House Republicans are considering significant changes to the way billions of dollars in National Institutes of Health grants are awarded to research institutions under a proposal intended to speed medical breakthroughs.
The proposal, which Republican lawmakers unveiled Tuesday, would require the Bethesda-based NIH to set aside more money for high-risk research and young, emerging scientists while also giving the director more power to shape the agency’s direction.
Nearly a year in the making, the proposal from the House Energy and Commerce Committee represents a political shift from the Republican Party’s persistent effort to undercut the Affordable Care Act toward a focus on medical research that might ultimately draw bipartisan support. […]
Yet the draft drew a tepid response from some Democrats, including one of the lawmakers who has been most closely associated with its development. Colorado Rep. Diana DeGette said in a statement Tuesday that while she appreciated the public airing of ideas, she does not endorse the proposal.
Others said they were wary of significant new requirements for the National Institutes of Health, particularly since there is little discussion of additional funding for the agency. Research groups have complained that federal money for research has been inconsistent and has not kept pace with medical inflation.
“The problem has been Congress,” said Diana Zuckerman, president of the National Center for Health Research. “When Congress tells the NIH to do something — when it tells any federal agency to do something, there are a lot of unforeseen consequences.”
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