President Trump’s America First agenda includes more than unmatched military and energy independence. It includes cutting down on waste, fraud and abuse in government, while prioritizing smart investment where it matters most. A major example of this is supporting new scientific breakthroughs in the biomedical sphere, which helps our status on the world stage, boosts the U.S. economy and directly benefits American patients. Delivering on their America First agenda, President Trump and our own Senator Katie Britt recently secured these exact kinds of investments in Alabama’s thriving medical development sector.
This kind of investment in the Yellowhammer State is a smart move – we have the infrastructure and people needed to deliver a real return-on-investment for taxpayer dollars. In fact, medical research is one of Alabama’s top industries. We are lucky to house the record-breaking University of Alabama at Birmingham, UAB, which has been in the top 1 percent of all National Institutes of Health, NIH,-funded research institutions, public, private or international. That’s for good reason. UAB has recently received record-high funding awards for industry-sponsored clinical trials, and UAB’s scientists have made groundbreaking discoveries in tuberculosis, genomic research capabilities, cancer research and vascular and kidney disease. These key advancements have led to UAB’s position as a national leader in clinical trials.
Any reduction in NIH funding could inhibit the development of new advancements, treatments and cures, both for Alabamians and patients nationwide. A decrease in these developments would also force America to become increasingly reliant on other nations, like communist China, for medical innovation.
As noted by a UAB spokesperson, a loss in research funding would mean that “…advancements in virtually all areas of research would slow, including those addressing the leading causes of death in the United States, from cancer to Alzheimer’s, stroke, Parkinson’s, heart disease and diabetes, among other diseases and disorders that devastate lives and families.”
Thankfully for Alabama’s workers and patients across the country, Senator Britt understands and appreciates the importance of our medical research sector. In the face of potential NIH funding cuts last year, Britt led the charge to protect critical research grants. She led 13 of her Republican colleagues in sending a letter to the Office of Management and Budget, OMB, last July, highlighting the benefits of NIH funding and urging the office to release appropriated dollars that had not yet been distributed. She also voted to advance a $400 million annual increase in NIH funding, including $150 million increase for the National Cancer Institute.
These moves support President Trump’s plans to keep America competitive globally and to Make America Healthy Again. They also protected the thousands of jobs and nearly $920 million in economic activity that NIH funding supports in our state.
Fittingly, Senator Britt has received an outpouring of praise from the medical community in Alabama. By ensuring key medical research continues to take place here, she has protected thousands of jobs, inspired hope for patients, and ensured our economy continues to grow. Lawmakers in Washington should continue the fight to stop wasteful spending on ideological or unaccountable programs, and instead invest taxpayer money in states and industries where it will directly benefit us all.
