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AAMC Says Bush Budget Endangers Medical Research Progress

For Immediate Release

Press Release

Contact: Retha Sherrod
202-828-0975
rsherrod@aamc.org

Washington, D.C., February 6, 2006 - Jordan J. Cohen, M.D., president of the AAMC (Association of American Medical Colleges), issued the following comments today on the Bush administration's FY 2007 budget:

"President Bush's proposal to freeze the budget for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) at last year's level is shortsighted in the extreme. At a time when scientific advances hold such promise for unprecedented improvements in the health and welfare of people, failing to seize the opportunity to invest more in medical research is deeply disappointing.

The AAMC is alarmed that the president's 2007 proposal continues to erode federal support for medical research. The recommendation to freeze the NIH budget marks the fourth year in a row that funding has fallen below the rate of inflation. In constant dollars, this means the NIH has lost nearly $2 billion in buying power since FY 2003. Unless there is more federal support, we cannot sustain the promise of medical discovery and preserve America's position as a global leader in research.

Disease and disability are unrelenting foes. As a nation, our commitment to improve health and save lives should be equally unrelenting. To achieve this goal, we must increase America's investment in research through the NIH. The nation's medical schools and teaching hospitals call on Congress to make this one of their top budget priorities."

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The Association of American Medical Colleges is a not-for-profit association representing all 129 accredited U.S. and 17 accredited Canadian medical schools; nearly 400 major teaching hospitals and health systems, including 68 Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers; and 94 academic and scientific societies. Through these institutions and organizations, the AAMC represents 109,000 faculty members, 67,000 medical students, and 104,000 resident physicians. Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals is available at www.aamc.org/newsroom.