Peter H. Bell: “What this comes down to is a question of priorities. There can be no higher priority in the United States of America…”

“What this comes down to is a question of priorities. There can be no higher priority in the United States of America than our Nation's health. Everybody listening knows the diseases that are impacted by NIH funding. It is no secret. And the gentleman from Ohio has certainly worked diligently over the course of the last 5 years to increase funding for the NIH, but this is not the time to stop. When progress is being made, we should not...put on the brakes. If anyone doubts what a priority this is with health organizations across the country, they should know that over 600 major health organizations across the United States are supporting an increase in the NIH budget. The point is, this motion has wide, wide support in the medical research and educational communities, and they are not going to be satisfied if the conferees come back and say, 2.5 percent is as high of an increase as we can give. They are looking for a much higher degree of funding.”