 billion Innovation Fund represent an enormous step forward for NIH’s mission.

AAU opposes the Brat amendment. If it passes, it will significantly undermine the 21st Century Cures Act and eviscerate the Innovation Fund. To provide resources for the Innovation Fund, the amendment would force Congress to divert funding from other important discretionary health and education programs, including financial aid for low-income college students. This is especially true given the current budget caps.

We want to thank Representatives Fred Upton, Diana DeGette, and Frank Pallone, and the bill’s 230 co-sponsors for their bipartisan efforts to enact the 21st Century Cures Act. We look forward to House passage - without the Brat amendment - and then to Senate action on this important legislation.

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The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an association of 60 U.S. and two Canadian public and private research universities. It focuses on issues such as funding for research, research policy issues, and graduate and undergraduate education. AAU member universities are on the leading edge of innovation, scholarship, and solutions that contribute to the nation's economy, security, and wellbeing. AAU’s 60 U.S. universities award nearly one-half of all U.S. doctoral degrees and 55 percent of those in STEM fields.