but over the last 13 years, the n.i.h. budget has actually declined more than 22% in terms of purchasing power. and tighter budgets have meant that getting one of these coveted grants is even more difficult. in the past, a third of all grants submitted were funded. today it's about a sixth of all grants. and many say this hypercompetitive atmosphere is threatening not only the careers of promising scientists but the advancement of scientific breakthroughs. >> it's very stressful >> reporter: quadro says that she's constantly worrying about money. she estimates that she spends about 80% of her time working on grants. how does having to focus on grant writing, how has that affected your work in the lab. >> i don't work in the lab. i can't because i have to work on grant writing most of the time. >> people who could be doing experiments are instead writing rewriting, submitting resubmitting, trying to get that grant. and what a terrible waste of talent. >> reporter: dr. francis collins is the director of the n.i.h. and has bee

the investments we make in n.i.h. as well as in education and programs in this bill will help ensure that america's workforce in the years ahead will be able to create and taken to jobs of the 21st century. that's why like chairman blunt referenced, i am deeply troubled by the erosion of n.i.h.'s purchasing power over the last decade and equally concerned about the similar erosion that has occurred in other categories of the budget that is essential to provide a strong and growing middle class. making sure that we are investing responsibly in our national priorities like research and infrastructure and education remains one of my highest priorities. of course last month, the senate debated and passed a budget resolution and unfortunately that budget proposal and the one that was passed by the house falls short of the funding level wes need to ensure stable and increasing support for n.i.h. and other priorities. i'm very proud. as you remember, back in 2013, democrats and republicans were able to reach a budget agreemen

we would like for the subcommittee to be able to visit n.i.h. so they can talk in more depth and more first-hand to see the great work that's being done by the people who work there. and of course you know if you're the senator from maryland, n.i.h. and university of maryland and hopkins. long to see you, long stappeding friends, to new friends. we're going to get right to my appropriations question. the president has put in his request a $1 billion increase. i want to know what that means. and is that enough? i understand that n.i.h. has lost 20% of its purchasing power since the doubling ended in 2003 due to inflation. i am concerned that, yes, you have more than the management capability to set priorities you're going to have to end up picking winners and losers. winners and losers in the united states of america. you can't doll up an n.i.h. just because there's a headline or world crisis. we turn to dr. fauci and your leadership during the ebola crisis and we've turned from aids and so on. you can't dial up a national institute. we want a cur

in addition, the randomized control trial of the n.i.h. vaccine developed at the research center together with the vaccine developed in collaboration with the canadian's and american company has been launched in february and we now have completed the early phase two trial of about 1500 individuals. good news is that it is safe. the safety studies that we did in bethesda at the n.i.h., and it is still the spring, have proven to be the case in west africa. no adverse signals that would be caveat to stop the study. but importantly it's inducing the kind of response that you would predict would be protected because it matches the monkey response. that's no guarantee that it is going to work but that is very strong indication that it is likely to work. the thing that's complicating it is that as we're launching the trial good news is that the infections are going down. so it might be difficult to actually prove on an incident basis that the vaccine does actually work. but every indication that we have from the standpoint of the kind of response

the n.i.h. says the finding is so compelling it stopped the study a year early so all patients could receive early treatment. >>> in the housing world, the number of renters has apparently -- is apparently skyrocketing. a new study finds more than half of tenants can't aforward the cost of renting. it comes out of nyu and capital one bachg. it focused on 11 major cities including right here in d.c. >>> good morning. welcome back to wusa9. it's 6:30. it's may 28. i'm andrea roane. we're in for another warm, humid day. >> dress accordingly. i think that's the mess afnlg the day here with -- message of the day here with allyson rae, erica grow and larry miller is tracking a few incidents on the beltway. >> near 90 degrees again today. we had 90 degrees yesterday. here we go. it's summer -- it's a summer like pattern. we'll see relief not until next week. go get a heat relief when you see one of the storms arrive and it cools things off a bit. let's take a look at how we're starting off. i want to sh

cut the n.i.h. budget.cut medical research. esident's budget, the republican budget could mean 1,400 fewer n.i.h. grants a year. the republican budget also cuts $600 billion from income security programs like nutrition assistance potentially jeopardizing food stamps for thousands of massachusetts families that depend on this program to put food on the table. and just to turn the knife a little deeper for families in massachusetts. the republican fund being -- funding for heating assistance pr funding that helped -- funding that helped 183,000 massachusetts families stay warm in the winter. we know who this budget would hurt -- millions of middle-class families in massachusetts and all over this country who are busting their tails to try to make ends meet. it would hurt people who work hard and play by the ruled but who are seeing sliewnt he have siewnt slip away. way -- seeing opportunity slip away. why? why inflict so much damage on hardworking american people, on students and seniors on kids and construction workers? why cut b

recently retired from the national cancer institute at n.i.h. for reasons unknown his 34-year-old brother was not part of the month-long family trip but was home when police served the search warrant on the parent's house. that probe produced ample evidence that made the arraignment happen. a judge denied bail for scott tomaszewski. we are also told that defense attorney anticipating getting him back before the june status hearing. the police found blood-stained dollar bills in his wallet and a knife on his person. they are testing the items for d.n.a. evidence. leon: a man is dead and two police officers hurt after a confrontation that ended in gunfire. this happened around 11:00 on second road north and glebe road near boston. the police officers were called to a domestic dispute between 54-year-old tore and his mother. an altercation followed. officer suffered a cut to his face and another by a taser. that's when torres was shot in the chest. >> a good guy. >> this is surprising. we haven't had an issue like this before. leon:ersers torres' mo

we've had the head of n.i.h. up here telling about the consequences of the sequester in the past in which a few years ago when the sequester kicked in he had to cancel 700 medical research grants, all of which almost all of us would support because of the extraordinary medical research successes that are going on. so general revenue out of the u.s. government treasury is going to be hard to come by to fund the highway bill, and if we do this months, two months, six months extension all that is is saying we're going to pull that out of general revenue and then transportation companies departments of transportation back in our respective states can't plan on building the roads because they have to have such lead times for the design and engineering, and then eventually the building of the roads. it's kind of like building an aircraft carrier. you can't just go out and appropriate money for an aircraft carrier in one year. it's going to take, in the case of an aircraft carrier a decade to build. well it doesn't take

and over the last two years congress has provided n.i.h. with approximately $125 million in increased funding to support good science that addresses alzheimer's diseases and dementia. additionally, we have worked to include language in the fiscal year 2015 omnibus that requires n.i.h. to submit a yearly budget request for alzheimer's research based on what is required to fund the necessary science. this particular effort is to make certain that we have a specific accountable research plan to ensure that our resources are effectively targeted to meet milestones of scientific -- that the scientific community has established. alzheimer's disease is a defining challenge for our generation. the health and financial future of our nation are at stake and the united states simply must not continue to ignore such a threat. this is a moral and financial issue. it's one that should be easy for us to come together on. if you are the person or the senator who cares the most about people in caring and compassionate ways, you should be for medical research

one out of four adult americans has a behavioral health problem that's diagnoseable according to the n.i.h. almost always treatable and then one out of nine have a behavioral health problem that severely impacts how they function as an individual, according to the national institutes of health. we had no greater support of that effort to try to begin to treat behavioral health like all other health than we -- than the police organizations around the country who stepped forward and said this is -- this is a problem that we deal with all the time, and there are better ways to deal with it than expecting police officers to deal with someone whose behavioral health problem leads them into -- into violence or into another situation. and by the way people with behavioral health problems with more often the victims of violence than they are the perpetrators of violence, but so often part of what we ask police to respond to. we expect police to be psychiatrists and psychologists and first responders and experts at protecting others, and then we can easily begin to want to question what equipment t

the statistic that i believe is generally used now and always n.i.h. is sort of the source is one out of four adult americans have a behavioral health problem -- a diagnoseable behavioral health problem that is almost always treatable. is that number still a good number or do you have a better number we should be using? insel: i think in this case we tend to focus more on those who have the most disabling or what we now call serious mental illnesses. that's more like one in seven or one in nine something like that the total number runs to about 17 million adults. but what's critical to remember in contrast to what we talked about for alzheimer's' disease these are diseases, chronic diseases, young people. so 75% of that number have onset before age 25. so that makes this a particularly challenging public health issue. >> we all heard of senator mikulski's story earlier today about how when talking to people at schools what's the single biggest thing we could do to help. and obviously right in the area that you're working. what about the other number? if

bill is to agree to cut in those 11 other bills, to cuts in transportation, to cuts in research the cuts at n.i.h. and c.d.c. and all of these programs that we care about. if we accept this, then those cuts are locked into place. . i support this level but i also support lifting the budget caps for all of the other areas of our government that are facing the same sort of devastating cuts and difficulties that the defense department has. so if we agree to this, we lock in the budget -- we lock in the budget. lastly, i want to point out that the president has said he does not support this process. he opposes all the appropriations bills and he will oppose this defense bill. and the president hasn't gone away. and there is not a sustainable veto override number for those appropriations bills in the house and the senate. so everything that we are doing on this bill and in the appropriations bills -- i yield myself two additional minutes. ch the chair: the gentleman is recognized. mr. smith: everything we're done on this between now and october is, and i know the republican plan is to hope the preside

n.i.h. >>> hundreds of local families and lawyers are volunteering with the capital area food bank. 50 lawyers will compete to raise the most money to fight local hunger. this campaign lasts all through may and the kickoff is today from 10:00 until noon at the food bank community marketplace on l street. i'm andrea roane, wusa9. >>> we have some fun for a good cause for you right now. d.c. moms are going to trade in their day jobs to take to the catwalk all for a good cause. >> it's called runway mops for the cause. here to tell us more is event organizer lara. welcome to the studio. >> thank you. thank you very much for inviting me. i'm very happy to be here. >> tell us about the big fashion show. do you actually make some of the things that are going to be involved in the fashion show? >> yes. it's a clacktive event -- collaborative event. i started making the items that the models wear? >> the accessories and everything? >> i started making it all. i invited a jewelry designer and this year for the first time i'm collaborating with another fashion designer who is going to be on the runway w

as i mentioned to the ranking member earlier, we're working with e.p.a. we're working with n.i.h. through their center down in research triangle park in north carolina the national institutes of environmental health scientists and the national toxicology program, cdc, atsdr, and then also the fda. we're trying to figure out a way for the government to come together, use our existing resources and authorities to address these issues. parents don't care which acronym named government agency is supposed to do what. they just want answers and they want thun certainty resolved. and the third question i apologize, i can't even remember what the third one was. if you wouldn't mind asking me again. >> i think it's really basically trying to find out what your view is and what the commission is doing and whether you're working with other federal agencies on the issue. >> absolutely. >> all right. thank you very much. >> the gentleman yields back. the chair thanks the gentleman from illinois. mr. kinzinger is recognized for five minutes for your questions. >> thank you. thank you, mr. chairm

should we be dealing with a larger question, the runaway entitlements the lack of money to adequately fund n.i.hcientific research or education, but we can't because our budget is totaling out of control? should we be doing this? absolutely. that's what we're here for. we made a valiant try -- we have talked about this for the last five years since i have been back here. and despite the many, many alternatives that have been presented to the white house every one has been rejected. so at least let's do sos things -- do those things where we have more control over the appropriations process and better manage government. make it more efficient and make it more effective. that's why we'll continue to point out these. the "waste of the week" number 10. i can't wait to get down here next week and do number 11. madam president with that, i yield the floor. madam president it appears that we are short of a quorum, so i note the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: is quorum call: quorum call: quorum call: a senator: mr. president? the presi

the very top, what else are they cutting? they're cutting our kids' education and cutting investments in science and research like n.i.h., cutting modernizing our infrastructure, which helps power our economy. why? because they are cutting the portion of the budget we use to make those investments by 40% below the lowest level as a share of the economy since we have been keeping records, in the 1950's. that is a disinvestment in america. so they are cutting those investments. i tell you what they don't cut they don't cut one special interest tax break to help reduce the deficit, not one penny. apparently that corporate jet tax deduction, they need it. apparently that special tax rate for hedge fund managers, they really need it because they don't want to eliminate any of those to reduce the deficit, but they want to increase taxes on working families and cut our investment in education. and here's the sad part about it mr. speaker. after all that, it still doesn't balance. not by a long shot. here's the chart. sorry we have to go through this math so many times but i will tell you that the current chairman of the senate budget c

n.i.h. research that just passed the energy and commerce committee this morning or through tireless effortsough nonprofits organizations like the national brain tumor society, we should not and cannot accept the notion that brain tumor is untreatable any longer. this month and every month we must support the efforts of our scientists, doctors and advocates as they search for new treatment options to develop new cures. thank you, mr. speaker. i yield back. >> mr. speaker, the house is not in order. the speaker pro tempore: the house, please come to order. members, take your conversations off the floor. for what purpose does the gentleman from michigan rise? >> i rise to address the house for one minute. the speaker pro tempore: without objection the gentleman is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, mr. speaker. i rise today to reflect on what memorial day means to our country and to honor our men and women of the armed forces. our nation has always stood strong on its founding principles of freedom but it's taken wars and generations of brave, selfless individuals to preserve and defend

the many essential and necessary things that government needs to do. health care research, i was just listening this morning to a committee meeting with francis collins heads up n.i.h., talking about the medical breakthroughs they could have if they just had some more funds and weren't be sequestered with less and less money each year. we need always, but particularly in difficult fiscal times to direct taxpayers funding in the most responsible way that we can. and so, with that, we'll add some more red ink to our gauge and we'll be back next week for waste of the week number 10. madam president, i suggest the absence of a quorum. the presiding officer: the clerk will call the roll. quorum call: quorum call: a senator: madam president. the presiding officer: the senator from washington. mrs. murray: i ask unanimous consent that the quorum call be lifted. the presiding officer: without objection. mrs. murray: thank you madam president. in congress, we should be working on ways to build an economy that works for all of our families, not just the wealthiest few and unfortunately once again instead of standing up for workers some of my republican colleagues are bound a

but the budget is cut for n.i.h. national institutes of health. what kind of priorities does this reflect? and on top of that, for 16.4 million people who now have affordable insurance, it is gone. now, what's interesting about the budget, it's very creative, because all the revenue all the fees to pay for health care stays to help balance the budget. it's just the health care that goes away. so for those breast cancer patients that i talked to this morning who are now so grateful that if they need to go out and get new insurance they won't be called someone with a preexisting condition that goes away in this budget. if you have a child that's 22, 23 just graduated -- i spoke at graduation ceremonies this last weekend -- and they're on your insurance right now while they're trying to get themselves together and get at that first job, that goes away. so this budget attacks health care which by the way is not a frill. we don't control when and how we get sick or if our children get is being or our parents or grandparents into he had agrandparents nee