John Yarmuth: “Budgets don't heal the sick or solve centuries-long medical challenges, but the programs budgets prioritize can. In my…”

“Budgets don't heal the sick or solve centuries-long medical challenges, but the programs budgets prioritize can. In my district in Louisville, Kentucky, medical researchers at the University of Louisville and the Frazier Rehab Institute have made an incredible breakthrough. Thanks to an electronic implant that stimulates the spinal cord, four paralyzed men are now moving their legs on command. With continued therapy, they are confident they will walk again. The Human Locomotor Research Center in Louisville is funded in part through investments made by the National Institutes of Health. More than 80 percent of NIH funding goes to the broader research community, fueling the innovation that makes breakthroughs like those in Louisville possible. The Republican budget reduces the number of new NIH grants by 1,400, on top of hundreds of projects NIH has already had to turn down because of last year's reckless, across-the-board spending cuts. Madam Speaker, when you see a man paralyzed for years lift his legs, you can't help but share in the enthusiasm for breaking boundaries we once thought impassible. But if we approve this Republican budget and these cuts, we extinguish that enthusiasm and the hopes of millions of families waiting for the next medical breakthrough. ____________________”