Political Quotes

“Madam President, I wish to praise the passage of the National Pediatric Research Network Act, signed into law by President Obama on November 27, 2013. I was proud to introduce this bipartisan legislation along with my colleague and friend Senator Wicker. I am a longtime supporter of expanded pediatric medical research and, as a member of the House and later of the Senate, have fought to increase funding to carry out these essential efforts. This bipartisan bill promises to build on the important body of work in pediatric research that the National Institutes of Health, NIH, already supports. This law authorizes the NIH to establish a number of multi- institution consortia conducting high-impact research into the most challenging pediatric issues of our day. These research networks will allow for the participation of multiple institutions through the use of a ``hub and spoke'' arrangement, with one or more central pediatric medical centers collaborating with other supporting sites. Network applicants can focus on any type of pediatric research agenda, from basic laboratory research through later stage translational research and clinical investigations on a variety of pediatric disorders and diseases. Importantly, the act will bridge the research gap between pediatric and adult conditions. Only 5 to 10 percent of the NIH's annual research budget is devoted to pediatric research, despite children comprising approximately 20 percent of the U.S. population.…”